The company may tell you you're one of four candidates, which can be scary. But if you know the position has been vacant for three months, you know that it's been a tough position to fill. If you know that three people have held the position over the last six months, you also know that there may be a work-related problem, such as a difficult boss. Determine what others are receiving. One thing you want to avoid is being shortchanged compared to what others in the company are receiving for options packages.
Companies usually develop an overall approach or style to handing out stock options.
That is, they make a certain amount of options available to new employees according to such factors as position and salary. The more established the company is, the more systematized the approach is likely to be. For example, increasing numbers of companies maintain option budgets that lay out the expected number of options set aside for various job categories. The easiest way to find out about option budgets or overall approaches is to ask. This isn't something you ask in the first interview, but if you're getting more seriously engaged in the selection process with a particular company, you can certainly inquire about the company's approach to options.