Questions I'd Ask as a Job Candidate at an Interview

You’re a job seeker and you’re in an interview.

There are numerous things you should ask in advance via email: Salary. Benefits. Remote work. Parental leave. Time off. Sick days. Revenue sharing. Equity. Accessibility. Will they pay to relocate you. Is there a probationary period. They should have answers for all of those ready to copy and paste into an email. Here’s a list of things I wouldn’t expect anyone to tell me in advance, and that I would only expect to see answered well once I’m face to face.

What are the company values? (If nobody knows, that’s bad. Probably means a) there are none, or b) they plastered some useless platitudes on the website but they don’t affect anything in real life)
Who’s my boss going to be? (You’d be surprised how many people get hired and nobody knows who their boss is)
How does one get promoted? (Is there a process? Or does it just mystically get decided in a smoky chamber amongst the piles of oracle bones?)
Who makes decisions about promotions? (Is it just up to my boss? Do other people weigh in?)
What are the options for my career path here? (Specifically, ask about separate paths for individual contributors vs management)
Can I see a list of expectations you have for leaders? (Odds are, this document doesn’t exist. So how will they know if your boss is doing a good job? They won’t. What does that tell you?)
How do you assess the quality of leaders? (Closely related to the last question. Few companies have a remotely acceptable approach to ensuring that leaders are actually good at leading, allowing shoddy leaders to remain in power. Want to work for one of those people?)
Ask a manager what accountability looks like here. (Most managers will be thinking to themselves “there isn’t any” and will take a moment to figure out how NOT to say that. A healthy workplace will have a better answer.)
Who has responsibility for the culture? (In reality, everyone impacts the culture. Leaders have disproportionate impact. If they answer something like “Oh, we have an HR person,” that means they don’t think crafting a healthy culture is important. Otherwise, why would they be so ready to foist it off onto HR?)
What kind of people do you hope to hire? (There’s no “right” answer”, but I’ve responded that we won’t hire brilliant jerks, as Reed Hastings would put it. If the response leads with something like “passionate” or “dedicated” or “hard working”...thank them for the coffee and leave.)
How is my development going to be supported? (Are you afforded company time to learn? Will your boss carve time out of their week for you?)
Are managers required to have one-on-one’s with their team members? (If not, you will likely have to ask your boss for them. That’s bad. This is the simplest, lowest cost, highest reward management tool ever. Why is it not commonplace here?)
How do you manage performance here? (Do they have a consistent review process? Is it an archaic, once-a-year thing guaranteed to add no value to you or the company? What are the mechanics? Are there 360s? Self reviews? Who has input into your review? If things don’t go well, do they administer performance improvement plans (PIP) or do they not even have a codified process for subpar performance?)
What’s the company’s stance on my social media presence? (If you say something on your personal Twitter account that aggravates a chunk of your employer’s player base, will you get fired for it?)
What sort of training do people receive prior to being put into a management role? (It’s likely that the true answer is “none”, in which case you’re tossing the dice as to whether you get a competent boss or a psychopath.)
What does success look like for me? (How will I know I’m doing my job well other than wait for a review? Will I be able to look at others in the company and know that standards are being enforced or will it be evident that we allow some folks to just coast?)
Will you need me to sign an employment contract? (OK, this may seem scary if you’ve never been in this spot, but a few important things: don’t sign anything without having an attorney read it. Don’t be afraid to ask for time to look over any documents. You don’t have to sign something right then and there just because it’s put in front of you.)
Does the company lay claim to any side projects or off-hours work? (There are companies that will claim ownership of any work you do, even in your personal time using personal resources. Imagine: You were hired as an audio person. Your contract stipulates if you make any music at all while employed at Company X, that music is owned by Company X. You would want to know this up front.)
What would I likely be working on? (If all they know is “We’re hiring programmers” but can’t tell you what those programmers are needed to do, that doesn’t indicate they care a whole lot about seeing you succeed. Or that you’re needed for something important.)
Can you tell me about upcoming milestones for my team? (Are you getting dropped into a meat grinder? Are they already behind?)
What do you think about the schedule? (Related to the previous question. Does the person interviewing you think the schedule is aggressive or realistic?)
If you started this job, what are the biggest challenges you’d face? (That’s right, you’re asking the interviewer to put themselves into this role and imagine what would be difficult about it. The validity of answers varies based on the interviewer (a recruiter won’t be able to speak to the complexities of being a programmer, perhaps) but there should be somebody in the interview process who can answer this well, and you’re asking them to be empathetic which is a great tactic for getting a meaningful response. I’d especially consider asking this of your boss.)
What does the company do to prevent overwork? (If all you get is a pat answer like “We care about work/life balance” press them further for specifics. How often are teams asked to work extra hours? Are there limits in place? Are employees compensated for overtime? If you’re still not getting a meaningful response, ask the interviewer directly, “When did you last put in overtime?”)
How do people know they’re working on the right things? (You’re asking about who makes decisions, how business priorities are interpreted, and maybe about ensuring your customers are getting what they want. If they aren’t, how long is this company likely to be around?)
How do you resolve conflicts? (Maybe that’s two programmers disagreeing on an engineering approach. Maybe it’s someone being accused of harassment.)
How do decisions get made? (Is there one person at the top making all design decisions or technology decisions? Can anyone weigh in? Is it dictatorship (bad) or pure consensus (also bad) or do leaders consult with subject matter experts?)
Ask the interviewer what they wish the company invested more in. (Fixing bugs? Driving down tech debt? Cultural issues? Learning and development? Diversity? Hat tip to Elena, who writes good code.)
How much autonomy will I have? (Because you probably can’t ask “Is my boss a micromanaging control freak”)
What are your beliefs around motivation? (Enlightened companies will speak about the value of intrinsic motivation, finding what’s important to you. Companies where you don’t want to work will only talk about “We pay well” or “We have a ping pong table and beer on Fridays” or “We only hire self-motivated people”. That’s crap. Leaders should be striving to deliver motivation and it shouldn’t be through external means alone, like bonus checks or perks.)

I’ll add more later if the urge strikes me. Best of luck in your search. And whether you’re entry level or veteran, never forget you’re a valuable person, not some replaceable cog. Take that confidence with you.

Keith Fuller

@someproducer

31 Jan, 2019