I think the whole “I would stand up and walk out of that interview” trope is a little overused but … I would stand up and walk out of that interview. Was that a real situation?
If I like them (and the process was bearable), I would ask nothing. If I’m mildly annoyed, something “simple” yet patronizing like fizbuzz. If I’m REALLY annoyed then something wildly specific and pedantic.
Interviewer: “do you have any questions for me?”
Why yes, a chicken, fox and sack of flour need to cross a doubly linked list, how would you flip the list inside out from the middle while counting the number of pingpongballs that can fit into 747 VW Beatles.
When it comes to hiring decisions if there are tied candidates but only one position it can often come down to candidates A was quiet and didn't ask any questions and seems disinterested, but candidate B had loads of questions to ask at the end and seemed really interested and keen and wanted to know x, y, and z.
Who do you think gets hired in those scenarios.
But yeah it is sometimes tempting to turn the tables :). So far no one has done it to me, but not sure what my response would be. "Haha nice joke! Ok we're outta time thanks for coming!" I guess!
It demonstrates a LOT about how well you will work out at the company, how interested you are in it, how much of a self-starter you are.
It should be rephrased as “the jeopardy round” since it’s still about the candidate, but phrased backwards. And it’s not a time for REAL questions, it’s a time to show you’re smart and attentive but not TOO smart, you want the interviewer to feel good about themselves so they can feel good about you.
> what my response would be
I don’t ask candidates to do anything I wouldn’t put up with. It would be unusual but I would be game (if they were serious). Fundamentally that’s what my fantasy is about: a world where interviewer and interviewee have mutual respect for each other.
In the recent past I’ve asked candidates to walk me through code they’ve written. I’m super happy to reciprocate for 15 min and I think the candidate (if they’re working with me directly) would get a lot out of it.
If you are inclined to like them enough to accept a job you need to ask questions! You need to be sure your inclination is correct. The worst case is you accept a job and realize after a month it is a bad job - all your other leads have gone cold and unemployment won't like you quitting now (check your local rules for if you can collect and if so what, but beware that you may have to keep working while looking for a job which is hard)
Of course there are different situations. If you are signing a 1 month contract you sill are watching your other leads anyway in that month. (or they are paying you enough to take 3-6 months off looking for the next contract)
I think it’s 100% okay to ask about pay in an interview but not okay if it’s the only thing you ask about.
For me: I care about the day-to-day of who I’m working with and what that dynamic is like (in addition to money and benefits).
What you really should be asking is what the company is like to work for. Is there set/expected working hours (can you accept those hours). How often are there lunches that in practice are mandatory? Do people really play ping-pong or are the tables just for show / after work. Is there a dress code? How much notice is required for vacations. Will they tell you that you can't take vacation at times, and if so when. What do they expect you to do that isn't in your job description (that is as a programmer are you also expected to talk to customers). What is the dress code. Anything else that might affect your ability to work there.
There are also questions they are not legally allowed to ask (family status, disability not relevant to the job...). However you might want to reveal that you are/have one of those things so they they will pass you over now (they can always find an excuse once they know they won't hire you) if they care instead of latter. Hopefully this never comes up (or if it does they turn out not to care and so hire you anyway) but depending on your situation you might decide it is better to reveal it now rather than dealing with them finding out later. This is food for thought, not something I think is needed.
Money isn't important if you never see it. If the employer can't solve leetcode on the spot, how are you to believe they will be able to figure out how to make payment?