25 ms·

I ask some questions about test coverage, coding standards, code reviews.. I'm sometimes more interested in whether I get the same answers from different people

I ask some questions about test coverage, coding standards, code reviews.. I'm sometimes more interested in whether I get the same answers from different people or not than the particulars. I always ask for an example of a technical or tools decision that was made. I'm usually looking to see whether decision-making is well distributed or things get bottlenecked by a manage or lead. Probably most of all I pick at how the organization decides what to build. I'll ask about features or products that have been sunset or rehashed, how requirements are discovered and communicated. How prioritization works. One of the easiest ways to get red flags here when applying for a spot on a team is to ask everyone I interview with what the team is currently working on. A large variety of answers makes me nervous. Oh, and also big points off for "Yes" to the following: - Do you have an exchange server? - Do you have a sales team? - Is the person who makes the purchase decision for your product your primary user?

icelancer 14y ago
I don't agree with: >Do you have a sales team? If customers need to call in and speak to engineers or other non-business people to negotiate sales, that sucks. Having inbound sales people is a vital part of any good mid-sized company.
- famousactress 14y ago
  If you need humans to sell things, then of course I agree that you ought to have a sales team. I would just rather work somewhere that doesn't need humans to sell things. The problem I have with sales is that they're often very good at what they do. Once you have sales, you have two products. Your sales folks, and the thing people think they're paying you for. It gets hard to know which one is failing, or worse.. succeeding.
  - icelancer 14y ago
    At some point if your company is any good, you WILL need humans to sell things. People will want to call in for more information, and the job of the person taking that informational call is to convert them. Unless you're Google where you don't give a hoot. Not everyone is secure with a "F you, sign up online or else" policy. Good salespeople with domain expertise can be exceedingly helpful at introducing direction to the company - not just automatons who sell things.
Evbn 14y ago
What company do you like that has no sales team? And did you miss a negative in your last question?

icelancer 14y ago

I don't agree with: >Do you have a sales team? If customers need to call in and speak to engineers or other non-business people to negotiate sales, that sucks. Having inbound sales people is a vital part of any good mid-sized company.

famousactress 14y ago
If you need humans to sell things, then of course I agree that you ought to have a sales team. I would just rather work somewhere that doesn't need humans to sell things. The problem I have with sales is that they're often very good at what they do. Once you have sales, you have two products. Your sales folks, and the thing people think they're paying you for. It gets hard to know which one is failing, or worse.. succeeding.
- icelancer 14y ago
  At some point if your company is any good, you WILL need humans to sell things. People will want to call in for more information, and the job of the person taking that informational call is to convert them. Unless you're Google where you don't give a hoot. Not everyone is secure with a "F you, sign up online or else" policy. Good salespeople with domain expertise can be exceedingly helpful at introducing direction to the company - not just automatons who sell things.

Evbn 14y ago

What company do you like that has no sales team? And did you miss a negative in your last question?