That's a great question! There is no single approach. It's a soft skill. I don't think there is a single magic question you can ask and you'll get a black-and-

That's a great question! There is no single approach. It's a soft skill. I don't think there is a single magic question you can ask and you'll get a black-and-white answer. Here are some ideas: - read about the company on glassdoor. Try to read between the lines. Are the reviews fluff? Are there any veiled criticisms. Read the high praises and the vulgar criticisms with a grain of salt. They are a signal, but people often have an agenda or are led by emotion when they post like that. Pay attention to the mixed reviews who give you the good and some bad. See if there are any patterns between reviews. - I hope you will have an interview with either the hiring manager, or one or more peers. Ask them questions about how it is to work there. Find way to ask without asking "How is it working there?" directly. Some ideas: - Am I joining because the team is growing, or am I replacing someone? If replacing, why did the person before me leave? - How long have the people on the team I am joining been there? You're looking to get a feel for tenure and seniority. - How often do you speak with your manager? Their manager? The CTO? The CEO? In general, the more often, and the more approachable leadership is, the less likely you're thought of as a cog and seen more as a human. - Ask if they could give a concrete example of how their values or principles have been used in practice recently. Make sure you read these ahead of time. If they can't tell, then their values might be bullet points on a glossy brochure that have no application in reality. If they don't know their values, that means no one cares about them. - How often do you have to work overtime? Is it normal? Is it occasional? How is that recognized? How is that seen? - Ask how they define and recognize excellence on their team. Listen to the story they tell. Is it mechanical? Do you get a non-answer? A blank stare? Draw your own conclusions. This is not a set of checkboxes. The best companies are not perfect. The worst companies do some things right (I would hope). It gets easier with time, as you get more experiences under your belt, you'll understand where you fit and where you don't. You'll build a gut feeling for this.