Ask HN: What do you look for in a company (as a programmer)?
4 comments
If I was interviewing now here are things I'd be on the lookout for:
Team dynamics: How do they interview (individually or as a team), do they undermine each other during the process, do they not play well together, is there obvious clique behavior, is it a fraternity, have they all worked together for awhile, is it a new team, what's the team lead like, has the team lead/mgr done the role before etc. Does the lead/mgr seem to respect his team, does he defer to them during the process at times or always take the lead?
Software: Are they chasing the latest trends, behind the times, or a mix of using new tech but keeping things stable. Look for their thought processes, questions they ask are generally tailored more then they even realize to their environment. Are they more worried about getting a smart person that can figure things out or trying to find the guy who has esoteric answers to questions.
Company: Does anyone outside the tech team interview you. For SMB's and/or startups, do they discuss the financial condition of the company? Do they avoid answering any questions you ask about the company from a financial aspect or team aspect etc. Is their culture open or closed? What are the working conditions like. When you tour is everyone heads down and no one is talking etc? Do you see any team members having some fun, laughing etc.
These are just ways I like to start evaluating companies. I don't really interview anymore as I run my own firm, but when we are engaging from a consulting perspective these are similar things that I do to gauge who the company is and who the team is we would have to work with. It tells me if we will have trouble with the team, if we should even take the job etc.
No matter what, good luck.
Team dynamics: How do they interview (individually or as a team), do they undermine each other during the process, do they not play well together, is there obvious clique behavior, is it a fraternity, have they all worked together for awhile, is it a new team, what's the team lead like, has the team lead/mgr done the role before etc. Does the lead/mgr seem to respect his team, does he defer to them during the process at times or always take the lead?
Software: Are they chasing the latest trends, behind the times, or a mix of using new tech but keeping things stable. Look for their thought processes, questions they ask are generally tailored more then they even realize to their environment. Are they more worried about getting a smart person that can figure things out or trying to find the guy who has esoteric answers to questions.
Company: Does anyone outside the tech team interview you. For SMB's and/or startups, do they discuss the financial condition of the company? Do they avoid answering any questions you ask about the company from a financial aspect or team aspect etc. Is their culture open or closed? What are the working conditions like. When you tour is everyone heads down and no one is talking etc? Do you see any team members having some fun, laughing etc.
These are just ways I like to start evaluating companies. I don't really interview anymore as I run my own firm, but when we are engaging from a consulting perspective these are similar things that I do to gauge who the company is and who the team is we would have to work with. It tells me if we will have trouble with the team, if we should even take the job etc.
No matter what, good luck.
Here is my list, compiled after a lot of soul searching in my last job hunt. I recommend spending some time determining the kinds of things that are really important to you, and prioritizing them.
- Compensation: pay, bonus, benefits, PTO, perks
- Commute and/or openness to remote work
- Software development methodology, tooling, PM, environment (e.g. Joel Test)
- Role clarity for target position, and time likely to spend coding
- Company and team culture, team size, team consists of people smarter than me
- Company's organizational stability and steady growth (neither stagnant nor extreme)
- Institutionalized personal development/training, growth and advancement options
- Company's focus on tech, company's long term plans/prospects
- Future: will this position help me in my next job search?
- Compensation: pay, bonus, benefits, PTO, perks
- Commute and/or openness to remote work
- Software development methodology, tooling, PM, environment (e.g. Joel Test)
- Role clarity for target position, and time likely to spend coding
- Company and team culture, team size, team consists of people smarter than me
- Company's organizational stability and steady growth (neither stagnant nor extreme)
- Institutionalized personal development/training, growth and advancement options
- Company's focus on tech, company's long term plans/prospects
- Future: will this position help me in my next job search?
Good idea!
Joel Spolsky's twelve things have become known as the *Joel Test". http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/fog0000000043.html
Everybody has different needs and expectations. Some of those even evolve or 180 over the course of a single career.
Speaking to your own concern, the tradeoff is that many technical managers are only there because they fell upward. They may understand your job responsibilities well based on their own experience, but they may not be good at advocating for their team or understanding how team members might have different needs and productivity then they themselves delivered. They also might loathe and stress excessively over their own job, which is no good for anybody. You can have a great manager that happens to be highly technical, but you may often find that you have a highly technical manager who's an awful manager. So as you learn what they are, keep an open mind to the skills that are applicable to management itself --being a manager isn't the same as being a technical lead.
Speaking to your own concern, the tradeoff is that many technical managers are only there because they fell upward. They may understand your job responsibilities well based on their own experience, but they may not be good at advocating for their team or understanding how team members might have different needs and productivity then they themselves delivered. They also might loathe and stress excessively over their own job, which is no good for anybody. You can have a great manager that happens to be highly technical, but you may often find that you have a highly technical manager who's an awful manager. So as you learn what they are, keep an open mind to the skills that are applicable to management itself --being a manager isn't the same as being a technical lead.
One thing dawned on me: that I think it's better if I have a highly technical manager (as opposed to a non-technical manager). As a programmer, I just have a hard time respecting non-technical managers at work.
Any other insights others have gained over the years?