Ask HN: As a recent Graduate, what to look out for in future employers

I know what kind of job I want. Generally I want to work at place that gives me some degree of freedom in the way I approach a problem,

I wouldn't think that most companies would give an inexperienced developer too much freedom. In fact, you shouldn't want it. I spent the first 12 years of my career working at two companies where I had complete freedom of implementation and no mentoring. I was a good developer (I'd been a hobbyist for 10 years before that),but I didn't know what I didn't know.

enables and supports further education of employees with conferences and literature, for both technical and domain knowledge, and respects the work life balance.

Whether it should be this way or not, never depend on a company to advance your career or technical knowledge. You are responsible for both.

I would go so far as to say don't expect good work life balance as a junior developer. It's going to take you a lot longer to add business value and only with experience and skill is your value based on your experience and knowledge and not just your ability to crank out code. Once you get to that point, life is easier.

For example, even though I'm still a hands on coder, most companies don't grill me about technical minutae during interviews. They care more about my architectural skills than my raw coding skills (even though I have both).

The evaluation and interview processes tend to be far more one-sided the other way. It's not a matter of which 3 of 100 employers you want to work for, but which 3 of 100 employers will even consider interviewing you at the compensation you want.

This is true even for hot-shot CS and CompE graduates. You will have to experience the door slammed in your face in this process. The more you yearn for a particular company, the more likely it is to happen, and to hurt. It's unpleasant. Expect it.

Larger company culture probably ends up toward the bottom of most people's like/dislike list when it comes to employment. Your immediate social culture in the company is far more important and applicable, and large companies that suck in general can have islands of paradise within them, and the reverse is true too.

Your heart will tell you if it's a bad fit. You'll get depressed and you'll question your life decisions. It's the only metric that truly matters. That's the only way you'll know- even good friends may thrive in an environment next to one you'll wilt in.

The good news is a miserable job looks as good as a wonderful one on a CV, and to keep raking in the Euros (and I would argue, to be above average in your field), you'll need to job hop at least a bit.

Culture - it helps if you have good self-awareness. Understand how you like to work and what kind of people you like to hang out with and work backwards from there. Translate this into what kind of culture you're looking for. Use this to build a framework to filter firms.

When trying to assess a firm's culture, try to meet as many potential colleagues as you can. Ask them what it is like to work there. Speak to people who use to work there.

No one likes to speak badly of a firm.... they will speak to you in semi encoded toned down messages. Take what they say then times it by 2x-10x and that's what the firm is like.

Good luck :)

I'm a Latin-american CompSci and applied math graduate(B.Sc. and M.Sc. respectively) currently living and working in Germany for five years.

> I know what kind of job I want. Generally I want to work at place that gives me some degree of freedom in the way I approach a problem

I've lived worked in three countries sofar, worked in two and met people from all around the world who worked in many different places. One thing to note is that nowhere I've been to are people, specially those who have a rank or time to show for it, who have been longer at a job so keen on showing you the _one and only right way_. This is a cultural German tendency in my opinion. Don't be surprised. Germans need a long time to let go and give you trust, they need a very long time. You will most likely have to use every opportunity you have to subtly but surely "flabergast" your superiors and colleagues so that they start trusting you. The cues for this are extremely subtle and almost not at all visible during an interview process. You might ask how they treat new hires or what kind of responsibility and trust you can expect in your first months. It's ok for them to take your hand and guide you, on the other hand I hate the attitude of most colleagues I've had that "they always know better". If this is the case, don't worry, this is almost everywhere in Germany and where it isn't is the exception. If you want to chase an unicorn or not is your decision.

> enables and supports further education of employees with conferences and literature

You can ask your first and second interviewers about how they support the education of the employees. I've never had problems in this regard sofar. This, as far as you show desire to learn and they don't think they're burning Euros on you.

> and respects the work life balance

Start-ups and small to medium companies will have a hard time guaranteeing this. Big companies usually can allow themselves to let you do 9-5. They move a bit slower than start-ups or midsize companies. Insurances, banks or other companies with high availability requirements will most likely be bad choices; give them the chance to prove themselves and mention "work-life balance" of their own volition but don't hold your breath.

> But I'm not sure about what I have to look into when I evaluate a potential employer

They believe in their product, aren't cheap with gear and have clear that you have a life out of work.

> What are good cues for a good/bad culture in a company?

When colleagues in the _same team_ bad mouth each other even if slightly so. Intra-team is mostly inevitable, never participate, remain neutral, think as you please.

"Work hard party hard, eh? Hehe, snort, LEL ... here, have another red bull or some pot."

> What are some warning signs?

"Work hard party hard, eh? Hehe, snort, LEL ... here, have another red bull or some pot."

When colleagues in the _same team_ bad mouth each other even if slightly so. Intra-team is mostly inevitable, never participate, remain neutral, think as you please.

They try to save on gear such as your chair, monitor or stuff you need for doing your work.

>What are signs of good employer?

They respect your time during the interview process and if something happens they apologize. Colleagues in the _same team_ don't bad mouth each other. They are aware of their strengths and weaknesses. They believe in their product. They _try_ to never compromise on quality over quantity. The atmosphere is friendly, there's water, coffee, cocoa and the like readily available for all, bonus if they have fruits and nuts. Mega-bonus if they have a canteen and the lunch is free or you only pay the tax/get a considerable discount.

>Is it okay to contact current employes and get some information from them? What

Yes, ask the first and second interviewer questions. Be polite, simply show interest and formulate your questions ALWAYS POSITIVELY: "what is the culture among colleagues?" vs. "are you all assholes who hate eachother?"

>What else should I look out for?

Be creative. Translate what you value to polite and positive questions you might pose.