Get to know you questions for work

When to use these

Use these in the first few meetings of a newly formed team, a project kickoff, or an offsite where the group is meeting in person for the first time. One question per session, manager or facilitator answers somewhere in the middle so they don't set a ceiling. These ask for slightly more than a quick warmup, so give people a moment to think before going around the room. They're calibrated for a team that's still building context, not one that already knows each other well.

The questions

1. What's a job you had before this one that taught you something unexpected?
2. What's something you're good at that has nothing to do with your job?
3. What's a place you've lived that changed how you see things?
4. What's a topic you could happily talk about for an hour?
5. What's a skill you'd love to have an afternoon to learn?
6. What's the best advice you got from someone outside of work?
7. What's a way you like to spend a free weekend?
8. What's a habit or routine that keeps you steady?
9. What's something you've changed your mind about in the last few years?
10. What's a small thing that reliably makes your day better?
11. What's a project, work or otherwise, that you're quietly proud of?
12. What's a piece of media, a book, show, or podcast, that you'd recommend to anyone?
13. What's a way you recharge after a draining week?
14. What's a thing you collect, follow, or geek out about?
15. What's a skill from a past job you don't use anymore but miss?
16. What's the kind of work that makes you lose track of time?
17. What's a teacher, mentor, or boss who shaped how you work?
18. What's a place you'd go back to in a heartbeat?
19. What's something you do to switch off from work?
20. What's a piece of your background most people here wouldn't guess?
21. What's a small risk you took that paid off?
22. What's a thing you've made or built that you're glad you did?
23. What's a way you'd like the team to get to know you better?
24. What's a question you wish people asked you instead of 'what do you do'?
25. What's something you've always wanted to try but haven't yet?
26. What's a part of your daily routine you'd defend to anyone?
27. What's a city or town you think is underrated?
28. What's a way someone made you feel welcome somewhere new?
29. What's a small thing about you that affects how you like to work?
30. What's something you've learned recently, work-related or not, that stuck with you?

Questions we'd skip

Skip "tell us a fun fact about yourself" — it's the most-named bad icebreaker, and it rewards only the people who arrived with a polished answer. Skip "what's your biggest accomplishment" — it turns a warmup into a humble-brag contest. Skip anything that probes family, relationship status, or where someone is from in the literal sense; those questions feel friendly and land as intrusive, especially with a new team that hasn't agreed to that level of disclosure. Skip "two truths and a lie" as a question prompt — it's a game in its own right, run it as the actual game instead.

Games that pair well with these

Common questions

Are these only for brand-new teams?

Mostly, but not only. They also work for a team that's been together for years without ever really talking — a group that meets, ships, and disperses without anyone knowing what their colleagues do on a weekend. Pick the lower-disclosure ones if the team is established but distant.

Should the manager answer first?

Not first — somewhere in the middle. With get-to-know-you questions, a manager going first sets a ceiling on how much anyone else shares. Let two or three people answer, have the manager go, then finish the round. That keeps the disclosure level set by the team rather than the boss.

How is this different from the for-new-hires list?

The for-new-hires list is built around one person joining an existing team, with the new hire going last. This list is for a whole group getting to know each other at once — a new team, a kickoff, an offsite — where nobody has more context than anyone else.

Meetings these questions suit