Here are 120 get to know you questions for work, sorted by situation: quick icebreakers for meetings, fun questions to ask coworkers, this or that questions, questions for new employees, work style questions, questions for remote teams, career questions for one-on-ones, “get to know me” questions to answer about yourself, deeper questions, and seasonal questions.
The best get to know you questions for work are easy to answer in under a minute, optional, and about preferences and experiences rather than private life. Three that work with almost any team: “What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?”, “What time of day do you do your best work?” and “What’s a hobby you’ve picked up in the last year?”
Jump to a section
- Quick icebreaker questions for meetings (15)
- Fun questions to ask coworkers (15)
- This or that questions for work (10)
- Get to know you questions for new employees (12)
- Work style questions to ask your team (15)
- Get to know you questions for remote and virtual teams (12)
- Career questions for one-on-ones (12)
- Get to know me questions (to answer about yourself) (10)
- Deeper questions for stronger team connections (10)
- Seasonal and holiday questions (9)
How to use these questions with your team
- Start of a meeting: ask one quick icebreaker and go around the room. Keep answers to about 30 seconds each so a team of eight takes about five minutes.
- Team chat: post a question every Monday and let people reply in a thread during the week.
- New hire's first week: pick three questions from the new employee section and share the answers in the team intro.
- One-on-ones: ask one work style or career question per meeting.
- Remote teams: use the remote section on video calls, where small talk doesn't happen naturally.
Quick icebreaker questions for meetings
One-minute questions anyone can answer. Use one at the start of a meeting and go around the room.
- What's the weirdest food you've ever eaten?
- What's your go-to karaoke song?
- If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
- What's the most useless talent you have?
- What did you have for breakfast today?
- What's the best thing that happened to you this week?
- What's a small thing that always makes your day better?
- If you had a warning label, what would it say?
- What's your favorite knock-knock joke?
- What's one thing you believed as a child that now makes you laugh?
- What's the last show you binge-watched?
- What emoji do you use the most?
- What song is stuck in your head right now?
- If you could switch lives with a fictional character for a day, who would it be?
- What's your favorite way to spend a Saturday morning?
Fun questions to ask coworkers
Light questions that still tell you something real about a colleague.
- What was your first job, and what did it teach you?
- What's a hobby you've picked up in the last year?
- What's the best concert or live show you've been to?
- What's a place you've traveled to that surprised you?
- What's your favorite local restaurant that nobody else seems to know about?
- What's a skill you'd learn if time and money weren't an issue?
- What's the best piece of advice you've ever been given?
- Who was your favorite teacher, and why?
- What's a book, podcast or show you'd recommend to the whole team?
- What's something you're unreasonably good at?
- What's your favorite thing about the city you live in?
- If you could have dinner with anyone, living or not, who would it be?
- What's the most interesting thing you've learned recently?
- What's your hidden talent?
- What's a tradition from your family that you still keep?
This or that questions for work
Fast two-option questions. Great for big groups, polls in a chat, or the first meeting of a new team.
- Coffee or tea?
- Early bird or night owl?
- Cats or dogs?
- Beach or mountains?
- Call or text?
- Meetings with cameras on or cameras off?
- Plan everything or figure it out as you go?
- Sweet or savory snacks?
- Work from home or work from the office?
- Books or podcasts?
Get to know you questions for new employees
For a new hire’s first week. Keep these light: the goal is to make someone feel welcome, not interviewed.
- What's your favorite hobby or activity outside of work?
- What are you most looking forward to learning in this role?
- What's one fun fact you'd like the team to know about you?
- How do you like to be welcomed to a new team: a big intro, or a quiet coffee?
- What's the best onboarding you've ever had, and what made it good?
- Where did you grow up?
- What's your favorite food or restaurant?
- How do you take your coffee (or tea)?
- What's one thing you'd like help with in your first month?
- What made you say yes to this job?
- Is there a name or nickname you prefer to go by?
- What's the best way to celebrate a win with you: public shout-out or private thanks?
Work style questions to ask your team
These help a team work better together. They work especially well for a manager meeting a new team or a team kicking off a project.
- What time of day do you do your best work?
- Do you prefer feedback in writing or in person?
- How do you like to receive recognition?
- What does a great workday look like for you?
- What's one thing that drains your energy at work?
- How do you prefer to be contacted for something urgent?
- Do you like to brainstorm out loud or think on your own first?
- What's a pet peeve you have about meetings?
- What helps you focus when you have a big task?
- What kind of work makes you lose track of time?
- Who inspires you at work, and why?
- What's a work-related accomplishment you're proud of?
- What's one thing a manager has done that made you feel supported?
- What's your favorite way to collaborate: whiteboard, shared doc or a quick call?
- What's one thing you wish people knew about how you work?
Get to know you questions for remote and virtual teams
For video calls and team chat, where small talk doesn’t happen by itself.
- What's your favorite work-from-home snack?
- Show us one object on your desk and tell us its story.
- What's the view from your window right now?
- Do you have a pet that joins your calls?
- What's your best tip for staying focused at home?
- What's the funniest thing that's happened to you on a video call?
- What's your work-from-home uniform?
- Where in the world would you work from for a month if you could?
- What's your favorite background music for working?
- How do you mark the end of your workday when you work from home?
- What's a local spot you'd take a teammate to if they visited your city?
- What's one thing you miss about the office, or don't miss at all?
Career questions for one-on-ones
Deeper questions for a manager and an employee. Ask one per meeting, not all at once.
- What's a career goal you're working toward right now?
- What's the most memorable project you've worked on?
- What's the biggest challenge you've faced in your career, and how did you handle it?
- What's a skill you'd like to build this year?
- What would your dream job look like in five years?
- What's the best career advice you've received?
- If you could try any other job for a day, what would it be?
- What part of your current role do you enjoy most?
- What part of your role would you change if you could?
- Who has had the biggest influence on your career?
- What's something you'd like to be known for on this team?
- What support would help you most right now?
Get to know me questions (to answer about yourself)
Use these when you need to introduce yourself, fill in an “about me” slide, or answer a get to know you questionnaire.
- Where are you from, and where do you live now?
- What do you do, in one sentence a child would understand?
- What's something you're learning right now?
- What are three words your friends would use to describe you?
- What's your favorite way to recharge?
- What's a cause or hobby you care about?
- What's the best trip you've ever taken?
- What's your favorite book or movie of all time?
- What's one surprising fact about you?
- What's something on your bucket list?
Deeper questions for stronger team connections
For teams that already know each other. Make it clear that passing is fine.
- What's a piece of advice you'd give your younger self?
- What's a goal you're proud of reaching?
- What quality do you value most in a teammate?
- What's a challenge you've overcome that you're proud of?
- Who is someone you look up to, and why?
- What's something you've changed your mind about?
- What's a moment at work you'll never forget?
- What does a good team feel like to you?
- What's a value you try to live by?
- What's one thing you'd like to get better at as a person, not just at work?
Seasonal and holiday questions
For the end of the year, the start of summer, or any team party.
- What's your favorite holiday tradition?
- What's the best gift you've ever received?
- What's your favorite season, and why?
- What's your favorite ice cream flavor?
- What's a summer memory you still think about?
- What's your favorite holiday movie?
- If you could create a holiday, what would it celebrate?
- What's your New Year's tradition?
- What's your favorite fall or winter comfort food?
Questions to avoid at work
Get to know you questions should never make someone feel cornered. Avoid questions about:
- Age, health, pregnancy or family plans
- Religion, politics or immigration status
- Relationship status or dating life
- Money, salary or debt
- Anything that needs a long, personal story to answer
A simple rule: if you wouldn't be comfortable answering the question in front of your manager, don't ask it in a team meeting. And always let people pass.
A simple get to know you questionnaire for new employees
If you want a short form for new hires, these eight questions cover the basics without being intrusive:
- What name do you like to go by?
- Where are you based?
- What's your favorite coffee, tea or snack order?
- What do you like to do outside of work?
- How do you prefer to receive feedback?
- How do you like to be recognized for good work?
- What time of day do you do your best work?
- What's one fun fact you'd like to share with the team?
Go beyond questions: a team activity
Questions break the ice. Making something together builds the team. KraftStories runs hands-on virtual team building workshops and in-person workshops in New York, the San Francisco Bay Area, Honolulu and Austin, where coworkers talk naturally while they build a terrarium or a mosaic lamp. For a lighter option at your next meeting, try our 100 pop culture trivia questions.
Frequently asked questions
What are good get to know you questions for work?
Good get to know you questions for work are quick, optional and about preferences or experiences, such as “What's the best advice you've ever been given?”, “What time of day do you do your best work?” or “What's a hobby you've picked up recently?”
What are fun questions to ask coworkers?
Fun questions to ask coworkers include “What's your go-to karaoke song?”, “What's the most useless talent you have?”, “What's your favorite local restaurant?” and “If you could switch lives with a fictional character for a day, who would it be?”
What are good get to know me questions?
Good get to know me questions to answer about yourself include where you're from, what you do in one sentence, what you're learning right now, three words your friends would use to describe you, and one surprising fact about you.
What questions should you ask a new employee to get to know them?
Ask a new employee what name they go by, what they do outside of work, how they like to receive feedback and recognition, what they're looking forward to learning, and one fun fact they'd like to share with the team.
What questions should you not ask coworkers?
Avoid questions about age, health, pregnancy, religion, politics, immigration status, relationships, salary or money. Keep questions optional and let people pass.
How do you use icebreaker questions in a meeting?
Ask one question at the start of the meeting, go around the room, and keep each answer to about 30 seconds. For remote teams, post the question in chat before the call so people have time to think.
