Rob Garrett - Blogs

This is a post that I have been looking to write for a while now.... 

A friend and I had a discussion some time ago about career interviewing.  My friend informed me that he had made some bad career decisions in the past and had since constructed a list of hard hitting questions for interviewers; to determine if a potential opportunity was going to turn out well, or prove to be a WTF.  My friend shared the list with me (hopefully he won't mind me publicizing it), which is continually evolving, and contains close to 50 questions.

Some have said that the questions in this list are too forthright, and likely to alienate an interviewer, thus destroying any potential employment opportunity.  My response to those people is that this is exactly the point - any company or individual that bulks at these questions is probably not worth working for.  This being said, if you are unemployed and desperate then feel free to be selective - perhaps you don't care about work life balance when your electric is about to be cut off.  For the rest of us, looking to avoid walking into a career trap, the following is the list:

1. What is the work-life balance?
2. What are the average hours?
3. What are the medical benefits?
1. Medical
2. Dental
3. Optica
4. Life Insurance
5. ADD
6. Disability (short/long)
4. What are the educational benefits?
1. Courses
2. Degrees
3. Certifications
4. Seminars
5. What are the investment benefits?
1. Stock options (amount investment)
2. 401K (matching)
3. Profit sharing
4. Pension
6. What is the promotion ladder structure like?
7. Are there any career advocates/mentors?
8. What is the review process? (formal? -- how often?)
9. What is the company’s yearly revenue?
10. What is the turnover rate? -- Compared to industry average.
11. What is the company's growth?
12. Technologies committed to?
13. What type of projects does the company work on? -- What type of projects would I work on?
14. How does the company acquire projects -- feed pipeline?
15. Do you pay bench?
16. Do you pay hourly?  Overtime?
17. Do you lay people off -- how do you mitigate a lean period? How often?
18. Vacation
1. How fast do you accrue?
2. Is there a cap?
3. Schedule?
19. Sick leave?
20. What skill sets are you looking for?
21. Why do you like me?
22. How would I be used if hired?
23. What do you like about the company / working here?
24. What do you not like about the company / working here?
25. Are you happy?
26. What is the non-discrimination policy?
27. What are additional benefits?
1. Maternity care
2. Paternity care
3. Day care
4. Bereavement leave
5. Special medical leave for HIV and other people
28. How long have you been here?
29. What is the average tenure here?
30. Are there any extra perks here?
1. Free software
2. Connectivity
3. Bonuses
4. Referral bonus
5. Company car
6. Rental car plan
7. Company credit card
8. Expense reimbursement
31. Travel
1. How often?
2. How long?
3. How far?
4. Reimbursement (before/after)
5. Travel bonus
6. Per diem
32. Telecommuting?
33. What is the expected commute range?
34. My career objective is...
1. is that possible?
2. programs in place to help me develop/grow to that position
3. is that linked to reviews?
4. do you have an employee development plan?
35. If a position is in the company what is the process for filling the position?
1. hire external
2. hire internal
3. what is the internal process?
36. Cost of living raises?
37. Corporate locations?
38. Goal of the company?  Mission statement?
39. Intellectual property?  Do I own my own work?  Can I publish?
40. What is the NDA?  Scope?
41. What about references?
42. What is the non-compete? Scope?
43. Is there project mobility and how does it work?