For a job that you have done your research on, usually the question is pointless. Most high level jobs will be fairly clear about what they give back to you.
For many jobs where you might be just some guy, people might ask questions about the job site, culture, day to day minutiae, areas of specific responsibility, etc.
I really think it is a holdover from a time someone would go hat in hand to a job site and be given little information except "You are doing X, prove to me you should have this job."
I have interviewed a bunch of people for jobs that fit in both places in the spectrum, and while I don't expect the candidate to ask questions, if they are a face among the crowd of 20 interviews and give you relevant questions about your business it can show their interest in what you do, it can also show they are sensitive about specific things.
Comments
For a job that you have done your research on, usually the question is pointless. Most high level jobs will be fairly clear about what they give back to you.
For many jobs where you might be just some guy, people might ask questions about the job site, culture, day to day minutiae, areas of specific responsibility, etc.
I really think it is a holdover from a time someone would go hat in hand to a job site and be given little information except "You are doing X, prove to me you should have this job."
I have interviewed a bunch of people for jobs that fit in both places in the spectrum, and while I don't expect the candidate to ask questions, if they are a face among the crowd of 20 interviews and give you relevant questions about your business it can show their interest in what you do, it can also show they are sensitive about specific things.