-Do you do performance evaluations / raises?
-Do you block any part of the internet?
-Do you allow working remotely?
-Do you have a sane sick day policy?
-What kind of basic hours per week do you expect?
-I worked at a place for 4.5 years without a single raise.
-I worked at a place that blocked every port other than 80, and that blocked most websites that used post operations, all email websites, and all personal file transfer apps (like dropbox).
-I worked at a place that literally did not allow working remotely, even though it was the kind of place where that actually would have been useful and productive, especially for emergencies.
-I worked at a place that only gave you three sick days per year. After that you were expected to either use your vacation days or accept unpaid days.
-I worked at a place that required 60 hours per week as a bare minimum, but in reality, expected more like 80+
(And these were all high tech companies)
"-I worked at a place for 4.5 years without a single raise."
Did this place have solid revenues? They very well may not have earned a penny, in which case the backers wouldn't necessarily OK a raise.
"-I worked at a place that blocked every port other than 80, and that blocked most websites that used post operations, all email websites, and all personal file transfer apps (like dropbox)."
Were you in a regulated company? (I know you said high-tech but even within that area there are companies bound by various regulations like HIPAA)
"-I worked at a place that literally did not allow working remotely"
See above
"-I worked at a place that only gave you three sick days per year. After that you were expected to either use your vacation days or accept unpaid days."
How many vacation days did they give you? I've seen some companies give more vacation days but force you to take vacation days when you are sick. All in all, I think I would prefer 4 weeks vacation and no sick days versus 2 weeks vacation and 2 weeks sick days.
"-I worked at a place that required 60 hours per week as a bare minimum, but in reality, expected more like 80+"
I'm reminded of the office space scene with the flair. Especially when you are joining an early-stage company, you should expect to work long hours initially (which should taper off as the business settles.
2. No, it was a videogame company.
3. See above.
4. Two weeks, though in my case I was able to argue them to three because I had previously received three weeks at a different job.
5. It was not an early stage company, also it was a company with no proper goals or direction, and massive amounts of mismanagement. You weren't at work for 60-80 hours because you had a lot to do; you were there because they expected you to be there, whether you had work to do or not. Leaving 'early' was cause for shaming because of "letting down all the other hard workers".
edit: I am now working for a company that had answers to all the questions, and did not lie about them, and it is effectively a dream job. Part of asking questions is making sure you get answers, and if you don't, then bail.
Owners/management say things like "we're small so we don't have a set vacation policy." Which sounds cool and works out fine until Willy starts coming in at 11 am and leaving at 3 pm and you wonder why you're stuck at the office on a holiday.
IMO It's much better to have set policies so everyone knows where they stand. Another option is to find a company that doesn't hire/tolerate those types of Willys, but that's difficult to know beforehand.
"-Do you do performance evaluations / raises?"
Yes, we do performance evaluations and raises. (We haven't actually issued a raise yet, but there is a plan at one point in the future)
"-Do you block any part of the internet?"
Not to my knowledge (We do block parts of the internet, such as porn websites, but we don't expect you to attempt to go to any of those blocked sites)
"-Do you allow working remotely?"
Yes (but it looks really bad and you will be judged negatively)
"-Do you have a sane sick day policy?"
Yes (for certain definitions of sane)
"-What kind of basic hours per week do you expect?"
We don't expect you to work 24-7 if that's what you are asking (but we do expect 16-hour days)
"Do you allow remote working?" "Yes, someone on our team currently works remotely, it's fine"
A non-straight answer is still an answer and still tells you something.
- Can I talk to a future coworker (aka what is the "real" job and what is the "real" culture like)
- Bro-grammer culture or professional culture? (will I be required to slam shots after hours, play xbox each lunch hour, and whistle at chicks with my coworkers or can I act civilized?). Probably best to ask the "future coworker"
- (assuming I'm replacing someone) What happened to the guy I would replace? (my brand new future boss, fired for cause, died, transfer, prison, quit, or what exactly am I stepping into at least in the rather short term?)
- When would you expect me to start work (tomorrow is a no-go, gimme about 3 weeks?)
- Any weird requirements for dress code?
I will concede that a brogramming environment could theoretically be, for the sake of brevity, civilized. Unlikely, but possible. Hearing phrases at the interview about behavior like "boys will be boys" and discovering at the interview its a hard drinking all straight single white male existing staff might be a bad sign. I can't believe I'm actually advocating for diversity after a lifetime of making fun of it, but...
>> -Do you do performance evaluations / raises?
What's the average percentage of base salary raise your non-management employees received last year?
(cut the crap and just give the real numbers)
>> -Do you allow working remotely?
Do you believe that employee's productivity and ability to contribute to company's success is impossible without him occupying the same office chair every day?
(answering yes would make employer look really stupid)