I just had the worst #interview of my entire #career . It turned out to be an insightful list of precisely how NOT to attract talent. In that way, it was really useful to me as a candidate.
Presented for your amusement, here's a thread of what I asked. It's going to be a longboi, but here's my absolute favorite:
🚩 Do you have any queer peers? Is this a safe place for them to work? "We don't talk about that here."
🚩 Who does this role report to? "We haven't decided yet."
🚩 Will they be a member of my discipline? "No, everyone in the org reports directly to business development."
🚩 Your website says engineers own traditional TPM tasks. What does the day-to-day of your version of this role look like? "That's for you to figure out. This is a startup so you'll need to do a little of everything. You'll flex to sales or write code if there's a crisis."
🚩 How will my performance be evaluated? "It will be obvious if you're a good fit."
🚩 Do you have an HR team for support? "No, business development manages that."
🚩 Do you have an employee handbook? "No."
🚩 How big is my team? Who are my peers? "They are all contractors. They will change from day to day. There are no plans to make them full time hires, this structure works fine for us now."
🚩 What products does this role own? "We don't know yet. That depends on what you're bringing to the table."
🚩 How does the organization prevent burnout in engineers while adhering to [specific policy listed on their website]? "You're GOING to burn out. Everyone does. We're all adults here, we expect you to manage it."
🚩What interested you about my experience or profile? Why did you reach out to me?
"You don't have that much experience, and we are looking for a candidate we can mold into our needs." [editors note: I have 7 years of experience, 3 certs, and have shipped over 23 projects???]
They did not ask a single question about my technical competencies, my achievements, or what I was looking for in my next opportunity. I was told this interview was a vibe check and that they'd prefer if I asked all the questions to see what was important to me, so I did.
Unsurprisingly, they passed on me the next day for not being a "🚩cultural fit". I honestly laughed for a solid hour.
EVHaste
in reply to EVHaste • • •🚩 Will they be a member of my discipline? "No, everyone in the org reports directly to business development."
🚩 Your website says engineers own traditional TPM tasks. What does the day-to-day of your version of this role look like? "That's for you to figure out. This is a startup so you'll need to do a little of everything. You'll flex to sales or write code if there's a crisis."
EVHaste
in reply to EVHaste • • •🚩 Do you have an HR team for support? "No, business development manages that."
🚩 Do you have an employee handbook? "No."
🚩 How big is my team? Who are my peers? "They are all contractors. They will change from day to day. There are no plans to make them full time hires, this structure works fine for us now."
EVHaste
in reply to EVHaste • • •🚩 How does the organization prevent burnout in engineers while adhering to [specific policy listed on their website]? "You're GOING to burn out. Everyone does. We're all adults here, we expect you to manage it."
EVHaste
in reply to EVHaste • • •"You don't have that much experience, and we are looking for a candidate we can mold into our needs." [editors note: I have 7 years of experience, 3 certs, and have shipped over 23 projects???]
EVHaste
in reply to EVHaste • • •Unsurprisingly, they passed on me the next day for not being a "🚩cultural fit". I honestly laughed for a solid hour.
Never forget that the interview is for you, too.
Gidi Kroon likes this.