UKC

Good afternoon

So, I have a couple of job interviews coming up and haven't had an interview for a few years, so what are some good questions to ask my prospective new employer? It's a software developer role.

Obviously, I've got a few questions lined up, but just to make sure I'm not missing anything pertinent...

Thanks in advance

Why's the vacancy arisen? Expansion/promotion = a positive.  The last dev ran out screaming = not so good.

Congrats on the interview

I almost always ask if you are replacing someone in the same role or if it's a new role- think it's good to know what expectations to have/if there's a handover etc

also, possibilities for CPD/career progression etc within the team/company

Show them you're the boss from the start. It's like dog training. I'm assuming this is zoom/TEAMs etc? So when they start to ask you things look them firmly in their eyes and tell them to pipe down. They'll get their turn to speak at the end.

Next show them you're not new to all this and remind them "there's no i in "team" but there are 2 in "invoice" - so we'll start with what you're paying me and when".

Once you have instructed them on the important details (money), maybe ask them what the job is for, how many days a week, if any afternoons are expected, if they will supply you a computer, etc. You know those fluff small talk questions people ask.

Good luck and don't let them push you around

EDIT: It was always a tip in public speaking to imagine your audience is naked, but in these remote working days if a webcam isn't required, you should actually be 100% naked when you interview, make sure your camera is off in case they're not on the same page.

No direct experience based comments from me, sorry - but good luck. I'm penning my first job description to hire a software dev, so I'll be watching the thread with great interest.

If it’s not embedded within the application or interview, asking about a company’s culture and values is always worthwhile. 

As someone else mentioned, enquiring about professional development opportunities is useful too. 

Best of luck. 

Ask a question that responds to something in the interview - think on your feet

I assume your post in mainly in jest, but does remind me of the revelation I had years ago that not only are they interviewing me, I'm also interviewing them - do I want to work for you/your company/etc? It was quite a mental change of gear.

I've read the long list of responsibilities in the job add, but what I'd like to know is what the job actually entails; what would my average day look like?

When I've asked this I've usually extracted the admission that the job add is a wish list, and you can ditch the international travel and consulting with clients, and your average day is sat in front of the computer coding.

I don't work in software but I've done quite a few engineering interviews.

There are some good questions above but I don't think you should sweat too much about what questions you should ask in an effort to look intelligent. Ask whatever you want to know (as long as it's not stupid, comes across as self- obsessed or puts the lie to whatever you said about why you want the job.) Put more effort in to answering the interviewers' questions than asking your own. If you forget to ask something and later regret that, it's easy to ask before accepting a job offer.

"vi or emacs?"

Do they have proper ground coffee? Any credible employer in 2022 shouldn't be offering acid machine stuff, or instant from a jar.

More seriously: staff turnover, bonus schemes and TOIL. (Emphasising you don't mind putting in the hours when required but feel it should be appreciated)

Not a deal-breaker - I can't stand coffee, even the smell of it!

I sort of know the company I'm applying to, as they've been a supplier for a number of years of a specific tool we use.

This isn't what you asked for but I found the following advice useful and I got every question asked of me during my last recruitment process. Make sure that you have answers prepared in your head or written notes, if zoom, for the following 5 questions:

 - Exit statement (why you want to leave your current role, obviously find a positive, looking for a new challenge or whatever instead of )

 - Entry statement (why you want to work for this organisation - reputation, experience, etc)

 - What skills you have that make you suitable for this role - make a list that matches the skills required in the job description, same for experience if relevant

 - Why your values and behaviours demonstrate you would be a good fit in the organisation - get  examples for each one ready, organisations usually send you a list of their values or you can find them on the website

 - Personal strengths and weaknesses

Questions I'd consider asking:

 - What's the culture like, is it informal / political etc

 - Is it a profitable organisation

 - Why are they recruiting externally

 - What's the management style that they are looking for

 - Is it a global / remote team, where are people based etc

I'd ask them about their software design and development processes. How are things organised, what tools do they use?

Also about how things are documented and what your avenues of support are. 

These things will affect your day to day work and can be a cause of immense frustration when you're trying to get actual code written. 

Depending your role I'd go more technical, I know of some service providers who might have a programmer and an analyst as part of their pre contract sales team to make sure they don't over or under sell themselves. Then there are those that don't and over sell, expecting the rest to be miracle workers fulfilling promises. 

I am definitely nicking that and using it at work at the first opportunity!

As well as discussing what tech stack and how up to date they would like to us discuss what they do use.

Maybe get an idea of what a typical working day would look like. Find out how they plan work to see if their approach would suit. 

It's a sellers market at the moment (I know because we are trying to buy). 

What is the Corporate view on the grade of Three Pebble Slab?

As well as enquiring what the interviewer has done on grit..

I'm a software developer too and I have succeeded (and failed) in many interviews. If it's a permanent role I would ask about the things that mean most to you. What do you value from an employer? Is it training, autonomy, innovativeness, comfort, pay, pensions etc. If it's contract then project length and project specifics are key. I ask about process as that reflects well on me and helps me weed out organisations that follow stupid processes. 

It's an opportunity to make sure they are right for you. Make the questions count.

Ok, so this is a bit of a cheeky one...

But right at the end If it's gone well close them down, and ask for the job via your question, put them on the spot a bit...

Don't outright say "Can I have the job?", but if you're getting along well and you get to the "have you any questions for us?" stage, just go for something like "Do you have any concerns about me being a suitable person for the role, as if you do, I'd like the chance to address them now?"

They're not going to be expecting a question this ballsy, and nine times out of ten, they'll say no they don't (but that they have to see other candidates) which is exactly what you want, you've just had them tell you you're suitable for the role right there and then in the interview... That's a pretty good way to leave things!

The other 1 in 10 times they might give you a reservation they have about you, which is great as you can address that right then and there which leaves you in a stronger position had you not asked.

Ask about what training training opportunities exist and if there's any ring fenced time for self development etc? 

Having freedom/ time to explore or learn about stuff that's related but not necessarily essential to the job is very valuable.

Show you're interested - if it's a technical role, ask some technical questions around the job role. Maybe massage the interviewer's ego if they have their name on a paper/patents.

If it's a non-technical role but in a technical industry, show some interest in what the industry/company does.

Remember that, although you may be nervous about impressing them, they should also be trying to impress you and that you are also interviewing them to find if it's the right place for you to spend x hours of your week.

One I asked many years ago at a PWC interview as did they have any flexibility in the working hours.

They said yes, you can arrive before 9 and leave after 6...

meh... if you have to spell out the full name, they're not the right company

I’m a software developer by trade and now run a team of developers and spend a good deal of time interviewing candidates. 

To echo what a few others have said, ask genuine questions that will let you paint the picture of what it’s like there. It’s generally quite transparent when someone is asking questions because they think it’s expected of them to ask questions.
 

Saying that, when I’m the interviewee, I like to ask about their software development lifecycle, what do their CI/CD pipelines look like?, how do they deploy to production?, what does the production environment look like?, what kind of monitoring is in place?, what do they do if an issue is identified in production?, how are requirements fed into the team?, what kind of testing happens? How do they insure quality across the team? Those questions should give you some kind of an idea of whether or not they’ve got their main processes in place. If it sounds a bit shady, you’ll likely find yourself doing lots of firefighting rather than actually building stuff. 
 

Then I’d ask about softer things like what the social side is like? Do people get together outside of work? Is there a social budget? What are the training opportunities? Is there a budget for training resources and conferences?

 Good luck

My top two tend to be "can I work part time only even though it's a full time position?" and "I don't like permanent contracts, how about I do the job on a temp contract for 6 months or 9 months or something".

Usually I'm the only applicant so getting that all-important climbing/work balance isn't too tricky.

You make some good points, but without giving the game away on the company, they essentially make development tools for software developers, so I'd expect them to be using their own tools to a large extent.

One of my main reasons for looking for another job is the lack of training in my current one, so that will be a top topic - especially since I strongly suspect they will be looking for someone with much more experience in a couple of languages than I've currently got, which is not much.

What can swim faster, a dog or a horse? 

Are you allowed to access UKC during work time.

I agree. I interview developers all the time and don't really take what they ask me into account, it's more for the interviewee to gain some insight.

I agree that these are all good questions to avoid working in a shit show.

I usually like to ask about their schedule/work life balance. If I have to use time off to go to a doctor's appointment or run some quick errands that I can't do out of hours rather than finishing my work some other time in the week then screw that. Still be tactful and read the situation though.

You don't have to take the first offer you get if you don't get a good vibe from the place. You're in demand right now.

Thanks, all. In short, I think it went reasonably well - I just need to learn C/C++ REALLY quickly!

Have also thought of a couple of other things I should have followed up in the interview about what sort of exciting things they are going to be working on next, but can save them for if I get to a more technical interview with another guy.

You seen that scene in the film Trainspotting where spud goes on a job interview? Go check it out, should help.

This is a very timely thread as I have my first interview for many years coming up.

My 25 year old daughter who is a software developer would ask:

How many women do you employ as software developers?

What end of FYE bonuses do you pay?How is it structured.

Are there any other financial/share options schemes available on the software development side?

How many paid days do you get for charity or other similar work?2 days would be considered normal practise for good employers in software development.

Absolutely this. I once had an interview at a recruitment consultants and had nothing to ask at the end when the interviewer said ‘any questions for us?’, so I said ‘what’s a good question to ask if you get to the end of an interview and don’t have anything specific you want to ask them’. And this was exactly her suggestion, and it’s served me well.

I think it may have been a recruitment consultant who told me it too, certainly didn't come up with it on my own, I'm really not that bright!

Has definitely served me, and some friends of mine well too.

I also to a final goodbye thing where right at the end, just as I'm leaving, encourage them to feel free to give me a call or drop me an email if there's anything else they need to know in the meantime, and that I won't read anything into it either way...

Basically it shows that you can establish a working relationship with them where they can call on you if they need something.  Again, that's exactly what they're looking for.

That could come across as a tad creepy. Perhaps, "what's your diversity like?"

To the chap who asked about 'what have they done on grit'?

I interviewed a network engineer for a position. He was more than capable for the role. On his CV it said climber. So I asked that question. He reeled off a number of routes, plus some other classics and stuff in Yosemite.

He got the job for his networking skills. Employing, or being employed by, someone you can talk to can be a real benefit. The chap in question also knew a well known former poster of this parish. So I'd suggest mentioning hobbies on your cv or in the interview, as it cant hurt.

May have been said above, but as someone who regularly interviews seasonal workers, I like it when they ask things like:

"Why do you enjoy working here?" 

"What does a typical day here involve?"

"Is there a training budget within the role?"

All things that show interest in the role and a keenness to progress.

Most of all, ask at least one question. Even if your pre-recorded questions have been answered, ask something else. When candidates have nothing to say at the end it does make me question how interested they are in the job, or how much research they've done beforehand.

Good luck. I haven't been on the other side of the desk for about 10 years, but weirdly I actually used to enjoy interviews... It was the one time you could unashamedly boast about how great you are. 

I did say it was my daughter asking the question...............

Not really what you’re after, but here are some questions I wish I’d asked before accepting various jobs:

• Does the room I’ll be working in have any natural light at all?
• Do any women whatsoever work here?
• Are there any managers without formal grievances against them?
• Are you defrauding your customers?
• Is mandatory staff training held only at weekends?
• How many members of the Board have sexual harassment allegations against them at the moment?
• Is promotion based on years of service?
• Is it actually possible to get in the staff car park if I arrive after 8:00?
• Will you make me share an office with a racist Daily Mail reader?

The list is endless. I’m really not sure how to spot a bad employer other than relying on intuition. Asking to see the room where you’d work used to be revealing in the days before working from home. 

Do lots of research on the company on their website and other sources and ask questions which show that you’ve done that research 

I'm hopeful never to have another job interview again (especially if it's incompetency based), but at the moment I'd be very tempted to ask...

"I enjoy and am very good at a, b & c. What would your company do to ensure that my skills are maximally utilised to the benefit of both the company and myself"

and...

"I'm weaker at d & e. What would your company do to support me in those areas so that the maximal utilisation of a, b & c isn't compromised"

As an AD person, been at it a while..

Ask enough to work out if they know what they are doing; few orgs do. As a previous poster has said focus on CI/CD, Prod stability. If there's anything dodgy there just walk out.

What are your job termination procedures like, or do I need to check my email before I set off to work each morning?

If I get an email saying I have graduated is that good news or not?

https://www.theregister.com/2022/03/29/china_tech_job_losses/?td=rt-3a

Do you use Agile?

Do you really or do you just think its a nice way to rebrand that you dont have a clue what the requirements are?

Okay lets move on. How many cool methodologies have you moved through since six sigma?

Oh god this. Not really a software dev myself, do modelling and simulation though my last couple of jobs have been in model based software development. Agile seems to be the latest fad in the engineering sector, but in my experience is just misused as a mechanism for project managers to gather progress metrics while completely missing the point of being, well, agile.

Currently working on a job where all the work is being planned out and scheduled years in advance in traditional engineering style, but we're also simultaneously using 'Agile' to produce nice little burn down graphs to show the higher ups what excellent progress were making. They don't seem that interested in whether the product actually works properly, just so long as we have some nice metrics to report.

US department of defence guide in detecting agile BS - https://media.defense.gov/2018/Oct/09/2002049591/-1/-1/0/DIB_DETECTING_AGIL...

You need to up your game.

"What would you rather do? Shag your Mum with your dog watching, or shag your dog with your Mum watching?"

Thanks for that, might share it with a few people.

The fact that it exists shows how widespread it is. Hopefully it's just a fad and will pass in a few years, or people will learn how and when to do it in a useful manner. In the meantime I guess I'll keep checking out the window for aerial swine

A few additions to the posts above:

Do as much research as you can about the company, including social media, LinkedIn, etc.

I once interviewed a junior support engineer who'd downloaded a demo version of our software and had a go with it. He mentioned this during the interview and politely asked if he could show us a few issues he found, which we were clearly delighted to let him do.

He got the job.

At a higher level, find out as much as you can about how they're doing - are they in a growth phase or cutting back, company financing, projected profits, leadership culture. 

vi obvs :w!