4 ms·

How about the standard questions: * How much money is in the bank, i.e. how long can they go until the next investment round? * Where does the company see its

How about the standard questions: * How much money is in the bank, i.e. how long can they go until the next investment round? * Where does the company see itself in five years? * What opportunities are there for employee development? And please, please stop with the cultural fit! Some people do not want to have to go for beers every other night or play Xbox tournaments all Friday!

GotAnyMegadeth 14y ago
> And please, please stop with the cultural fit! Some people do not want to have to go for beers every other night or play Xbox tournaments all Friday! But that is cultural fit. If the culture is not doing those things.
- mrcharles 14y ago
  You can be a good cultural fit for a job even if you don't fraternize outside of work hours.
hga 14y ago
Amen to the first question. I also ask/try to figure out in a very small startup "Can you fire people?" Because many people are bad at this and the only thing worse than a bad hire is not dealing with it in a timely fashion. For that matter, your interview will implicitly tell you how good they might be at hiring good people.
noarchy 14y ago
The "cultural fit" stuff is a sore spot with me. If you have any kind of life outside of work (or want one), this can be a real stumbling block. Maybe I want to take a walk during lunch, and relax, and not be forced to talk about work during communal lunches. I might want to go see non-work friends or family once the day's work is done, and not go to the bar and show everyone that I like the same microbrews that the office likes. And Friday evenings? Forget about me wanting to stick around the office.
- era86 14y ago
  Well said. We aren't looking for friends (although it doesn't hurt), we're looking for a great place to work!
  - niggler 14y ago
    I think "Will they laugh if I quote something from Office Space?" suggests something different, more about the levity of the team.
    - arethuza 14y ago
      Actually, I've seen places where "Do they ever laugh?" would be a more appropriate question.
      - niggler 14y ago
        You know, it's not necessarily a bad thing. I and many others like some separation between "work life" and "personal life"
        mindcrime 14y ago
        That's a fair point, but there are also many of us who want to be friends with our co-workers, and not just see them as little automatons that we interact with for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, and never again. Personally the kind of companies I prefer to work for are exactly the kind where lots of people are genuinely friends, where they do group activities (voluntary, of course) together outside of work, and where people actually like and enjoy each other. Likewise with the company I've founded... when the day comes that we have employees and all that jazz, I do care about "cultural fit" and I would prefer to bring in people who want to be in that kind of environment. It has nothing to do with wanting to control anyone's "outside of work" life, or denying them "separation of work and personal", it's just that it's more fun to work in that kind of environment and also, IMO, more productive. None of this implies that we would ever demand that someone sacrifice elements of their personal life in favour of doing things with co-workers, of course. And we would not be doing group events where participation is mandatory or where you would be "dinged" for choosing not to go. It's just that I like working in a very collegial, friendly, inviting culture where people genuinely enjoy each other.
era86 14y ago
These are great questions to ask! Especially, the second one. Understanding how and where the company is going is important because it says a lot about how your role might change over time. However, I disagree about "cultural fit". I feel like being on board with the values and practices of a company are important. Beers and ping-pong aren't all there is to company culture.
niggler 14y ago
"* How much money is in the bank, i.e. how long can they go until the next investment round?" Is there any way to verify this information? Anyone can say anything, and even if they show you the bank balance you don't know the expenses etc
- hga 14y ago
  Indeed, but I've never found that necessary. The reactions to the question, including non-verbal, tell you a whole lot, as does the specificity of the reply.
- rmc 14y ago
  You might be able to look at your country's company registration office and look at the annual reports they file. They might claim to have been profitable and cash flow positive for years, but their annual reports might show something different.
  - niggler 14y ago
    "look at the annual reports they file" only applicable for public companies or those with enough shareholders that they have to issue public reports. For small startups it doesn't apply. FYI: Just did the biannual report for NY state (for a small partnership) -- they don't ask for income; they just want a statement of ownership
    - rmc 14y ago
      Depends on the area and country. Some small non public companies that I'd consider start up have had to file reports.
ryusage 14y ago
The culture thing to me has never meant doing things outside work. Is that a startup thing I'm not aware of? Even in the OP, I don't think that's quite what was meant. It's more a matter of shared interests and compatible personalities. Maybe you're not the type to hang out outside work, you don't have time, whatever. But how well are we going to get along for the 8 hours a day we spend together?

GotAnyMegadeth 14y ago

> And please, please stop with the cultural fit! Some people do not want to have to go for beers every other night or play Xbox tournaments all Friday! But that is cultural fit. If the culture is not doing those things.

mrcharles 14y ago
You can be a good cultural fit for a job even if you don't fraternize outside of work hours.

hga 14y ago

Amen to the first question. I also ask/try to figure out in a very small startup "Can you fire people?" Because many people are bad at this and the only thing worse than a bad hire is not dealing with it in a timely fashion. For that matter, your interview will implicitly tell you how good they might be at hiring good people.

noarchy 14y ago

The "cultural fit" stuff is a sore spot with me. If you have any kind of life outside of work (or want one), this can be a real stumbling block. Maybe I want to take a walk during lunch, and relax, and not be forced to talk about work during communal lunches. I might want to go see non-work friends or family once the day's work is done, and not go to the bar and show everyone that I like the same microbrews that the office likes. And Friday evenings? Forget about me wanting to stick around the office.

era86 14y ago
Well said. We aren't looking for friends (although it doesn't hurt), we're looking for a great place to work!
- niggler 14y ago
  I think "Will they laugh if I quote something from Office Space?" suggests something different, more about the levity of the team.
  - arethuza 14y ago
    Actually, I've seen places where "Do they ever laugh?" would be a more appropriate question.
    - niggler 14y ago
      You know, it's not necessarily a bad thing. I and many others like some separation between "work life" and "personal life"
      - mindcrime 14y ago
        That's a fair point, but there are also many of us who want to be friends with our co-workers, and not just see them as little automatons that we interact with for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, and never again. Personally the kind of companies I prefer to work for are exactly the kind where lots of people are genuinely friends, where they do group activities (voluntary, of course) together outside of work, and where people actually like and enjoy each other. Likewise with the company I've founded... when the day comes that we have employees and all that jazz, I do care about "cultural fit" and I would prefer to bring in people who want to be in that kind of environment. It has nothing to do with wanting to control anyone's "outside of work" life, or denying them "separation of work and personal", it's just that it's more fun to work in that kind of environment and also, IMO, more productive. None of this implies that we would ever demand that someone sacrifice elements of their personal life in favour of doing things with co-workers, of course. And we would not be doing group events where participation is mandatory or where you would be "dinged" for choosing not to go. It's just that I like working in a very collegial, friendly, inviting culture where people genuinely enjoy each other.

era86 14y ago

These are great questions to ask! Especially, the second one. Understanding how and where the company is going is important because it says a lot about how your role might change over time. However, I disagree about "cultural fit". I feel like being on board with the values and practices of a company are important. Beers and ping-pong aren't all there is to company culture.

niggler 14y ago

"* How much money is in the bank, i.e. how long can they go until the next investment round?" Is there any way to verify this information? Anyone can say anything, and even if they show you the bank balance you don't know the expenses etc

hga 14y ago
Indeed, but I've never found that necessary. The reactions to the question, including non-verbal, tell you a whole lot, as does the specificity of the reply.
rmc 14y ago
You might be able to look at your country's company registration office and look at the annual reports they file. They might claim to have been profitable and cash flow positive for years, but their annual reports might show something different.
- niggler 14y ago
  "look at the annual reports they file" only applicable for public companies or those with enough shareholders that they have to issue public reports. For small startups it doesn't apply. FYI: Just did the biannual report for NY state (for a small partnership) -- they don't ask for income; they just want a statement of ownership
  - rmc 14y ago
    Depends on the area and country. Some small non public companies that I'd consider start up have had to file reports.

ryusage 14y ago

The culture thing to me has never meant doing things outside work. Is that a startup thing I'm not aware of? Even in the OP, I don't think that's quite what was meant. It's more a matter of shared interests and compatible personalities. Maybe you're not the type to hang out outside work, you don't have time, whatever. But how well are we going to get along for the 8 hours a day we spend together?