Job interview: questions a candidate should ask

Before starting work with a new company, you should consider what is really important to you and set priorities and values to guide you as you look for a new job. It is helpful to verify whether the company you want to work with holds similar values. This way, you avoid potential post-decision dissonance and start the job knowing that the contract meets the expectations of both parties.

Starting as equal business partners helps you ask the right questions during the recruitment process and explore the most critical areas of the job. You can seek answers to your questions from an HR specialist – should they be present during the interview - or a potential supervisor at the next stage of the process. Ask how core corporate values ​​materialize in the work environment, e.g. in the approach to project implementation, development, and team management.

Skillset, good practices, and development

You can implement these values ​​by learning new technologies, participating in professional training opportunities and certification courses.

It is worth asking about:

• Technological stack, tools used, etc., and the frequency of implementing changes in this area,
• The possibility of acquiring knowledge from team members, your team leader or a supervisor,
• Team composition, team members’ experience, and knowledge-sharing within the team,
• The team training budget – including the allocation of available funds to individual team members, and what it depends on,
• Conditions for receiving a grant (the amount available and what might determine the reimbursement of training and certification costs),
• The way the manager and the organization encourage personal development,
• Ideas for improvement, and which team member has an impact on the implementation of changes.

It is also helpful to remember that the skillset and good practices adopted by a given team – or, more broadly, the entire organization – are expressed indirectly by optimizing work time and organizing team work. With this in mind, you should ask about the team professional experience, adopted work methodologies, and how they function in practice. In addition, you can ask about methods of documenting, storing project documentation and how the team ensures the quality of the products delivered to the clients e.g. peer review, pair programming, frequency of deployment in production, etc.

After having answered questions asked by a recruiter/ subject matter expert, it is a good idea to formulate relevant questions of your own. For example, the interviewer will often ask about the quality of the code – either because it is significant to the organization or because there are no standards yet developed in this area and the organization is looking for someone to implement them. As part of the interview process, candidates are often asked to present examples of their work e.g. code or a portfolio of graphic designs, etc. Why not turn the question around and ask the interviewer which projects the organization is most proud of?

Salary and stability

You can gain a lot by asking about the company’s long-term development strategy. Even if you are involved in a project, the overall strategy will affect you in a variety of ways. We do not always have the opportunity to talk to the person who sets such a strategy. However,  HR/recruitment specialists, managers or future supervisors should have access to such knowledge. It’s preferred if company’s values ​​and long-term development strategy are at the heart of its recruitment process.

You could also ask about:

• company development plans,
• client portfolio expansion,
• approach to potential technological changes, i.e. whether they engage new specialists or in invest in the development of their current ones),
• promotion and pay rise criteria, pay rise budgets, bonus systems and non-wage benefits,
• churn rate.

Respect, relationships, and mutual understanding of needs

Before starting work, you can request a meeting to get acquainted with your new supervisor and the team, especially if they were not involved in the recruitment process. You could also enquire about:

• assessment criteria of the supervisor and their priorities,
• foundations of building solid team relationships,
• team management method,
• average duration of engagement in a team/company
• recruitment motivation (team development or replacement)

Summing up, you should pay attention to the style, quality and form of communication – this is one of the most critical features of any organization. Communication should be a continuous line, not a dotted one. Ask yourself whether you have received enough information at every stage of the recruitment process.

The quality of the recruitment process is sometimes the key to understanding whether an organization is a suitable fit for you and vice versa. If communication raises any doubts at the very beginning, treat it as a red flag.