4 ms·

What questions should one ask to suss out the good team leads?

pierat 3y ago
1. Efforts to conceal in an interview reveal potential toxic areas. NDA issues aside, this is more about concealing and making things look better than they actually are. 2. Ask "What do you like about working here?". If there's pushback or defensiveness, red flag. 3. Ask "If you were in my position, would you take this job?". Would they gladly take this job, or is there hesitation/defiance/pushback? 4. Ask "What does your organization know and believe about psychological safety?" - This is an institutional question about https://hbr.org/2023/02/what-is-psychological-safety https://hbr.org/2023/02/what-is-psychological-safety 5. Ask "What are your values and how do you hold people accountable to live them?" (Does the org follow their own guidance, or is it just for show?) 6. Ask "What happens to employees who make mistakes?" - is this a 1 and done? This also pairs with psychological safety. 7. Ask "What happens to employees when they challenge the status quo?" (As an engineer or similar lead technological role, you will be continually pushing tech. How does the company respond to that?) 8. And for you to ask yourself: "Is the interview conversational or scripted?" 9. Was the interview genuine happiness, or faked? Would the people you would work with actually happy what they're doing? 10. How do you feel after the interview? Is there something that felt off? Can you identify it?
- ARandomerDude 3y ago
  I hope this comment comes across as helpful rather than rude: if you asked me a couple of those questions (especially back-to-back) during an interview, I would not hire you. It isn't that any of those are bad questions per se, but the volume and forwardness of them would be a red-flag that this is a person who likes to show up, make trouble, and not be held accountable for it. Maybe that's not your goal, but remember that in an interview you only have a few minutes to communicate where you're coming from.
  - ethbr0 3y ago
    As a counterpoint, if someone asks these questions in an interview of me, they'd still go to the "Had questions prepared" higher slice of rankings. Prepared questions indicate you have initiative and do your homework. I'm hiring thinkers, not drones. The only turn-off could be in the way they asked the questions and followed up -- aggressive? Not listening to my response closely? Not clarifying if I asked for more information?
    - pierat 3y ago
      Exactly. This isn't meant to be a Blade Runner Voight-Kampff rapid-fire interrogation. An interview is supposed to be a bidirectional conversation to see if you fit with the manager/company and the company fits with you. Obviously, how you ask (and don't ask), and ask around these questions can really give an idea what to expect. There's also major red flags for places that you probably never want to work at. For example, dismissive managers are a major problem. What are they going through on a day-to-day? They probably can't tell you, but you can ask around them. Why are they interviewing? Is it a new position, or a replacement? Why did the replacement leave? I had one interview that the person leaving was also on the interview committee. Really nice gentleman. He was retiring, and wanted to move back with family across the US. And he was on the committee to help find a person and train them to be there. The job wasn't exactly what I was looking for and declined, but I greatly respected how they did that interview. Again, I interview primarily for engineering roles. Maybe other non-engineering roles do things differently. But I like to try to get a snapshot what the company's like, their expectations, my expectations, and how my life is working there. Last thing I want to do is accept a position and find out they grossly misrepresented the position to get me in the door, and make it hard to interview/switch to get out.
  - ebiester 3y ago
    On the other hand, as a hiring manager, I know this is someone who is team-focused and wants to be part of an organization that is similar rather than a blame-focused organization. An organization that is aligned with the communications patterns outlined in those questions would answer those questions comfortably.
  - 3y ago
- tivert 3y ago
  > 4. Ask "What does your organization know and believe about psychological safety?" - This is an institutional question about https://hbr.org/2023/02/what-is-psychological-safety https://hbr.org/2023/02/what-is-psychological-safety That's not a good question because it assumes the other person if familiar with the jargon term "psychological safety," which seems pretty new. That's not reasonable because that recent HBR article you posted indicates that many people don't know what that term means. Also "psychological safety" could be easily misinterpreted in today's political environment as something related a demand for an (ideologically) "safe space." After skimming that article, it would probably be better to ask something along the lines of "is it OK to make mistakes in this organization and learn from them?"
  - EatingWithForks 3y ago
    I would actually want to use "psychological safety" to see if my manager is the kind of person who, when they see a word they don't know, instead of asking they make a shit assumption and then react negatively to their own projection of the situation.
    - brailsafe 3y ago
      I would agree with you if it was a more esoteric sounding word that doesn't have some kind of intuitive interpretation. Physiological safety doesn't sound like something that has a concrete definition at all, and if asked, I'd probably either ask what the person means by it, or come up with my own definition that's otherwise equally valid. Though in the context of an interview, probably best to ask what they mean.
- winrid 3y ago
  What will #8 tell you? as someone that is forced to do scripted interviews at current job...
  - mikestew 3y ago
    And if it is scripted, so what? That might mean every candidate gets a somewhat consistent experience, instead of whatever off-the-cuff crap my not-as-smart-as-she-thinks-she-is interviewer pulls out of her butt. Because we've all known that person on the interview team that has their bullshit manhole cover question because "I think to see how they think".
  - bigtunacan 3y ago
    Yeah. 8 is just a silly question. First off you can often just tell if it's scripted. Secondly if it is scripted it's generally just because HR is more mature and is trying to be more fair in the hiring processes; this is a good practice for diversity. Organizations that aren't scripted just haven't gotten there yet.
    - iamdbtoo 3y ago
      It's not good practice for diversity. While it might help some with racial, ethnic or gender diversity, it discriminates heavily against neurodiverse people who often do not fit into little boxes a scripted interview is designed to check off.
    - hansel_der 3y ago
      have recently been in an interview were the scriptedness feeling crept in after the first few up-beat intro questions were done. didn't felt professional at all to see them working a questionaire with me.
  - thaneross 3y ago
    It tells you the company values process over efficacy. Interviewing, like practically any complex task is dynamic in nature. Following down a line of conversation with a candidate provides genuine insight into the individual and cannot be done mechanically.
- zdragnar 3y ago
  I might hesitate in answering #3 because it's such a weird question. I don't know your tolerance for common things in young companies like frequently changing priorities. I don't know your financial situation (are you desperate for a job, or are you holding out for a perfect fit?). Answering "no" could easily land me in hot water, regardless of my reasons, and especially if I don't explain them very clearly and objectively. Answering "yes" doesn't tell you anything; after all, I already work here and might have drunk the company kool-aide. It just seems like you're looking for a reason to not work here, instead of looking for reasons to be excited about working here. Walking in the door with a negative attitude is a good way to poison a team's working environment. You are, in effect, the very toxic thing you are trying to reveal. Maybe it's just cultural differences, but I cannot imagine a reason to ask that question of anyone other than someone who I trust and know well.
- pstuart 3y ago
  Great questions, as well as the review strategy in your OP.
- mrtweetyhack 3y ago
  [dead]

1. Efforts to conceal in an interview reveal potential toxic areas. NDA issues aside, this is more about concealing and making things look better than they actually are. 2. Ask "What do you like about working here?". If there's pushback or defensiveness, red flag. 3. Ask "If you were in my position, would you take this job?". Would they gladly take this job, or is there hesitation/defiance/pushback? 4. Ask "What does your organization know and believe about psychological safety?" - This is an institutional question about https://hbr.org/2023/02/what-is-psychological-safety https://hbr.org/2023/02/what-is-psychological-safety 5. Ask "What are your values and how do you hold people accountable to live them?" (Does the org follow their own guidance, or is it just for show?) 6. Ask "What happens to employees who make mistakes?" - is this a 1 and done? This also pairs with psychological safety. 7. Ask "What happens to employees when they challenge the status quo?" (As an engineer or similar lead technological role, you will be continually pushing tech. How does the company respond to that?) 8. And for you to ask yourself: "Is the interview conversational or scripted?" 9. Was the interview genuine happiness, or faked? Would the people you would work with actually happy what they're doing? 10. How do you feel after the interview? Is there something that felt off? Can you identify it?

ARandomerDude 3y ago
I hope this comment comes across as helpful rather than rude: if you asked me a couple of those questions (especially back-to-back) during an interview, I would not hire you. It isn't that any of those are bad questions per se, but the volume and forwardness of them would be a red-flag that this is a person who likes to show up, make trouble, and not be held accountable for it. Maybe that's not your goal, but remember that in an interview you only have a few minutes to communicate where you're coming from.
- ethbr0 3y ago
  As a counterpoint, if someone asks these questions in an interview of me, they'd still go to the "Had questions prepared" higher slice of rankings. Prepared questions indicate you have initiative and do your homework. I'm hiring thinkers, not drones. The only turn-off could be in the way they asked the questions and followed up -- aggressive? Not listening to my response closely? Not clarifying if I asked for more information?
  - pierat 3y ago
    Exactly. This isn't meant to be a Blade Runner Voight-Kampff rapid-fire interrogation. An interview is supposed to be a bidirectional conversation to see if you fit with the manager/company and the company fits with you. Obviously, how you ask (and don't ask), and ask around these questions can really give an idea what to expect. There's also major red flags for places that you probably never want to work at. For example, dismissive managers are a major problem. What are they going through on a day-to-day? They probably can't tell you, but you can ask around them. Why are they interviewing? Is it a new position, or a replacement? Why did the replacement leave? I had one interview that the person leaving was also on the interview committee. Really nice gentleman. He was retiring, and wanted to move back with family across the US. And he was on the committee to help find a person and train them to be there. The job wasn't exactly what I was looking for and declined, but I greatly respected how they did that interview. Again, I interview primarily for engineering roles. Maybe other non-engineering roles do things differently. But I like to try to get a snapshot what the company's like, their expectations, my expectations, and how my life is working there. Last thing I want to do is accept a position and find out they grossly misrepresented the position to get me in the door, and make it hard to interview/switch to get out.
- ebiester 3y ago
  On the other hand, as a hiring manager, I know this is someone who is team-focused and wants to be part of an organization that is similar rather than a blame-focused organization. An organization that is aligned with the communications patterns outlined in those questions would answer those questions comfortably.
- 3y ago
tivert 3y ago
> 4. Ask "What does your organization know and believe about psychological safety?" - This is an institutional question about https://hbr.org/2023/02/what-is-psychological-safety https://hbr.org/2023/02/what-is-psychological-safety That's not a good question because it assumes the other person if familiar with the jargon term "psychological safety," which seems pretty new. That's not reasonable because that recent HBR article you posted indicates that many people don't know what that term means. Also "psychological safety" could be easily misinterpreted in today's political environment as something related a demand for an (ideologically) "safe space." After skimming that article, it would probably be better to ask something along the lines of "is it OK to make mistakes in this organization and learn from them?"
- EatingWithForks 3y ago
  I would actually want to use "psychological safety" to see if my manager is the kind of person who, when they see a word they don't know, instead of asking they make a shit assumption and then react negatively to their own projection of the situation.
  - brailsafe 3y ago
    I would agree with you if it was a more esoteric sounding word that doesn't have some kind of intuitive interpretation. Physiological safety doesn't sound like something that has a concrete definition at all, and if asked, I'd probably either ask what the person means by it, or come up with my own definition that's otherwise equally valid. Though in the context of an interview, probably best to ask what they mean.
winrid 3y ago
What will #8 tell you? as someone that is forced to do scripted interviews at current job...
- mikestew 3y ago
  And if it is scripted, so what? That might mean every candidate gets a somewhat consistent experience, instead of whatever off-the-cuff crap my not-as-smart-as-she-thinks-she-is interviewer pulls out of her butt. Because we've all known that person on the interview team that has their bullshit manhole cover question because "I think to see how they think".
- bigtunacan 3y ago
  Yeah. 8 is just a silly question. First off you can often just tell if it's scripted. Secondly if it is scripted it's generally just because HR is more mature and is trying to be more fair in the hiring processes; this is a good practice for diversity. Organizations that aren't scripted just haven't gotten there yet.
  - iamdbtoo 3y ago
    It's not good practice for diversity. While it might help some with racial, ethnic or gender diversity, it discriminates heavily against neurodiverse people who often do not fit into little boxes a scripted interview is designed to check off.
  - hansel_der 3y ago
    have recently been in an interview were the scriptedness feeling crept in after the first few up-beat intro questions were done. didn't felt professional at all to see them working a questionaire with me.
- thaneross 3y ago
  It tells you the company values process over efficacy. Interviewing, like practically any complex task is dynamic in nature. Following down a line of conversation with a candidate provides genuine insight into the individual and cannot be done mechanically.
zdragnar 3y ago
I might hesitate in answering #3 because it's such a weird question. I don't know your tolerance for common things in young companies like frequently changing priorities. I don't know your financial situation (are you desperate for a job, or are you holding out for a perfect fit?). Answering "no" could easily land me in hot water, regardless of my reasons, and especially if I don't explain them very clearly and objectively. Answering "yes" doesn't tell you anything; after all, I already work here and might have drunk the company kool-aide. It just seems like you're looking for a reason to not work here, instead of looking for reasons to be excited about working here. Walking in the door with a negative attitude is a good way to poison a team's working environment. You are, in effect, the very toxic thing you are trying to reveal. Maybe it's just cultural differences, but I cannot imagine a reason to ask that question of anyone other than someone who I trust and know well.
pstuart 3y ago
Great questions, as well as the review strategy in your OP.
mrtweetyhack 3y ago
[dead]