How to ask questions at your interview...or which questions to ask

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Here is a list of questions that I have put together when I was out looking for my new job.  They are grouped together on how I would ask about them during an interview.  I had this list on my tablet and would takes notes on the answers.  If you use these questions, or have questions of your own, I’d HIGHLY suggest you take notes in your interviews of the answers that mean something to you.  If you have multiple interviews this will make comparing offers much easier.

Remember, I was looking for a consulting company when I used these questions, so many of the the questions are bent that way.

Hopefully these questions help you find a job you enjoy!

Company related:

  • How old is the company?
  • What type of work is more prevalent at the company currently?
    • How much project work is there?
    • How many employees are out by themselves?
    • How many employees are there? In the remote offices?
    • How much .Net?
  • What are the goals of the company?
  • What types of engagements do you target and for what types of clients?
    • Will this trend be continuing in the future, or are goals to move on to another path?
  • Where do you see the company in 2 years? 5 years?
  • How many employees? Developers? Salespeople? (NOTE: a friend of mine uses the question, “What type of lifestyle does your salespeople live?” to gauge the successfulness of the salespeople and such in a commission based environment).
  • Do you have branch offices anywhere?
  • What is the company’s stance on outside work and intellectual assets done outside of client contracts and internal projects (like for charities, authoring articles, or speaking engagements)?What about time and cost for technical conferences, etc?

Work Environment:

  • What are the travel requirements? What assurances are made to limit travel to the local area once the company grows to have larger customers?
  • Work resources: Do you provide machines (laptops) for the consultants? Is there any issue with a personal laptop (or tablet) being used on the job?
  • What access is there to new technology? Do you have MSDN subscriptions and the beta/rc software for Microsoft? How available is this to developers?
  • What is the average amount of work hours per week for developers? Do you pay overtime? What happens in the case of excessive overtime (i.e, 80 hours a week for a month adds up to no life outside of the job)?
  • How are performance reviews handled? Is there a set schedule for reviews? Is there a defined “ladder” of promotions, or is it more flat with experience and individual project assignments pointing to “level” within the organization. Is there a performance bonus of any kind, or other incentives?
  • What are the dress requirements? Business casual in the office I assume, but what at client sites? Do any clients currently require suit and tie?
  • Company participation. How does the company communicate with it’s developers and get feedback from them? How often, what is discussed? How much participation do employees actually get?
  • Working expenses: Does the company reimburse for anything?
    • MS Certification tests?
    • Parking at clients who are in areas with parking that costs money?
    • Mileage if traveling?
  • How flexible are the working hours? What is the policy about working from home?
  • If you are on the bench are you expected in the office to help out on in-house apps or pre-sales work?
  • Are company get-togethers put on? How often?
  • How open is management to new ideas, or do they have an “open door” policy for their employees?

Training:

  • What types of incentives, if any, do you have for training? Do you have paid training material such as transcenders, books, classes, or is it just paid time to train during bench time. Is there a bonus for certifications?
  • Are any employees sent to conferences? Are they paid for by the company?

Benefit related:

  • Do you provide company paid Dental/Vision/Medical insurance for the employee? How do these plans work, and how much does it cost to add dependants? Is there a cost difference between employee and spouse, and then family? How much of the cost is picked up by the employer and what has been the trend in premium increases?
  • Does the company have a 401(k) plan? If so how much is the company matching the 401K? What is the maximum contribution? What is the vesting schedule?
  • How much is the Long and Short Term disability? When do they kick in and how much coverage is there?
  • What are the company holidays? How are holidays that are client holidays handled? Are they then mandatory vacation days for the employee?
  • How are sick days handled? What instances can you take sick days for (i.e., sick kid, sick spouse, sick parent)?
  • How much paid vacation is offered? Is this negotiable? What about unpaid vacation? If the vacation time put out annually? Does it accrue? How soon can you take vacation once you have joined up? Does it carry over from year to year? How are things like “paternity” leave handled? Does this apply to adoption as well?
  • When are you eligible for all of these benefits?
  • How often are paychecks written? If they are written on specific days (1st, 15th, etc.) how is this handled if they fall on a weekend or holiday?
  • Is there direct deposit? If so, how many accounts can you distribute to?
  • Are there any other benefits that you offer that we haven’t covered….something like a discount membership to health clubs, group banking, etc.?
  • Are there referral bonuses?

Finally

  • What are next steps in the interview process and how does that process work?
  • How long does it normally take?