A question I like to ask at the end of an interview is 'What do you most like about working here?'. Not only does it end the interview on a positive note, it also allows you to get a better grasp about what the corporate culture is like. I'd suggest that you want to look for responses that indicate a strong team dynamic, interesting work or freedom to manage your own time as long as you get the work done. However, regardless of what is said, if the responses don't quite sit right with you I'd suggest you trust your gut.
Ask HN: Interview tomorrow – How to learn whether an org is “healthy”?
41–50 of 127 posts
Re: Ask HN: Interview tomorrow – How to learn whether an org is “healthy”?
#42This flips your question on its head a bit, but are you going into this offer excited to try and get the teams to work better together, or because you want a role leading teams that are already working really well? If you expect to inherit fully functional teams I think you're probably not going to enjoy the gig. If, however, you're excited about the chance to get a group of developers firing on all cylinders again t…
Honest question, do you know many people who enjoy jumping into dysfunction and making it better?
Straight-up enjoyment? Definitely harder to find, though I think it's an important quality in a turnaround manager. You have to at least be willing to do some of that if you're an outside hire.
Mainly, the OPs job sounds like it will be a cleanup / turnaround role since the past person was dismissed for poor communication and has a globally distributed team (remote teams are hard enough to manage even with good communication).
The question asked by the OP indicates that they would not necessarily enjoy some dysfunction among the development teams so... maybe not the best fit unless they're willing to do some repair work.
I'd be more worried about detecting dysfunction from management than from the teams that I would be leading. I know I will have the option to re-shape the team, but I will be dependent on support from management without much leverage there. Sounded like the OP knew the managers already and trusted them so not as big an issue for the OP.
Re: Ask HN: Interview tomorrow – How to learn whether an org is “healthy”?
#43This flips your question on its head a bit, but are you going into this offer excited to try and get the teams to work better together, or because you want a role leading teams that are already working really well? If you expect to inherit fully functional teams I think you're probably not going to enjoy the gig. If, however, you're excited about the chance to get a group of developers firing on all cylinders again t…
Honest question, do you know many people who enjoy jumping into dysfunction and making it better?
I'm not the parent, but yes those people definitely exist. They enjoy improving human systems the same way hackers enjoy building things. And they get paid well for it.
Re: Ask HN: Interview tomorrow – How to learn whether an org is “healthy”?
#44A few things:
1) Reach out to people who used to work there. You have to discount the negativity somewhat, but if the response is positive then that's a good sign.
2) Rather than ask "Are there communications problems" you should ask "What are the biggest communication challenges?" Also ask, "What are the 2-3 most important managerial areas for me to fix on day one, and the 2-3 most important areas for me to leave alone"
3) Go to Glassdoor. Again you have to discount the negativity, but that will give you good areas to probe and it's fair to ask, "I see this on Glassdoor, what do you say?"
Good luck tomorrow!
Re: Ask HN: Interview tomorrow – How to learn whether an org is “healthy”?
#45This flips your question on its head a bit, but are you going into this offer excited to try and get the teams to work better together, or because you want a role leading teams that are already working really well? If you expect to inherit fully functional teams I think you're probably not going to enjoy the gig. If, however, you're excited about the chance to get a group of developers firing on all cylinders again t…
Honest question, do you know many people who enjoy jumping into dysfunction and making it better?
do you know many people who enjoy jumping into dysfunction and making it better?
It's as much fun as solving any problem. And even more fun if you get paid extra for it.
Re: Ask HN: Interview tomorrow – How to learn whether an org is “healthy”?
#46Some interesting advice I got from another thread a while back: During your interview excuse yourself to the restroom at some point. The general cleanliness there says a lot about how they value employees.
>During your interview excuse yourself to the restroom at some point. And annoy the hell out of the interviewer because you can't time a toilet visit to fall outside of a key event? No thanks
Usually you're there for a couple hours, it's easy to sneak out in between 2 interviews for 2 minutes.
Re: Ask HN: Interview tomorrow – How to learn whether an org is “healthy”?
#47Just ask them straight out what the "communications issues" with the existing manager are.
If you're uncomfortable challenging them, frame it as you trying to be the best candidate you can be. "If I take this position, I want to make sure I have a full understanding from day one of what I need to do to contribute the most to the team. What could I be doing to help you?"
This is a question they really ought to be able to answer; not in terms of why the current person sucks, but in terms of where the team is breaking down currently. A good answer to this question means they've thought about the problems and the personnel change is part of some kind of strategy to solve them, which is a good sign.
If they won't answer that, odds are their internal culture isn't very communicative in general, which is bad. And if they can't answer that, it means they don't know where the breakdowns are and are just blaming someone reflexively, which is even worse.
Re: Ask HN: Interview tomorrow – How to learn whether an org is “healthy”?
#48I would definitely ask them to elaborate on the communcations issues.
I would also ask how they're currently handling three teams on three continents - if you as a manager are supposed to deal with all three teams and at least one of them is "needy", I wouldn't be surprised if the communications issue is that the current manager is speaking in tongues because he hasn't had more than an hour's worth of sleep a night for the past year...
Re: Ask HN: Interview tomorrow – How to learn whether an org is “healthy”?
#49Talk to as many people as you can at the company, especially people who aren't in leadership positions. Ask if you can talk to a couple of the people who'd be reporting to you. A scheduled interview is like talking to a provided reference, while an unscheduled interview is like calling up someone not on the provided reference list - you're more likely to get something interesting from the latter. Whether it's a sched…
I have to admit, I like this question. Nice.
Re: Ask HN: Interview tomorrow – How to learn whether an org is “healthy”?
#50Talk to as many people as you can at the company, especially people who aren't in leadership positions. Ask if you can talk to a couple of the people who'd be reporting to you. A scheduled interview is like talking to a provided reference, while an unscheduled interview is like calling up someone not on the provided reference list - you're more likely to get something interesting from the latter. Whether it's a sched…
> Talk to as many people as you can at the company, especially people who aren't in leadership positions. Solid advice, do try to connect with the junior & overseas staff. Listen to the substance of their answers. Is it an "Us" and "Them" corporate culture? Areas to explore: Ask, What are things that the group does well and should keep doing? What are some things you'd like to change? What is it you're afraid a new l…
Definitely. In fact it's the overseas teams that I really want to meet. Finding out whether they have their own 'destiny', or are simply coders-for-hire, is incredibly important.