Cheat sheet for a candidate: what questions to ask a potential employer at the interview
Each candidate at the end of the interview, the recruiter usually asks if there are questions. Often people are lost and do not find what to ask. And only after some time (often, when a person is already working in the company), questions naturally emerge about which it was necessary to ask beforehand, and not to take the cat in a bag and wonder “How did I get here? Where I looked? Why didn't I think about it? ” This is the so-called "stair effect". I prepared a cheat sheet that you,% habrauser%, did not lose.
1. Work schedule and is it possible to move it?
I love to sleep. But in my last job, “working morning” started at 7:30. Not only that I often could not come to this time, I was still half a day engaged in trying to bring myself into working form. Somewhere until 10:00. From 10:30 to 11:30 I worked hard. Then there was lunch. And then I wanted to sleep, and not work, because I did not get enough sleep in the morning. Do I have to say that instead of 8 hours for which the employer hired me, I worked in the “flow” of only 3-4 hours. So for yourself you need to solve the question - when am I the most able-bodied? And discuss the work schedule with management. And one more nuance. Try to fix the agreed schedule in the employment contract or contract (hereinafter TD), if the employer goes on a personal work schedule for you. No verbal agreements. Otherwise, you will start to twist your hands already in the process of work (as it was with me).
2. Dresscode?
Here I think, explanations are not needed.
')
3. Vacation?
If you change jobs before summer, then suddenly there may be a vacation issue. Especially, if someone from the family has "staked out" leave on his job. Employers are reluctant to give leave in the first six months or even give them only a year later. But if you really need - you can bargain. The main thing is not to forget about this at the interview. The agreement must be recorded in the TD.
4. Business trips?
Someone loves, some do not. But when business trips for 2-3 months - it is necessary to immediately clarify the interview and take into account.
5. Payment for processing?
If there is a provision for compensation for recycling - kindly show. Usually this item is included in the collective agreement, but rarely compensations are paid in practice. But here you can’t put a straw here, and you only know when you jump into the pool with your head.
6. Can I bring personal devices?
The question is about how to access and work with them (if you are a mobile application developer). The court also has the following question:
7. Do devices for use or for work?
At our office, managers were given a working iPad and a laptop. A nice bonus must be said.
8. LCA - additional medical insurance?
What is included in it. Specify about the dental. For some companies, dentistry is not included in the LCA package. People get upset when they have to pay their money.
9. Non-disclosure agreement?
Whether there is a? What is included in it?
10. Training at the expense of the company?
Every year, or more often, lists of courses are prepared for which employees can be sent for advanced training. You can ask what courses you can take this year. Does the company pay for them? And how much will they cost you personally? For example, there is a practice to demand working off in a company for some time or a return of funds spent by the company on you. This practice can also take an interest. But here you can and lie.
11. Parking for employees?
12. In which rubles is paid salary - domestic or foreign?
13. Work from home?
Is it possible? Are there people who work like this?
14. Is there a job description?
The employer loves to throw non-core work on ordinary workers. Delegation, so to speak. But nobody will tell you about this in advance. Can send for refill cartridges or repair the printer. "Tyzhprogrammer"! This is especially popular in small companies. Doubtful job description is, because This is a document according to which you are not entitled to impose additional duties not prescribed in it. However, in each instruction there is a clause with the following content - “to fulfill the instructions of the management”. It all depends on your kindness.
15. Office?
Open space or cabinets. Are there furniture and equipment so you can go out on Monday and start working? There is no need to listen to the recruiter! Here you need:
16. Ask to show your future workplace?
A wonderful offer may suddenly turn out to be a windowless room in the basement, unfurnished, without a computer or buzzing, like a wasp nest, open space. If you do not want to show the place - this is a reason to guard and insist. On the way back and forth, you can talk with your future colleagues and ask about the questions that the recruiter could lie to you. For example, at the expense of processing, etc.
17. Feedback on vacancy?
Actually, the timing and nothing more.
18. About resume?
You can also ask about improving your resume. What caught the recruiter, and where should I fix it?
In addition to trading, the rate and the premium should not be forgotten about:
19. Probationary period?
For what period? What is the salary for this term? Is it possible to revise the results of the trial period.
20. Advanced training?
This item is about certification, passing courses. I think you want to not only hang a piece of paper in a frame on the wall, but also feel the heaviness in the purse from the increase. This question can also be discussed in advance. If the employer is not interested in your professional growth, should you be interested in it?
21. Indexing and salary revision?
This is usually the recruiter himself speaks well, but can forget.
22. Bank card?
Can I use my bank account to pay salary? At the last work, I ran like this every month — I shifted it! All because the bank, on whose cards the money was credited by the employer, had only 20 ATMs in a city of over a million.
23. Award?
What factors depend and when it is charged (quarterly or monthly).
24. Providing HW and SW by the employer and used by the employer HW and SW?
How many monitors are you talking about? Give two. Do you use NetBeans or Eclipse, and if I work on IDEA? What are your servers running on? On a windows server? Do you use rar or zip? [irony] Thank you, goodbye, it was nice to talk! [/ irony]. Here you can also ask about electronic document circulation (in my former company it was - rare stuff!). Where does communication and correspondence occur? Can I use my PC or my software? Is it possible to bring pets to work. Is there a kindergarten for children - to grow up in a corporate environment :-)?
25. Organization structure?
You can ask for a diagram of the organizational units of the organization and show where your place will be. Thus, it is easy to calculate how many bosses will be above you (I had 7 of them at one time). You may be puzzled by the question: who is engaged in architecture and analytics? But these questions are not suitable for outsourcing companies, where everything is extremely simple and clear - team, team leader, architect, testers, project management, management and service personnel (bookkeeping, etc.).
26. Reopened or not?
Here we are getting closer to talking about projects and your immediate activities. This vacancy is an extension of the state to an existing project, recruitment to a new one, plugging a hole in the state (after all, “there’s no place of holiness” is the motto of parastatal offices and kites spinning around them). If a vacancy opened in connection with the dismissal, you can ask for what reason the previous employee quit. It all depends on the sincerity of the recruiter. And from the disorder you can not insure yourself here.
27. Is the problem solved by a job?
Jobs open for a reason, and in order to eliminate any need. It is this need that you need to try to find out. What particular problem arose with the employer that only your help is needed. For example, not enough people. Looking for professionals with specific qualifications or knowledge. Increased team productivity, etc.
Talk directly about your future work with your future manager.
28. Tell us about the project?
When did it start? What stage is it at? What technologies are used in the project? What technologies are planned to be added to the project? How many people are involved in the project? Customer / monetization? Ask for a little speech about the project (let them dodge as start-ups :-) not all the same you sweat at the interview). And what will happen if financing stops tomorrow? Can I ask for another project over time? What code will have to work (legacy / new) and how can I change it? Hire to support or develop?
29. What can I write in 2-4 years in a resume?
This is a very important question, due to which a good impression may be formed about you as a candidate with potential! If the answer to it is muffled or something like “You can write the following: I worked at Horns and Hoofs LLC, I got a lot of experience when working with horns and hooves” then the question needs to be clarified: What platforms and technologies are used? Is Agile / Scrum / DevOps or other methodologies used? Continuous Integration Tools, VCS, TDD, what is used by Project Managment, what is used for Bug-tracking.
30. What I will not write in the resume, but it will simplify / complicate my life?
When and who writes the tests? Is there a test team? How testing is done: unit tests and blackbox tests. Is there a code review?
31. SW versions?
Another important issue that needs to be taken into account. For example, who in 2 years will need 6 java if 9 or even 10 is released. The same goes for frameworks.
When all questions are asked, do not forget to ask you to take you to your future workplace.
Fuuuh. There were a lot of questions. And the answers to all the questions will take a lot of time. If there is a desire, you can refer these questions to the recruiter and ask to answer these questions via email. But personally, I would not do that. First of all, the logic is as follows: “they want to hire me, they spend my time on an interview, let them spend a little of theirs”. Secondly, if you asked such a number of questions to a recruiter, manager or future colleague, you will be impressed as really interested in this job. And this is better than a much vague answer to the recruiter’s hypothetical question “Why do you want to work in our company?”. And certainly you will be allocated among other candidates. And this will raise the likelihood of a positive decision on your candidacy.
General
1. Work schedule and is it possible to move it?
I love to sleep. But in my last job, “working morning” started at 7:30. Not only that I often could not come to this time, I was still half a day engaged in trying to bring myself into working form. Somewhere until 10:00. From 10:30 to 11:30 I worked hard. Then there was lunch. And then I wanted to sleep, and not work, because I did not get enough sleep in the morning. Do I have to say that instead of 8 hours for which the employer hired me, I worked in the “flow” of only 3-4 hours. So for yourself you need to solve the question - when am I the most able-bodied? And discuss the work schedule with management. And one more nuance. Try to fix the agreed schedule in the employment contract or contract (hereinafter TD), if the employer goes on a personal work schedule for you. No verbal agreements. Otherwise, you will start to twist your hands already in the process of work (as it was with me).
2. Dresscode?
Here I think, explanations are not needed.
')
3. Vacation?
If you change jobs before summer, then suddenly there may be a vacation issue. Especially, if someone from the family has "staked out" leave on his job. Employers are reluctant to give leave in the first six months or even give them only a year later. But if you really need - you can bargain. The main thing is not to forget about this at the interview. The agreement must be recorded in the TD.
4. Business trips?
Someone loves, some do not. But when business trips for 2-3 months - it is necessary to immediately clarify the interview and take into account.
5. Payment for processing?
If there is a provision for compensation for recycling - kindly show. Usually this item is included in the collective agreement, but rarely compensations are paid in practice. But here you can’t put a straw here, and you only know when you jump into the pool with your head.
6. Can I bring personal devices?
The question is about how to access and work with them (if you are a mobile application developer). The court also has the following question:
7. Do devices for use or for work?
At our office, managers were given a working iPad and a laptop. A nice bonus must be said.
8. LCA - additional medical insurance?
What is included in it. Specify about the dental. For some companies, dentistry is not included in the LCA package. People get upset when they have to pay their money.
9. Non-disclosure agreement?
Whether there is a? What is included in it?
10. Training at the expense of the company?
Every year, or more often, lists of courses are prepared for which employees can be sent for advanced training. You can ask what courses you can take this year. Does the company pay for them? And how much will they cost you personally? For example, there is a practice to demand working off in a company for some time or a return of funds spent by the company on you. This practice can also take an interest. But here you can and lie.
11. Parking for employees?
12. In which rubles is paid salary - domestic or foreign?
13. Work from home?
Is it possible? Are there people who work like this?
14. Is there a job description?
The employer loves to throw non-core work on ordinary workers. Delegation, so to speak. But nobody will tell you about this in advance. Can send for refill cartridges or repair the printer. "Tyzhprogrammer"! This is especially popular in small companies. Doubtful job description is, because This is a document according to which you are not entitled to impose additional duties not prescribed in it. However, in each instruction there is a clause with the following content - “to fulfill the instructions of the management”. It all depends on your kindness.
15. Office?
Open space or cabinets. Are there furniture and equipment so you can go out on Monday and start working? There is no need to listen to the recruiter! Here you need:
16. Ask to show your future workplace?
A wonderful offer may suddenly turn out to be a windowless room in the basement, unfurnished, without a computer or buzzing, like a wasp nest, open space. If you do not want to show the place - this is a reason to guard and insist. On the way back and forth, you can talk with your future colleagues and ask about the questions that the recruiter could lie to you. For example, at the expense of processing, etc.
17. Feedback on vacancy?
Actually, the timing and nothing more.
18. About resume?
You can also ask about improving your resume. What caught the recruiter, and where should I fix it?
Salary
In addition to trading, the rate and the premium should not be forgotten about:
19. Probationary period?
For what period? What is the salary for this term? Is it possible to revise the results of the trial period.
20. Advanced training?
This item is about certification, passing courses. I think you want to not only hang a piece of paper in a frame on the wall, but also feel the heaviness in the purse from the increase. This question can also be discussed in advance. If the employer is not interested in your professional growth, should you be interested in it?
21. Indexing and salary revision?
This is usually the recruiter himself speaks well, but can forget.
22. Bank card?
Can I use my bank account to pay salary? At the last work, I ran like this every month — I shifted it! All because the bank, on whose cards the money was credited by the employer, had only 20 ATMs in a city of over a million.
23. Award?
What factors depend and when it is charged (quarterly or monthly).
Labour Organization
24. Providing HW and SW by the employer and used by the employer HW and SW?
How many monitors are you talking about? Give two. Do you use NetBeans or Eclipse, and if I work on IDEA? What are your servers running on? On a windows server? Do you use rar or zip? [irony] Thank you, goodbye, it was nice to talk! [/ irony]. Here you can also ask about electronic document circulation (in my former company it was - rare stuff!). Where does communication and correspondence occur? Can I use my PC or my software? Is it possible to bring pets to work. Is there a kindergarten for children - to grow up in a corporate environment :-)?
25. Organization structure?
You can ask for a diagram of the organizational units of the organization and show where your place will be. Thus, it is easy to calculate how many bosses will be above you (I had 7 of them at one time). You may be puzzled by the question: who is engaged in architecture and analytics? But these questions are not suitable for outsourcing companies, where everything is extremely simple and clear - team, team leader, architect, testers, project management, management and service personnel (bookkeeping, etc.).
By vacancy
26. Reopened or not?
Here we are getting closer to talking about projects and your immediate activities. This vacancy is an extension of the state to an existing project, recruitment to a new one, plugging a hole in the state (after all, “there’s no place of holiness” is the motto of parastatal offices and kites spinning around them). If a vacancy opened in connection with the dismissal, you can ask for what reason the previous employee quit. It all depends on the sincerity of the recruiter. And from the disorder you can not insure yourself here.
27. Is the problem solved by a job?
Jobs open for a reason, and in order to eliminate any need. It is this need that you need to try to find out. What particular problem arose with the employer that only your help is needed. For example, not enough people. Looking for professionals with specific qualifications or knowledge. Increased team productivity, etc.
Project
Talk directly about your future work with your future manager.
28. Tell us about the project?
When did it start? What stage is it at? What technologies are used in the project? What technologies are planned to be added to the project? How many people are involved in the project? Customer / monetization? Ask for a little speech about the project (let them dodge as start-ups :-) not all the same you sweat at the interview). And what will happen if financing stops tomorrow? Can I ask for another project over time? What code will have to work (legacy / new) and how can I change it? Hire to support or develop?
29. What can I write in 2-4 years in a resume?
This is a very important question, due to which a good impression may be formed about you as a candidate with potential! If the answer to it is muffled or something like “You can write the following: I worked at Horns and Hoofs LLC, I got a lot of experience when working with horns and hooves” then the question needs to be clarified: What platforms and technologies are used? Is Agile / Scrum / DevOps or other methodologies used? Continuous Integration Tools, VCS, TDD, what is used by Project Managment, what is used for Bug-tracking.
30. What I will not write in the resume, but it will simplify / complicate my life?
When and who writes the tests? Is there a test team? How testing is done: unit tests and blackbox tests. Is there a code review?
31. SW versions?
Another important issue that needs to be taken into account. For example, who in 2 years will need 6 java if 9 or even 10 is released. The same goes for frameworks.
When all questions are asked, do not forget to ask you to take you to your future workplace.
Fuuuh. There were a lot of questions. And the answers to all the questions will take a lot of time. If there is a desire, you can refer these questions to the recruiter and ask to answer these questions via email. But personally, I would not do that. First of all, the logic is as follows: “they want to hire me, they spend my time on an interview, let them spend a little of theirs”. Secondly, if you asked such a number of questions to a recruiter, manager or future colleague, you will be impressed as really interested in this job. And this is better than a much vague answer to the recruiter’s hypothetical question “Why do you want to work in our company?”. And certainly you will be allocated among other candidates. And this will raise the likelihood of a positive decision on your candidacy.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/289050/
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