Developer Career Tip #0007---Interview the Interviewer

Developer Career Tips #0007

Interview the Interviewer

In my last article, I talked about the importance of asking a question (or more) during a job interview to let the interviewer know that you are capable of more than just answering questions and that you have a genuine interest in the company.

Don't allow the interview to become a one-way piece of communication where the interviewer learns everything necessary to make a decision as to whether or not you are what the company needs and wants, but you learn nothing about the company to make the same decision. Too many job candidates find themselves interviewing for a programming position, receiving an offer and then finding themselves in a position they don't like.

How can you avoid this?

Be prepared to get the answers to the questions you'll have the first day or first week of your new job---you don't want to wait until then to find out.

I'm not talking about fundamental questions such as salary, work hours, vacation time and other benefits---these are likely to be part of a standard package provided to you prior to the interview.

I'm talking about questions such as:

What type of work will I be doing?
Will I be programming?
If so, will it be new development, or maintenance of existing code?
If code maintenance, is the original author still with the company?
What language or languages will I be writing?
Will I be working as part of a team?
If so, what are the skill levels of my team members?
How many years with the company do my team members have?
Who will be my supervisor?
How many years with the company does he or she have?

While these are questions to which you can easily obtain answers on your first day on the job, by then it may be too late--particularly if you've left a previous position to obtain that long awaited developer's job, only to find out you'll be manning a Help Desk for the next 6 months until the company signs a big contract.

Of course, you may not be in a position to be picky---if you are a candidate just trying to get your foot in the door, any job offer may be a good one.

Next time: An innovative approach to getting your foot in the door