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Assessing a Company: Questions you need to ask in an Interview

blog.interviewstreet.com

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Re: Assessing a Company: Questions you need to ask in an Interview

#11

Post by asanwal »

jacques_chester wrote: post #9
asanwal wrote: post #2

This is a fantastic guide that I think anyone thinking of working at a startup should read. There is far too much hype, personality and gimmickry it seems around startup hiring much of the time. We're interviewing lots of folks these days and here are some more questions I think candidates should ask or which we've been asked which I appreciate: 1. How many months (or years) of cash do you have in the bank? The found…

> On the money in bank question, you're looking for real money in the bank now. Another way to put this: "can I see your current balance sheet and cashflow statement"? Serves two purposes: 1. If they say yes, you get to see their actual assets and cash flow, unless they're flat out liars. 2. Whether they say yes or no, their degree of reluctance or acceptance is informative about managerial culture.

Jacques - I'm all for candor in discussions we have with candidates but in my view, this would be overreaching. I doubt most companies would be willing to show this unless they're hiring someone at the C-level. Plus for VC-backed startups, I wonder if there are limitations on showing this kind of stuff (we're revenue-backed so I can't comment on that)

I think your point #2 is valid even if you ask my initial question about "real money in the bank". If they don't know how much burn they have left or can't answer immediately or are reluctant, that is still a problem.

Re: Assessing a Company: Questions you need to ask in an Interview

#12

Post by codenerdz »

I would love to be able to find the following information without seeming to be afraid of working hard:

"How often do you expect your employees to work extreme hours in order to be competitive in your company?"

If the culture of the company supports 60-80 hour weeks, it may not be apparent in a job interview... and even if it doesn't, asking this question incorrectly may paint you lazy or unwilling to put in time if(hopefully infrequently) necessary

Re: Assessing a Company: Questions you need to ask in an Interview

#13

Post by Tichy »

codenerdz wrote: post #12

I would love to be able to find the following information without seeming to be afraid of working hard: "How often do you expect your employees to work extreme hours in order to be competitive in your company?" If the culture of the company supports 60-80 hour weeks, it may not be apparent in a job interview... and even if it doesn't, asking this question incorrectly may paint you lazy or unwilling to put in time if(…

If you are unwilling to work 60-80 hour work weeks, what is the point in lying about it? Would you make an exception for some companies?

Re: Assessing a Company: Questions you need to ask in an Interview

#14

Post by SatvikBeri »

codenerdz wrote: post #12

I would love to be able to find the following information without seeming to be afraid of working hard: "How often do you expect your employees to work extreme hours in order to be competitive in your company?" If the culture of the company supports 60-80 hour weeks, it may not be apparent in a job interview... and even if it doesn't, asking this question incorrectly may paint you lazy or unwilling to put in time if(…

You pretty much have to ask this of employees who would be at your level, not the employers. Even honest bosses can have a bit of a misconception as to how much their reports work, or they'll come up with a quick estimate that's based off of nothing.

Re: Assessing a Company: Questions you need to ask in an Interview

#15

Post by jroseattle »

This is a really good starting point. Questions can obviously go deeper, relative to the particular industry, to learn more about a company. The main point is not only the information you get, but gauging responses to those questions.

If you're being interviewed, turn yourself into the interviewer at this stage. Be prepared -- take notes, bring materials from the website or other content to reference during the conversation, and have your questions planned out thoughtfully ahead of time.

Generally, a recruiter is not the best person to ask questions, though. Try to ask questions to the hiring manager. Strive to learn the organizational/corporate pain points. Ask questions to gain information, but also to get beyond understanding "culture" to understanding biases and preferences. Rarely do interviewers make that clear, in spite of the intentions of their communication.

Last, one general comment about questions: if they can't be answered to your satisfaction, mark it as a red flag. If you, the candidate, can think about something in the short term and a business that's focused on that thing can't or won't respond in a way that's clear, that should be a clear indication of a problem.

Re: Assessing a Company: Questions you need to ask in an Interview

#16

Post by dazbradbury »

nigelsampson wrote: post #6

I've found a lot of companies don't like giving feedback of negative outcomes for fear of opening themselves up to some sort of liability around discrimination. Realistically it shouldn't be a problem if they handled the interview correctly, but some prefer not to take the risk.

In the UK at least, a company is required by law to provide you with feedback. I would definitely agree with the article here, exercise that right, and gain some insight into how you've been perceived.

Clearly, whether this feedback is useful or not totally depends on the employer, but more often that not, it will be helpful.

Re: Assessing a Company: Questions you need to ask in an Interview

#17

Post by jacques_chester »

asanwal wrote: post #11
jacques_chester wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> On the money in bank question, you're looking for real money in the bank now. Another way to put this: "can I see your current balance sheet and cashflow statement"? Serves two purposes: 1. If they say yes, you get to see their actual assets and cash flow, unless they're flat out liars. 2. Whether they say yes or no, their degree of reluctance or acceptance is informative about managerial culture.

Jacques - I'm all for candor in discussions we have with candidates but in my view, this would be overreaching. I doubt most companies would be willing to show this unless they're hiring someone at the C-level. Plus for VC-backed startups, I wonder if there are limitations on showing this kind of stuff (we're revenue-backed so I can't comment on that) I think your point #2 is valid even if you ask my initial question…

It would depend on the size of the company.

Small company: I think it's not unreasonable to know at least the headlines of the financial state. After all, small businesses are inherently riskier and I may be making financial commitments based on the presumption that I will have a job.

Big company: I can probably just look it up myself.

Medium company: That's where it gets tricky.

> I think your point #2 is valid even if you ask my initial question about "real money in the bank". If they don't know how much burn they have left or can't answer immediately or are reluctant, that is still a problem.

Or if they say "cashflow statement?"

Re: Assessing a Company: Questions you need to ask in an Interview

#18

Post by codenerdz »

Tichy wrote: post #13
codenerdz wrote: post #12

I would love to be able to find the following information without seeming to be afraid of working hard: "How often do you expect your employees to work extreme hours in order to be competitive in your company?" If the culture of the company supports 60-80 hour weeks, it may not be apparent in a job interview... and even if it doesn't, asking this question incorrectly may paint you lazy or unwilling to put in time if(…

If you are unwilling to work 60-80 hour work weeks, what is the point in lying about it? Would you make an exception for some companies?

There is a difference between working 60-80 hour weeks all the time vs putting in a week of crunch time that happens rarely. Latter is oftentimes inevitable, whereas the former is a sign of poor time management IMHO.

There was nothing in my question about lying, It just seems that is very tough to emphasise your dislike of constant 60-80hr weeks and still be able to convey the fact that you wont shy away from a late night work when absolutely necessary.

Re: Assessing a Company: Questions you need to ask in an Interview

#19

Post by tomblomfield »

jacques_chester wrote: post #9
asanwal wrote: post #2

This is a fantastic guide that I think anyone thinking of working at a startup should read. There is far too much hype, personality and gimmickry it seems around startup hiring much of the time. We're interviewing lots of folks these days and here are some more questions I think candidates should ask or which we've been asked which I appreciate: 1. How many months (or years) of cash do you have in the bank? The found…

> On the money in bank question, you're looking for real money in the bank now. Another way to put this: "can I see your current balance sheet and cashflow statement"? Serves two purposes: 1. If they say yes, you get to see their actual assets and cash flow, unless they're flat out liars. 2. Whether they say yes or no, their degree of reluctance or acceptance is informative about managerial culture.

Asking the question that bluntly is out of line, imho.

Re: Assessing a Company: Questions you need to ask in an Interview

#20

Post by jacques_chester »

tomblomfield wrote: post #19
jacques_chester wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> On the money in bank question, you're looking for real money in the bank now. Another way to put this: "can I see your current balance sheet and cashflow statement"? Serves two purposes: 1. If they say yes, you get to see their actual assets and cash flow, unless they're flat out liars. 2. Whether they say yes or no, their degree of reluctance or acceptance is informative about managerial culture.

Asking the question that bluntly is out of line, imho.

How would you phrase it?
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