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I've been thinking about this question for many years now and I have not been able to come up with a good, concise answer about the critical things you need to

I've been thinking about this question for many years now and I have not been able to come up with a good, concise answer about the critical things you need to know before joining a new team. There are so many questions you could ask that it's almost overwhelming. If I could only get a good answer to one high level question however it would be this: "Does the company support strong, friendly collaboration inside teams and across teams?" If a company prizes people working together to solve problems in a friendly, collaborative manner then I think it's much more likely to be an enjoyable place to work and learn. If a company doesn't appear to have this kind of culture then it's an immediate red flag. Some examples of NOT having this kind of culture: - Rigid silos (at the team level or across teams) - Sink or swim culture - Knowledge hoarding / knowledge brokering - Backstabbing

bwb 7y ago
Ya that is a really good one! I've been trying to figure out how to get a real answer on a question like that :), like is there something I can ask that shows that without asking it like that. I.e. how do you store knowledge in the x team? Or, how often would I get to work with someone in x team?
- chasingthewind 7y ago
  I think it's actually reasonable to literally say "Tell me about how people collaborate here at XYZ and on this team." If people start highlighting all the ways in which they work together, how they help each other, how they do pair programming or how they support each other then that's a great sign. If they stammer and they give a lame answer then it could mean the culture doesn't really value collaboration.