20 questions to ask IT companies before changing jobs
If I were asked to give one universal advice to everyone who is looking for a job in IT, I would say: do not hesitate to ask more questions . It’s not pleasant in a month to realize that a new company / position is not at all what you were looking for. And if this is a vacancy with relocation, the cost of the error increases significantly.
Having learned as much as possible about the company and position, you reduce the risk of being "in the wrong place." Together with a team of experts on job search abroad from Relocate.me , we collected 20 questions that should be asked before going to work in a new company.
1) What languages / frameworks / libraries are used on the project?
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This is obvious: first of all, it is worth knowing what you have to work with.
2) What can you say about the architecture of the application?
Application architecture: microservice or monolithic? What patterns are implemented?
3) How quickly does the code from the repository end up in production?
What is used on the project: its servers or cloud technologies? Are CI / CD practices used or containerized? Do team members submit their code for review?
4) What other technical nuances should I know?
Learn as much as you can about databases, APIs, build tools, IDE, version control systems, etc.
5) Who writes and maintains code documentation? How often is it updated?
It is worth knowing whether the work with the documentation will be part of your regular duties.
6) How is the code tested?
What types of testing are used: Unit testing, regression testing, A / B testing, or others? Who is responsible for writing tests? How much code is covered by tests at the moment? What bug tracking systems are used?
7) Who is responsible for force majeure situations?
What happens if in the middle of the night the server “falls”? Who will be responsible for solving the problem? Are there any employees on the project who are on duty around the clock?
8) Key project information
What user problems does the application solve? What are the short and long term goals of the project? Does the project raise investment, or is it still in the plans? What exactly is this solution different from competitors?
9) What methodology is used - Agile, Waterfall, Scrum, Kanban?
Sometimes several methodologies are used at the same time. However, it is worthwhile to clarify at what stage you enter the project and at what stage of development it is.
10) What is the main part of the work - writing code or supporting it?
Your interest in the project directly depends on this, right? :)
11) What is the size and structure of the team?
Someone likes to work in a large team, and someone prefers individual cooperation. To avoid disappointment, learn more about the team structure, the number of people, etc.
12) Who will I report to?
And will they report to me?
13) What are the main directions for growth?
Are there career opportunities for this job? Does the company have staff rotation programs?
14) Does the company participate in employee education?
Are master classes or hackathons planned inside the company? Does the company pay for education outside the company (conferences, courses, trainings)? Will I have a mentor / will I be a mentor for other subordinates?
15) What is the work schedule on the project?
How flexible is the schedule? Is it allowed to work from home? Does the team work on the project overtime? If so, is it paid extra? Does a vacancy mean working trips? If so, where, and how often will they occur?
16) Is it possible to call the team friendly?
Are there corporate events in the company? If so, how often? How are conflicts inside a team usually resolved?
Important: If this is a vacancy with relocation, be sure to specify what your relocation package includes. Here you can find a list of things that the company can provide you when moving to another country.
17) How many interview stages await me? How will they go?
To prepare and correctly calculate your time, you need to know all the stages of the interview and their approximate duration. Also, do not forget to ask who will conduct each of the stages of the interview.
Technical interview deserves special attention. Will it be a Skype call or a private conversation? Will you write code or answer theoretical questions? If this is a vacancy with relocation, does the company cover the cost of travel and accommodation for the final office interview?
18) What are the features of the test task?
Knowing the specifics of the test task, you can better prepare for it. Specify how much time you have to spend on a test task, and whether there will be a deadline.
19) What salary are you ready to offer the right candidate? Will this amount change over time?
Do not forget to clarify how often the salary is reviewed in the company.
20) Can I talk to one of the team members personally?
The reaction and response of the recruiter to this question will tell you a lot :)
Forewarned is forearmed: do not be afraid to ask as many questions as possible when looking for a new job. What other important questions do you usually ask at interviews? Write them in the comments :)
Having learned as much as possible about the company and position, you reduce the risk of being "in the wrong place." Together with a team of experts on job search abroad from Relocate.me , we collected 20 questions that should be asked before going to work in a new company.
Technical side of the project
1) What languages / frameworks / libraries are used on the project?
')
This is obvious: first of all, it is worth knowing what you have to work with.
2) What can you say about the architecture of the application?
Application architecture: microservice or monolithic? What patterns are implemented?
3) How quickly does the code from the repository end up in production?
What is used on the project: its servers or cloud technologies? Are CI / CD practices used or containerized? Do team members submit their code for review?
4) What other technical nuances should I know?
Learn as much as you can about databases, APIs, build tools, IDE, version control systems, etc.
5) Who writes and maintains code documentation? How often is it updated?
It is worth knowing whether the work with the documentation will be part of your regular duties.
6) How is the code tested?
What types of testing are used: Unit testing, regression testing, A / B testing, or others? Who is responsible for writing tests? How much code is covered by tests at the moment? What bug tracking systems are used?
7) Who is responsible for force majeure situations?
What happens if in the middle of the night the server “falls”? Who will be responsible for solving the problem? Are there any employees on the project who are on duty around the clock?
Project, team, and company
8) Key project information
What user problems does the application solve? What are the short and long term goals of the project? Does the project raise investment, or is it still in the plans? What exactly is this solution different from competitors?
9) What methodology is used - Agile, Waterfall, Scrum, Kanban?
Sometimes several methodologies are used at the same time. However, it is worthwhile to clarify at what stage you enter the project and at what stage of development it is.
10) What is the main part of the work - writing code or supporting it?
Your interest in the project directly depends on this, right? :)
11) What is the size and structure of the team?
Someone likes to work in a large team, and someone prefers individual cooperation. To avoid disappointment, learn more about the team structure, the number of people, etc.
12) Who will I report to?
And will they report to me?
13) What are the main directions for growth?
Are there career opportunities for this job? Does the company have staff rotation programs?
14) Does the company participate in employee education?
Are master classes or hackathons planned inside the company? Does the company pay for education outside the company (conferences, courses, trainings)? Will I have a mentor / will I be a mentor for other subordinates?
15) What is the work schedule on the project?
How flexible is the schedule? Is it allowed to work from home? Does the team work on the project overtime? If so, is it paid extra? Does a vacancy mean working trips? If so, where, and how often will they occur?
16) Is it possible to call the team friendly?
Are there corporate events in the company? If so, how often? How are conflicts inside a team usually resolved?
Important: If this is a vacancy with relocation, be sure to specify what your relocation package includes. Here you can find a list of things that the company can provide you when moving to another country.
Hiring issues
17) How many interview stages await me? How will they go?
To prepare and correctly calculate your time, you need to know all the stages of the interview and their approximate duration. Also, do not forget to ask who will conduct each of the stages of the interview.
Technical interview deserves special attention. Will it be a Skype call or a private conversation? Will you write code or answer theoretical questions? If this is a vacancy with relocation, does the company cover the cost of travel and accommodation for the final office interview?
18) What are the features of the test task?
Knowing the specifics of the test task, you can better prepare for it. Specify how much time you have to spend on a test task, and whether there will be a deadline.
Equally important general issues.
19) What salary are you ready to offer the right candidate? Will this amount change over time?
Do not forget to clarify how often the salary is reviewed in the company.
20) Can I talk to one of the team members personally?
The reaction and response of the recruiter to this question will tell you a lot :)
Forewarned is forearmed: do not be afraid to ask as many questions as possible when looking for a new job. What other important questions do you usually ask at interviews? Write them in the comments :)
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/458672/
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