Questions I'm asking in interviews 2017 Oct 10 2017

As my RC batch draws to a close, I’m interviewing once again. In the vein of Julia Evans’ great blog post, “Questions I’m asking in interviews”, here’s a set of questions to ask your recruiter, interviewers, and/or prospective manager.

Obviously you won’t ask all of these at once — here’s a strategy:

Go through this list (and others such as Julia’s) and pick out a few that seem especially applicable. These might be pain points you’ve encountered at past jobs, must-haves for the future (accessibility? day care reimbursement? remote-friendliness?), or things you’ve always wanted in a job (standing desks! office pets! catered dinner!). Ask these to the appropriate people at each job. For each company, pick out a few more questions that particularly apply to them. Does this large company have flexible policies? Does this small company have good room for advancement and growth? Does this startup have a sustainable business model? Ask these to that company in particular.

Company

Questions to ask anyone.

What is your business plan? How does the company make money? (If the business plan doesn’t make sense to you, or if it’s vague, that might be a red flag)

What values are important to your company?

What is your plan for the next 6 months, 1 year, 5 years?

Hiring

Questions to ask your recruiter before your onsite. For larger companies, you’ll usually find answers to many of these in an initial email. Make sure not to ask a question they’ve already answered!

Tell me about your hiring process — how many rounds, how many interviewers?

Is there anything special about your interview process I should know?

Are coding interviews on a whiteboard or laptop? What resources do candidates have access to while coding?

What are you trying to figure out about a candidate in an interview? Why do you think your current process does that effectively?

What biases have you decided to accept in your hiring process? Which are you trying to change?

Assuming the process goes well, how long does your hiring process typically take?

How long do candidates who are given offers have to decide on an offer?

Team

Questions to ask your prospective manager.

How big is the team? What is its structure?

What is your management style?

Do you use a particular management system, such as Agile, XP, etc.?

Is your team diverse? Is diversity a priority, and if so, what do you do to promote it?

Can you tell me about a time you resolved an interpersonal conflict?

How often does your team hold meetings?

What does an average workday look like?

What is your policy on working from home? How many people work from home, and how often?

What is your policy on working remotely? How many remote workers do you have? When working remotely, how do people stay in touch with the team?

What’s your team’s retention rate?

Tech

Questions to ask a manager, tech lead, or individual devs.

What is your tech stack? How did you decide on it?

How do you evaluate new techs? Who decides?

How do you resolve technical disagreements? Can you give me an example?

How much freedom do employees have to use different languages and technologies?

Do devs have a choice of machine/OS?

How often do devs get new machines?

What is your policy on contributing to open source?

Are devs required to sign NDAs and/or assign their IP to the company?

Office and Work Environment

Where is your main office located? How close is it to public transport? Do you offer any commuter reimbursement, bicycle benefits, or free/subsidized parking?

Does your company’s office have {bicycle, motorcycle} parking?

Is your office handicapped-accessible?

Is there a dress code?

Do you offer free food? If so, when and how often?

What is the office layout (open plan? cubes? offices?)

Are standing/treadmill desks an option?

Office Culture

How late do people usually arrive/stay? Are there any requirements on arrival or departure time?

Does your team use a chat system?

Do you use a voice/videoconferencing system?

Learning, Growth, and Advancement

What does the career track look like for this role?

How does promotion/progression happen? How often do you go through raise/promotion cycles?

What opportunities are available to switch roles? How does this work?

Are there travel opportunities (or requirements) with this job? How often and how far in advance will these be known?

What support do you provide for devs attending/speaking at conferences?

Benefits and Compensation

Questions to ask once you have an offer.

Compensation

Does your company offer 401(k) matching? If so, what percentage? Any vesting schedule or other restrictions?

Does your company have a bonus program? If so, how is the bonus calculated, and how often is it computed?

Is there a signing bonus?

Stock and equity grants:

If the company offers stock/equity as part of the package:

What are the particulars of that stock? How much stock is there total? Common or preferred stock? Any ratcheting or similar agreements in place with investors? How will employee stock be diluted in future rounds? If options, what is the strike price/exercise date? When do options expire? If grants (or RSUs), what is the vesting schedule?



Benefits