Interviewing the Interviewer: A Rubric
October 07, 2008 📬 Get My Weekly Newsletter ☞
Sad to say, my time at Gliffy is at an end (:sniff:), so I'm heading back into the job pool. I was lucky to get some time in at Gliffy, because, living in Washington, DC, my opportunities for sexy cutting-edge jobs are about zilch. Instead, I'm facing a huge market of "Senior JBoss Portal Maintenance Archiect" type jobs.
I guess I should feel lucky that there's lots of positions out there, but I really don't want to be the cog in a huge machine. Gliffy has shielded me from the Horror That Can Be Consulting, so I need to keep my perspective in such trying times. So, calling on my experiences before Gliffy, I've made this handy rubric to make sure I explore all facets of a potential position.
I don't expect anyone to get all positives and no negatives (I've certainly never been anywhere that perfect), bit it's always good to know. For example, if I have to put up with PVCS, I better be sitting on an Aeron chair and be using a normalized database. Further, this is obviously in addition to standard questions regarding what the project is about (i.e. is it interesting) and what the people are like. A whole lot of this can be forgiven by being part of a great team or working on a really cool product.
| Question | Points for | Points against |
|---|---|---|
| How do you fare on the Joel Test? |
· High score · Good explanations for missing items |
· Low score · Never heard of it |
| Describe your development process |
· Structured · Easily described |
· Overly draconian · Lack of · Not easily described |
| What kind of computer will I be using to develop? |
· Two monitors · Mac · Linux · Administrator access |
· Vague answer · Small monitor · Windows · Locked-down |
| Do you block certain sites or applications on your network? | · Open network | · Closed network |
| What is the physical environment like? |
· Good Chairs · Private office · Natural light · Reasonable Temperature |
· Old, crappy · Bullpen style |
| Am I required or encouraged to use Windows? | · No, few devs use Windows | · Yes |
| What collaboration tools do you use? |
· Wikis · IM · Bug tracking · Sensible PM |
· Email word documents · MS-project · SharePoint · Other proprietary crap (e.g. eRoom, Documentum) · No tools |
| What are some of your HR policies? |
· Few, if any · Loose dress code · Flexible schedule |
· Draconian · Dress code · Core hours |
| Can I see the code I will be working with? |
· Letting me see it · Meaningful javadocs/API documentation · Structured, consistent style · Sensible class names and file organization · Sane build process |
· Not letting me see it · Mix of styles · No javadocs · Empty javadocs · Convoluted file organization · Broken build file |
| How do you do testing? |
· Have testers · Do unit tests · Maintain tests · TDD · Bug tracker |
· Ad hoc · Lip service to test-first · No unit tests |
| What is your approach to configuration management? |
· Having an approach · Git · Database migrations · Know the versions of 3rd party software/have a baseline configuration · Organized |
· No approach · CVS · Perforce, ClearCase, other closed crud · Shared drives · Can't describe versions/configuration |
| Can I see the database schema I'll be working with? |
· Letting me see it · Normalized · Sane names (no TBL_* bullshit) · Synthetic numeric keys · Referential integrity · Documented! · Versioned! |
· Not letting me see it · Unnormalized · Dumb names · Incorrect types · String-based keys · No constraints · Undocumented |
What else am I missing?