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Asking the Right Questions to a Future Employer?
coronaride asks: "One of the things that always seems to leave me stumped in a job interview is the dreaded 'Do you have any questions for us?' question. I was always taught that while it's great to have the answers, almost equally important is to ask the right questions. When interviewing for a development position, what are some good questions to ask? For you employers, how much weight, if any, do you put on this open-ended question? A few obvious things come to mind regarding benefits, atmosphere, development style, etc., but I'm curious to see others' opinions on not only what is expected, but what is appropriate as well."
"What is your favourite aspect of working for $company?". Usually pretty revealing, unless the company hires external interviewers...
The best questions that I can think of are on the career path that the position puts you on. This type of question requires refinement based on the company and position that you are interviewing for. Basically, I try to find out if the position is a stepping stone for the future at the company or if it's the top of the path within that company. If it's a "foot in the door" position, I try to find out where that path leads in order to determine if any position along that path is where I want to be.
"Don't worry about people stealing an idea. If it's original, you will have to ram it down their throats." --Howard Aike
Bring a notebook, have your questions written in advanced. Take notes during the whole interview.
If they did not give you a tour of the office, ask if you can have a tour. If not a tour, ask if you can at least see the area you'd work in. This'll give you a good idea of the office/cube size, how up-to-date the equipment is, and maybe even get you introduced to a few of the members on your future team.
Ask about the benefits if they were not adequately explained. Ask how much the benefits are per pay period. Ask how often they change. One of the more interesting things at my current job is how often we change benefits. I'm not just talking how often benefit costs go up, but totally changing providers. A good question in discussing the pay is asking how many starting vacation days you'd have. Vacation time can be a good bargining tactic if the pay is not what you want and they are not willing to budge on starting pay. Never go into an interview without a base idea of what you want to make in terms of either hourly or yearly pay. Be sure to adjust this based on the cost of their benefits.
Ask if this is a new hire or a replacement position. This can lead you to interesting information too, if it's a replacement. It can also touch a nerve if it is a replacement.
If you care about the ability to work from home, ask if that is available and how usable it is, in terms of being able to work 1-2 days a week/month etc.
If you are a member of Toast Masters, ask if they have a Toast Masters chapter for the company. You'll earn brownie points for sure if they do and you are a member. Don't ask if you aren't a member though.
Do research about the company before hand and ask questions about the company. This'll show interest in the company and diligence on your part. Make sure they are not brain-dead easy questions though, they'll just make you look stupid.
If you like to work on open source / free software, ask if there is anything that will prevent you from continuing to do so.
After living through the dot-com era, I always ask about the business - how their financials are, what kind of funding they have, how the company is run, and so forth, as well as questions about what they really do to make a living. Meaning - that except for some rare cases like Google, people don't really give a shit about computers - they are just the best solution to their problems, but not something they get particularly excited about. Show an interest in how you and your skills can help their business. Ask about what makes the company tick. Ask about how the company got started. At worst, you'll learn something interesting, and most likely, you'll make a good impression by conveying the message that you have broader interests than just the geeky side of things.
http://www.welton.it/davidw/
If you ask questions that are relevant to the company, it also shows that you've been paying attention, and that you're not just looking for a paycheck...
;) You see, honesty works both ways: just as I want you to tell me something about a basic day-to-day business of your business, I expect managment to be mature enough to know, that the most important reason for my seeking of employment is a paycheck!
.02$
Well, I might want to work for your company, but not necesserily for you
If I wanted to broaden my knowledge, work in pleasent enviroment, answer new challenges alone, I'd go to work as some sysadm at university, or IT consultant for some charity etc.
Just my
Robert
Bastard Operator From 193.219.28.162
Ask for a tour of the facilities, and most importantly to see where you will be sitting. I've always had the warmest response to this request, in part because the person interviewing you will be relaxed in their duties as well. They can just walk around, point, and introduce you to everyone, but it takes away the stressful interview room mentality.
The bonus for you is great. You get to see where exactly you will work, is it a cube-farm, office, middle of the center of a huge open room with loud fans blowing everywhere around? This is a hugely important part of deciding on a job that many people overlook.
Also, you get to see the breakroom. Is it clean, spacious, stocked with food/drink or not? I've found that the breakroom is a great glimpse into the soul of an employer and a good way to see how you will be treated as an employee. If the breakroom is nothing but a sink with a giant poster stating "DO YOUR DISHES, I AM NOT YOUR MOMMY" that may be a hint that management is less than warm. Trust me on this one, I know.
Lastly, you get face time with the whole company, and can smile, shake hands, and give a positive first impression on everyone. You will stand out more than other applicants because you will appear friendly, which is a job skill that gets more people hired than anything else I know.
Basically, at the point of an interview you've already been selected as being good enough for the job. Now they are just deciding if they "like you" or if you seem to "fit in". This one little question can give you that edge to get the job.
Would you please show me a tour of your codebase?
This would have made a drastic change in which position I accepted. My new employer most likely would have willingly provided that tour since they were quite interested in hiring me.
Unfortunately, it wasn't until after I was hired that I realized exactly what shape it was in. Ten minutes of looking over someones shoulder probably would of had me running the other direction.
Of the four interviews I had that resulted in offers, one company most definitely wouldn't have shown me their code, one company showed me their code without my asking, and the other two most likely would have shown if I had asked.
I guess this question doesn't apply to open source companies though. :)
There's two catagories of questions you want to ask.
1)What will I be going?
Ask questions to figure out what you'd actually be doing at the job. Figure out how much is coding vs IT and support type work, how much is maintenance coding vs new coding, wether the project(s) itself interests you. If it doesn't fit you, you don't want the job.
2)Will this environment fit me?
Ask about anything in the work environment thats important to you. Dress code? Hours? Perks? If a teammate is interviewing you, try and figure out if he's friendly or not. Try and feel out if you'd enjoy working there.
Of course there's money and benefits too, but that to me is a side issue- if 1 and 2 don't work, I won't take the job. Those only matter if you the answers to 1 and 2 sound good, or if you're desperate.
I still have more fans than freaks. WTF is wrong with you people?
If you already know you want to work at the place, ask questions like you already work there.
Questions similar to "What dress code will I need to follow?" can easily bump you up into the "you're hired" zone. When you ask questions like that, you are showing confidence AND you are acting like a fellow employee rather than a prospective one. (Salesmen will recognize this as "closing the sale/deal")
This can make or break you getting a job when there are many similarly qualified people competing with you.
Unless there isn't much serious competition for the job, DON'T ask questions like you are demanding things or expecting more than was offered very soon. Questions like "how long before new employees get an office?" or "how often are raises given out?" are very bad to ask if you really want the job. If the company gets the impression that the money they are offering is already bothering you, or that you're likely to bitch about your working environment, you're much less likely to get hired unless you don't have much competition.
This is not a dream, not a dream...we are transmitting from the year 1-9-9-9.
Those are the two best questions I've seen on here tonight.
The answer to the first will reveal if there are any systematic problems with the role likely to get you feeling disgruntled enough to go looking for another job.
The second does two things - it marks you out as a guy/girl who wants to align him/herself with the big picture (something that relatively few technical people care to do), and the answer to it will tell you to what degree your efforts in the role are likely to be seen as significant for the company's fortunes. That's important if you have any ambition to move up the management ladder because unless you manage to associate yourself with successful high profile projects you will be effectively invisible to those who control access to training and promotion.
You certainly have a point if you're looking for a temporary job to get out of a rough time, but if you're looking for a career, killing the interview with a question like that really is better in the long run.
I tend not to ask questions. I put up my requirements upfront, and if the employer doesn't think that (s)he can deliver what I want, we go our separate ways. Since I am sitting in that interview, I have shown the willingness to work for your company. I don't get a high on the environment, I do get high on the work available. And that is clearly stated upfront.
I can throw myself at the ground, and miss.
One thing you may not want to ask is: "Is there any advancement?" or something similar.
That depends. It could be good or bad. A "no" to "Is there any advancement?" means that the person is looking to go in some direction. If there is no advancement, and the person takes the job, they will leave the job to get advancement when the time comes. Sometimes advancement means "We like what you are doing, so here is a raise or bonus, thanks!" I've heard of that kind of thing, I don't have any advancement or pay to speak of, guess what I'm casually doing???
They don't want you to steal their job.
I let other people's insecurities and inabilities speak for themselves. I surely don't want to work "underneath" of them and have to undo the crap that they have done before it gets right.
They need to fill a specific position and want to hire somebody that will be satisfied with working in that position for the next 15 years.
I don't think in my lifetime that I have heard of an interview and new job hire with the intention of 15 years of service for the same position. Especially in 15 years of IT work. Think 1990 to 2005. Sysadmin is similar, but much of the other things are drastically different. Think 1975 to 1990. Even disco died during that time!