Ask HN: As a candidate, what attracts/repels you in a job interview?

7 points·s16h··5 comments

Culture is so important and sometimes it’s hard to get a true read during the interview process. If you can take someone on the team out for coffee and get the real scoop on the challenges of the job it can provide some more insight. Sometimes a mass exodus isn’t a bad thing and can help course correct a systemic problem but for that to happen it would take exceptional leadership. I wouldn’t shy away from asking about an exodus if one exists and what steps are in place to improve the environment.

I usually try to understand if the company is trying to expand their team, replace someone that's leaving or coping with a mass exodus.

Sadly I've seen mass exodus happening, and I've interviewed at companies where mass exodus happened and it's usually a super red flag, usually a sign of very bad management.

Software being crap happens and is part of the job, you can deal with it and it can get better. But bad management is very hard to overcome and often just not worth it.

Definitely agree with your point about bad management. Do you tend to ask those questions openly or try and figure it out throughout the process?

Sometimes it is clearly evident from the interview. Sometimes it becomes clear from the current size of a team (the math doesn't add up for some reason).

Culture, job description, how desperate the recruiters are and if they're at all technically inclined.

So much wasted time, energy--- if they sound like a car salesman, I don't bother.

I thought I'd try one, they promised reimbursement and nothing - silence. This was for a prominent Fortune 500 company that deals in Shoe Retail.

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