Interviews

[vulture23]

So, I got to do the job interview routine yesterday. Four technical interviews with a couple of different sub-teams within the same group. Everyone seemed fairly like-able, I don't think I made a complete fool/ass of myself at any point, and there were no crash-and-burn issues. Some of the whiteboard-coding questions (one extended problem per

Comments

[caladri]

I find taking an interest in the company and team is generally taken as a good sign, and have made an effort to identify questions I care about the answers to, sometimes during interviews. At the same time, companies I don't find compelling generally get few to no such questions out of me, and the feeling is usually more-or-less mutual (there are big exceptions, but all jobs I'm glad to've not taken.) My standard set involve team structure, relationship between Engineering and QA (I generally find this to be a direct tell for organizational competence and "fit") and a bunch of other things

[vulture23]

Trying to get clues about the Dev/QA relationship is a really good idea, I'll try to remember that for the future. It *would* be useful in general to have some concept of the team structure and workflow ideas. I'll give some thought to questions to bring that out. Thanks!

I know that asking questions about the company is generally a good thing (if nothing else, it helps you to stand out from other interviewees). In this particular case, there's a *lot* of information about the company and its work practices online (much of it on the company's own recruiting website, much of it in not-quite-so-flattering places...), and after some attempt to get a grasp on the scope of the group's mandate, I just drew a blank on what else I should ask about...

[caladri]

Yeah, that's reasonable. And honestly, I've recommended against hiring candidates who had what I thought were inappropriate or really narcissistic questions about the team. It's a thin line, but if you impress on that front, it means the managers take a liking to you and keep you well-informed, which I like, etc. I feel like it helps me go into the job with information that helps me make friends and keep tabs on what everyone does, too, but I'm not sure if they're actually related.

[webcowgirl]

Always good to ask, "So what kind of training programs do you have?" and, "What would you consider a typical career progression to be in this position?" It makes you sound like someone who's looking to really settle down in the role.

[vulture23]

I did talk with the recruiter a bit about career path (allowing her to confirm that the company *does* have a "No, I really don't *want* to become a manager" progression). Asking the technical interviewers about ongoing training options might be good, though, I'll keep that in mind.

[webcowgirl]

Another possibility is, "Tell me about the challenges this team is going to be facing in the next six months" or "Tell me about a typical day for a person in the position I'm interviewing for."

[m_cobweb]

Something that's worked for me when I really come up empty is saying, "I can't think of any questions right now, but if I do, is it all right if I contact you?"

[yami_mcmoots]

My favorite generic question to fill the void: What is your least favorite thing about this company/job/team? I especially like to ask this when someone has been on a recruitment rah-rah spiel; I'll pair it with a question about their favorite thing if I feel like the conversation needs a more positive spin.