Autonomy over my work and how I solve problems. Not having to deal with the customer directly or provide support. Few meetings and business waste. Quiet working conditions with few interruptions.
Ask HN: What do you REALLY look for in a new position?
21–30 of 42 posts
Re: Ask HN: What do you REALLY look for in a new position?
#22#1) The People - is the team good? Will they elevate your game? And help move the agenda forward? Having a solid boss, and senior reporting relationships is huge. Here's a good list questions for a potential new boss> http://www.inc.com/alison-green/how-to-interview-your-prospe...
Really? People come and go all the time.
Re: Ask HN: What do you REALLY look for in a new position?
#23Sadly what I have found is almost anything worth knowing is not possible to know early on. Curtains fall after 6 months and that's when you know some real info. Especially true if the company/team is not a large or well known one so you can't read reviews or anything. Mostly turns into a gamble at that point.
Well, you know some things like your salary and vacation days.
Re: Ask HN: What do you REALLY look for in a new position?
#24Money. Remote work (freedom). Location. Equally important, IMO, is what I stay away from: Ping pong/pool/foosball offices. Free soda offices. Creepy culture cults. Open floorplans. Basically, all the infantile ways IT companies like to placate younger, naive employees while cargo-culting Google and Facebook. If your office resembles a college dorm, then you probably need to grow up.
Open floorplans? I'm yet to see a company that offers your own office for a Engineer position. Exception is one that used to until they scaled up. I am yet to see a cubicle office plan, everything I have seen is open. Where I work now it is 10 or so people in a room so being open plan isn't too bad. Previously had 300 open plan that wasn't fun IMO.
I work for a well known software company and have my own private 120sqft office (4 floor to ceiling walls, door, personal thermostat, etc).
All engineers have their own office. Sometimes they are double offices, most interns have 5ft? tall cubicles.
This isn't so uncommon once you get out of the "startup"/frat house employers.
Re: Ask HN: What do you REALLY look for in a new position?
#25For new position, Whatever technology it is you will learn on the go
But I look forward to work with smart peoples to learn from them. I look for flexible hours, foosball games, lunch or dinner outing. And most importantly open and transparent environment which helps professionally and personally .
Re: Ask HN: What do you REALLY look for in a new position?
#26#1) The People - is the team good? Will they elevate your game? And help move the agenda forward? Having a solid boss, and senior reporting relationships is huge. Here's a good list questions for a potential new boss> http://www.inc.com/alison-green/how-to-interview-your-prospe...
Really? People come and go all the time.
Yes, but culture changes more slowly. If the culture is good, it (probably) won't break because one or two people leave.
Re: Ask HN: What do you REALLY look for in a new position?
#27I look for a balance of several things:
Money. My life is kind of expensive right now (kids in high school and college), and I really need money.
But I also need time. I can't give you 80 hours a week for very many weeks. I've got a life outside of work.
And when I am at work, I don't have time in my life for people with toxic personalities, or for a ton of political BS. I expect people to be grownups at work; I've got enough teenagers at home.
Re: Ask HN: What do you REALLY look for in a new position?
#28Respect. Everyone says "Oh, we respect our team members!", but few do when the rubber meets the road. I've always insisted on going out to lunch with my potential boss, and watch how they treat the servers. I've never regretted working with the ones who treated everyone with courtesy and politeness. I've regretted working with those who weren't.
I've seen this before but on the flip side. There was a CEO that would take candidates out for lunch, and would prior tell the waiter to intentionally mess up the order to see how the candidate would react.
Re: Ask HN: What do you REALLY look for in a new position?
#29Earlier quoted context omitted.
Open floorplans? I'm yet to see a company that offers your own office for a Engineer position. Exception is one that used to until they scaled up. I am yet to see a cubicle office plan, everything I have seen is open. Where I work now it is 10 or so people in a room so being open plan isn't too bad. Previously had 300 open plan that wasn't fun IMO.
I work for a well known software company and have my own private 120sqft office (4 floor to ceiling walls, door, personal thermostat, etc). All engineers have their own office. Sometimes they are double offices, most interns have 5ft? tall cubicles. This isn't so uncommon once you get out of the "startup"/frat house employers.
Really! Never worked or interviewed for a startup but never seen a place where engineers get their own office. Been working 15 yrs
Re: Ask HN: What do you REALLY look for in a new position?
#30Money and power