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Note: after 25 minutes answering questions for a job you really want it’s kinda hard to shift to a question-asking mode. When I was looking for a job I fou

by samdk 12y ago

Note: after 25 minutes answering questions for a job you really want it’s kinda hard to shift to a question-asking mode. When I was looking for a job I found that it helped enormously to write down a set of questions ahead of time. Some I liked: What does a typical day look like for you? What projects do you work on? How long have you been at $company? How has your role changed since then? If I were hired for this role, what would my first day/week/month look like? Is there anything about $company that some people really like, but others might dislike? (For example, having an open-plan office.) What tools do you use on a regular basis?

jeffbush 12y ago
I always find it a little funny as a manager when a prospective individual contributor asks me what a typical day is like for me. For me? I sit in meetings all day, thanks for asking. Would you like to know what a typical day would be like for you? :)
- samdk 12y ago
  Finding out you spend all day in meetings still tells you something, especially with a few follow-up questions. Who do you spend your time meeting with? What about? How many people are typically involved? How long do meetings last? (That said, most of the people I've been interviewed by were devs, so this was not really ever an issue.)
  - jeffbush 12y ago
    Yeah, when I say I spend a lot of my day in meetings, I usually get a blank look, but it's an opportunity to riff and expand on what the environment is like at the company. For example, part of my job is to protect engineer's time. One reason I go to meetings to report status and collect relevant information to condense and pass on to the team.
- copperx 12y ago
  You can wipe that smug smile off your face. The individual is interested in what you, the manager, does in a day-to-day basis.
  - jeffbush 12y ago
    It's funny because my answer turns out to be kind of boring. I'm not sure why you felt the need to attack me.
bevacqua 12y ago
My favorite question to ask is "If you could change one thing about $company, what would you change and why?"
- objclxt 12y ago
  I like that, it's a good question. Nobody's actually asked me that, which is odd because one question I like to ask all candidates I interview is the inverse ("If you could change one thing about $our_product, etc"). You'd think somebody would have flipped it around on me!
- tomp 12y ago
  Would you expect an honest answer to that one?
  - bevacqua 12y ago
    It usually throws the interviewer off, sometimes they need to take a long time to answer, which can be good or bad, but its up to you to decide how honest they're really being
RandomBK 12y ago
I agree. Having a few questions in mind is always a good idea, though I tend to prefer discussion starters rather than a simple, straightforward question. It gives you the opportunity of a follow-up, which let's you talk about a topic of _your_ choosing. My usual rule of thumb for end-of-interview discussions is that it should last until the interviewer suddenly realizes time's up. Then you know that they really enjoyed the conversation. In general though, I'd avoid HR-related questions. They are almost always likely to generate a generic response, almost every candidate will ask similar questions, and they can easily be answered by your HR department contact.
jeffbush 12y ago
I would highly recommend that candidates do research on the company. If you do, and you are truly interested what the company is making, specific questions will come up. Be prepared to ask followups and drill in. In my experience, this can have a larger impact than the candidates answers (it's well known that people like to talk more than they like to listen :) This is a way for a candidate demonstrate your intellectual curiosity and enthusiasm. I've seriously been asked by a candidate in an interview what our product was, and not just once. You took a day off work to come here and you couldn't even look at our website? On the other hand, I've had candidates who proactively identified some of the internal challenges we were currently dealing with "but how do you deal with X?" which is impressive. More importantly, this decision to work at a company is going to have a bigger impact on the candidate than the hiring manager. People forget that the interview is a two way process. It's important to find out whether this company is going to be a place you will enjoy. Use questions as a way to figure out what the environment is like. Look for subtext in the answers.
- allenbrunson 12y ago
  Somewhat off-topic, but not too much: Are you the Jeff Bush that worked at Be for awhile? If so, you were in on my interview there. (For the sake of other readers, I got the job. But then Be went out of business seven months later and I got laid off, along with almost everybody else.) This conversation is reminding me of why I washed out of the Bay Area high-tech scene. I was able to do it, but at too high a price. I'd rather work with slightly less smart people on much less shiny products, but living in a place where I can afford to buy a house, and with enough brainpower left over so that I don't have to live for my job.
  - jeffbush 12y ago
    Hey, yeah! it's been a long time...
    - allenbrunson 12y ago
      You know, I really botched that opportunity at Be. I was really in awe of you guys. I had been on the outskirts of the tech biz for my whole career at that point. I didn't know that there were that many amazingly smart people in the whole world, let alone in one company. It didn't help any that Be's heart was already broken by the time I got there. I don't think anybody really believed that the eVilla was going to be a success. But I could have overcome that problem, if I'd been smart. Ultimately, I'm just not cut out to work in the rarified air that you work in. I can certainly see the appeal, though.
vinceguidry 12y ago
If I were to start interviewing for a position now, I think the last thing on my mind would be trying to find out 'right' questions to ask. I'm either really interested in the position being offered or I'm not. If I am, I've already got tons of questions borne straight out of that interest. If not, I'm looking for the quickest exit I can make without burning any bridges. I don't want to waste time any more than Apple does. The author got it right when he mentioned at the end that he was "talking to the people who implemented the original OSX UI". That's the sort of thing that would make me interested in working for you. Personally, I don't care about a company's 'interview process'. That's just filler crap they use to get people talking. I don't need help to get me talking about what I do. I'll answer questions, but as soon as I can, I'll be grilling you about all kinds of stuff. I'm in question-asking mode by default.
vpeters25 12y ago
I usually just ask the questions from the Joel Test. If they score high enough I get to other questions specific to their company. Back to OP: I personally don't see myself working for a place that needs to talk to me for more than 1 hr before making a decision. If they take this long to decide on a hire, imagine how long and grueling are their technology decisions.

by samdk 12y ago

jeffbush 12y ago

I always find it a little funny as a manager when a prospective individual contributor asks me what a typical day is like for me. For me? I sit in meetings all day, thanks for asking. Would you like to know what a typical day would be like for you? :)

samdk 12y ago
Finding out you spend all day in meetings still tells you something, especially with a few follow-up questions. Who do you spend your time meeting with? What about? How many people are typically involved? How long do meetings last? (That said, most of the people I've been interviewed by were devs, so this was not really ever an issue.)
- jeffbush 12y ago
  Yeah, when I say I spend a lot of my day in meetings, I usually get a blank look, but it's an opportunity to riff and expand on what the environment is like at the company. For example, part of my job is to protect engineer's time. One reason I go to meetings to report status and collect relevant information to condense and pass on to the team.
copperx 12y ago
You can wipe that smug smile off your face. The individual is interested in what you, the manager, does in a day-to-day basis.
- jeffbush 12y ago
  It's funny because my answer turns out to be kind of boring. I'm not sure why you felt the need to attack me.

bevacqua 12y ago

My favorite question to ask is "If you could change one thing about $company, what would you change and why?"

objclxt 12y ago
I like that, it's a good question. Nobody's actually asked me that, which is odd because one question I like to ask all candidates I interview is the inverse ("If you could change one thing about $our_product, etc"). You'd think somebody would have flipped it around on me!
tomp 12y ago
Would you expect an honest answer to that one?
- bevacqua 12y ago
  It usually throws the interviewer off, sometimes they need to take a long time to answer, which can be good or bad, but its up to you to decide how honest they're really being

RandomBK 12y ago

I agree. Having a few questions in mind is always a good idea, though I tend to prefer discussion starters rather than a simple, straightforward question. It gives you the opportunity of a follow-up, which let's you talk about a topic of _your_ choosing. My usual rule of thumb for end-of-interview discussions is that it should last until the interviewer suddenly realizes time's up. Then you know that they really enjoyed the conversation. In general though, I'd avoid HR-related questions. They are almost always likely to generate a generic response, almost every candidate will ask similar questions, and they can easily be answered by your HR department contact.

jeffbush 12y ago

I would highly recommend that candidates do research on the company. If you do, and you are truly interested what the company is making, specific questions will come up. Be prepared to ask followups and drill in. In my experience, this can have a larger impact than the candidates answers (it's well known that people like to talk more than they like to listen :) This is a way for a candidate demonstrate your intellectual curiosity and enthusiasm. I've seriously been asked by a candidate in an interview what our product was, and not just once. You took a day off work to come here and you couldn't even look at our website? On the other hand, I've had candidates who proactively identified some of the internal challenges we were currently dealing with "but how do you deal with X?" which is impressive. More importantly, this decision to work at a company is going to have a bigger impact on the candidate than the hiring manager. People forget that the interview is a two way process. It's important to find out whether this company is going to be a place you will enjoy. Use questions as a way to figure out what the environment is like. Look for subtext in the answers.

allenbrunson 12y ago
Somewhat off-topic, but not too much: Are you the Jeff Bush that worked at Be for awhile? If so, you were in on my interview there. (For the sake of other readers, I got the job. But then Be went out of business seven months later and I got laid off, along with almost everybody else.) This conversation is reminding me of why I washed out of the Bay Area high-tech scene. I was able to do it, but at too high a price. I'd rather work with slightly less smart people on much less shiny products, but living in a place where I can afford to buy a house, and with enough brainpower left over so that I don't have to live for my job.
- jeffbush 12y ago
  Hey, yeah! it's been a long time...
  - allenbrunson 12y ago
    You know, I really botched that opportunity at Be. I was really in awe of you guys. I had been on the outskirts of the tech biz for my whole career at that point. I didn't know that there were that many amazingly smart people in the whole world, let alone in one company. It didn't help any that Be's heart was already broken by the time I got there. I don't think anybody really believed that the eVilla was going to be a success. But I could have overcome that problem, if I'd been smart. Ultimately, I'm just not cut out to work in the rarified air that you work in. I can certainly see the appeal, though.

vinceguidry 12y ago

If I were to start interviewing for a position now, I think the last thing on my mind would be trying to find out 'right' questions to ask. I'm either really interested in the position being offered or I'm not. If I am, I've already got tons of questions borne straight out of that interest. If not, I'm looking for the quickest exit I can make without burning any bridges. I don't want to waste time any more than Apple does. The author got it right when he mentioned at the end that he was "talking to the people who implemented the original OSX UI". That's the sort of thing that would make me interested in working for you. Personally, I don't care about a company's 'interview process'. That's just filler crap they use to get people talking. I don't need help to get me talking about what I do. I'll answer questions, but as soon as I can, I'll be grilling you about all kinds of stuff. I'm in question-asking mode by default.

vpeters25 12y ago

I usually just ask the questions from the Joel Test. If they score high enough I get to other questions specific to their company. Back to OP: I personally don't see myself working for a place that needs to talk to me for more than 1 hr before making a decision. If they take this long to decide on a hire, imagine how long and grueling are their technology decisions.