Assessing a Company: Questions you need to ask in an Interview
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Assessing a Company: Questions you need to ask in an Interview
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Re: Assessing a Company: Questions you need to ask in an Interview
#2This 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 founder might not say the exact number of dollars, but they should be willing to give you a # of months/years left esp if they're not revenue generating and are reliant on other people's money (VCs, angels). If it's 3 or 6 months, I'd think twice as there are no guarantees of funding being raised and do you really want to be job-seeking in 3 or 6 months or get laid off cuz of the Last In, First Out principal? There are no guarantees of more money being raised. Plus they might be exaggerating about how much they actually have. If I were a candidate, I'd love to hear 2 years but 1 year at a minimum. 2 years only happens generally if the business is real (making revenues/profits)
Clarification: On the money in bank question, you're looking for real money in the bank now. Not what they expect based on their projections or if they land that big customer they are "on the verge of landing" or the "we have termsheets from investors and will be closing in the next few weeks" -- none of those are money, they are promises/hope. So perhaps the better way to ask this is "If you earned no more revenue or got more financing after today, how long will the money you have in the bank today last the company?" -- Also, this is a question you should only ask of a founder, CEO as they'll prob be in the best position to actually answer it.
2. What specific projects do you see me working on if I were to join?
This may in all likelihood change by the time you join, but they should have a clearly defined plan for the areas your talents and skills be used. This will help give you a sense for what you'll be doing as well and whether it's interesting. I also think if they articulate some nasty, unpleasant work you'll be doing, that is good as well. Jobs are rarely all rainbows and butterflies so someone who is going to be honest with you about the good, bad and ugly up front is probably better than someone trying to sugarcoat up front with all the amazing stuff you'll be doing every day to "change the world and make people's lives better."
My only comment on the post is the question about "What technologies do you want to be utilizing?"
Technology enables solutions to problems. So whether some company is adopting some new, shiny technology is less relevant than whether they're using technology in a way that is solving a real problem and ideally becoming a real, fast-growing business.
I think the better question is to somehow gauge their receptivity to being flexible about technology if there is a real benefit to doing so. Not sure the right question to test for "technology rigidity" but that is the question I'd ask if I were a candidate talking to us or any startup.
Re: Assessing a Company: Questions you need to ask in an Interview
#3If you left them with an impression you don’t agree with, the fact of the matter is you did leave them with that impression so you simply need to figure out how to make the same mistakes next time round.
Or, you know, how to avoid them ;)
Good advice by the way. I have always made a point of asking this my self, and when I have been hiring, I would always try to answer as well and honest as possible, if candidates ask for it.
Re: Assessing a Company: Questions you need to ask in an Interview
#4This 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…
I think another great question is: Can you describe to me what my first day, week, month will look like? This helps to really crystalize what they see you doing and being responsible for from the get-go.
Re: Assessing a Company: Questions you need to ask in an Interview
#5i completely agree with the fact that you should never take a job just solely because of the money...sometimes its hard because if you share your pay with other, they would say, but why?? only you yourself can feel good about it
Re: Assessing a Company: Questions you need to ask in an Interview
#6I'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.
Re: Assessing a Company: Questions you need to ask in an Interview
#7This 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…
I think another great question is: Can you describe to me what my first day, week, month will look like? This helps to really crystalize what they see you doing and being responsible for from the get-go.
Absolutely agree. Clarity of thought and a plan are key to look for as startups without a clear view on these things may be indicative of fuzziness on other important fronts, i.e., where is this company really going, how we are going to make money?
To this, I'd add another question if interviewing at a non-revenue generating startup -- "How will the company make money?" And you should assess how realistic this sounds. You don't need to be a VC here but it should pass your own innate b.s. filter.
But if they do answer, "We're going to have millions of users (one day in the future) and will monetize through advertising", my recommendation would be to run the other way (quickly).
Re: Assessing a Company: Questions you need to ask in an Interview
#8Interviewers do "leak" information to interviewees. I once turned down a lucrative job offer because, during the interview, the interviewer had told me "hilarious" anecdotes about the CEO changing his mind every few days.
Here's a more technically-slanted list of questions I've used during interviews: http://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/apae9/interview...
Re: Assessing a Company: Questions you need to ask in an Interview
#9This 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.
Re: Assessing a Company: Questions you need to ask in an Interview
#10I'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.
> 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.
In itself, this is a useful indicator of corporate culture.