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Some of these questions seem a bit invasive. I've been interviewed by people I would have been a sibling of on the management chart, and I've interviewed the sa

Some of these questions seem a bit invasive. I've been interviewed by people I would have been a sibling of on the management chart, and I've interviewed the same. If I was asked this question with my manager on the call: > “What kind of critical feedback have you heard from your manager? How often does that happen?” I would be a bit uncomfortable, and I assume most people in that situation would range from very uncomfortable to a little uncomfortable. It's not a non-management team member's obligation to share things that are privately shared (likely in one-on-ones) about their own performance, just to pass some candidate's "filter". I think interviewing your would-be manager is fair game, and interviewing non-management interviewers about overall experience working at the company is fine, but I don't see any value to this as a filter. One could even turn it up a notch: > (You, in an interview with your would-be manager, and one of their reports) > You: What is one criticism of management at the company that you haven't already shared with them

drewcoo 3y ago
Do you seriously think asking the manager what critical feedback they've given and how often would work? They could also claim, rightfully, that it would not be appropriate to answer, then deflect to some other talking point. Also, asking a person what they're really like is not the best way to determine what that are actually like. If it worked that way, murder mysteries would be really, really dull.
- pcthrowaway 3y ago
  > Do you seriously think asking the manager what critical feedback they've given and how often would work? What do you mean "would work". I don't think whether something elicits a "good signal" makes it good to do. For the companies where there's tension between employees/managers, you're putting the person on the other end of the table in a tight position that has a lot of potential to sour their relationship with their manager
- NikolaNovak 3y ago
  Everything is a data point. How comfortable everybody is with that question is a data point. How guarded or upfront they answer it is a data point. Here's a freebie: my manager's feedback to me is that I need to listen more at meetings (I've been on the project for a very long time, and I "have answers" for most regular questions; but I'm not going to always be right, so I need to more proactively leave space to let others put forward their thoughts and criteria before diving into solutioning). I'm actively working on it (I've printed it above my monitor:). I'm comfortable sharing this widely including at an interview - it's a real, genuine, useful feedback. I'm proud that my manager takes time to coach me, and I will do my best to coach others. Inasmuch as interviews are about fit for the role, it's data point, that as as a candidate one may or may not care about, whether the interviewer is comfortable with that question.
slepkin 3y ago
Thanks for reading! Agreed, not all of these questions are a good fit for every interview. If you're in front of a panel of manager+team, “What kind of critical feedback have you heard from that guy sitting right there?" will be awkward and uninformative. But I maintain that it's a useful question to ask 1:1 with one of your potential teammates.

drewcoo 3y ago

Do you seriously think asking the manager what critical feedback they've given and how often would work? They could also claim, rightfully, that it would not be appropriate to answer, then deflect to some other talking point. Also, asking a person what they're really like is not the best way to determine what that are actually like. If it worked that way, murder mysteries would be really, really dull.

pcthrowaway 3y ago
> Do you seriously think asking the manager what critical feedback they've given and how often would work? What do you mean "would work". I don't think whether something elicits a "good signal" makes it good to do. For the companies where there's tension between employees/managers, you're putting the person on the other end of the table in a tight position that has a lot of potential to sour their relationship with their manager
NikolaNovak 3y ago
Everything is a data point. How comfortable everybody is with that question is a data point. How guarded or upfront they answer it is a data point. Here's a freebie: my manager's feedback to me is that I need to listen more at meetings (I've been on the project for a very long time, and I "have answers" for most regular questions; but I'm not going to always be right, so I need to more proactively leave space to let others put forward their thoughts and criteria before diving into solutioning). I'm actively working on it (I've printed it above my monitor:). I'm comfortable sharing this widely including at an interview - it's a real, genuine, useful feedback. I'm proud that my manager takes time to coach me, and I will do my best to coach others. Inasmuch as interviews are about fit for the role, it's data point, that as as a candidate one may or may not care about, whether the interviewer is comfortable with that question.

slepkin 3y ago

Thanks for reading! Agreed, not all of these questions are a good fit for every interview. If you're in front of a panel of manager+team, “What kind of critical feedback have you heard from that guy sitting right there?" will be awkward and uninformative. But I maintain that it's a useful question to ask 1:1 with one of your potential teammates.