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
- What health insurance plans does the company offer?
- What is the required employee contribution?
- Do the plans cover spouses/families?
- What is your vacation policy?
- For unlimited vacation:
- How much vacation do people usually take?
- How do you keep track, if you do?
- Who approves vacations?
- For unlimited vacation:
- What is your sick leave policy? Is sick leave included in vacation time (sometimes called “Time Off”)?
- What other benefits does your company offer?