11. The 5W’s about Asking Questions during Interviews
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Episode 11 on Anchor.FM
Episode Description / Notes:
We all know prepping for an Interviewer’s questions is they key to a good interview. Do you know what makes for a GREAT interview though? You firing back with some questions of your own!
In this episode, we talk about the who, what, when, where and why, of asking questions during an Interview. I’ll touch upon my 5 top-tips about asking questions so you can show that you are THE PERFECT CANDIDATE for the job!
I'll also talk about some very important reasons why you should be asking questions to your interviewer, and how it can benefit you. Don't miss out!
Episode Script
Welcome to this episode of SpeakingSoftware. I'm your host Philip, and together we're going take another look at the soft side of Software Development.
Folks, this time we’re covering the Who, What, When, Where and Why of asking questions during interviews. I have 5 great tips on how to ask the right questions so that your interviewer knows that you are THE perfect candidate for the job.
Asking key questions to your interviewers is a great way to demonstrate you’re an expert in your craft and helping them trust in your abilities. If you haven’t been asking questions in interviews then you’ve been losing out on big opportunities to show-off.
Normally when I explain this concept to the people that I mentor and coach, they immediately ask me “Well, which Questions do I ask?!” and my answer is always the same: “it depends on who you’re talking to!”
Before we get into that though, let's cover some basic ground…
Questions
There’s actually 2 reasons why we ask questions in interviews.
The first reason is to gather the information we need to determine if this position is desirable/worthwhile for us.
You want to find out as fast as possible if this is a job that you actually want.
Any clues you can get about the projects, people, politics, state of the codebase, how modern the tooling is, career advancement, etc… all go a very long way to helping you make an informed decision.
Most companies have prepared scripts and slide-decks for items to ask you about.
A well-timed question can get them to reveal or leak something that they may not have otherwise actually said.
Finding out the project you’re working on is 15 years old BEFORE you sign a job contract can literally save you months/years of heart and sleep problems.
Even something generic like “What’s your deployment strategy?” can speak volumes about the way they work.
For example: If they build, zip-up then deploy everything manually, then it's a really good sign that they’re not exactly on the fore-front of an automated cloud-based devops pipeline.
it might just be a deciding factor for you!
Make of this information what you will
The second reason is to showcase our authority and subject-matter expertise. We do this by asking things that demonstrate our knowledge and competency.
The idea here is to ask questions that someone “in-the-know” would ask.
This builds up the trust the company has in you.
Not only have you answered their questions, you’ve shown initiative and challenged them a little.
The trick is to ask a question that allows you to drop a fact or little information snippet
For example: “You mentioned you get 2million calls a day to your Rest API.
Sounds like a ton of data; What does your audit pipeline look like?
That's it - 2 simple reasons. So bearing those in mind, let’s look at my 5 top tips for getting the most mileage out of your probing.
Top-Tip #1 - ask the right person the right thing
Now I know you’re sitting there thinking “Jesus Philip, really bringing the bullshit today!”, however you would be very VERY surprised, especially at the junior & mid level, at how many candidates ask the wrong questions, or even asking the right questions to the wrong people.
Tech Interviews are normally in stages, and they typically it go like:
You have your initial phone screen with an Internal/External Recruiter
You’ll have a general assessment/walkthrough of your Resume, Experience
Live or take-home Tech Test
Team/Cultural fit style interview, most likely with hiring manager
For every company it can be a little different, but it's important to remember there's usually more than one interview, and there's a different context at each stage of the chain. By focusing on the context, you know exactly what’s appropriate to talk about at each stage.
For example: It doesn’t make any sense to ask the recruiter deep questions about the Tech Stack.They just won’t know. Likewise, don’t ask potential-peers about Salary progression, Career advancement, etc… It’s really not appropriate. At best it can be seen as naivety/immaturity or at worst - just plain rude and tone-deaf
However, DO try to ask the right people the right questions! They will 100% appreciate it.
When talking to the recruiter, DO ask them about:
The salary band for the role.
Can you work remotely, and/or is any travel involved?
Is it Bring-your-own-device(s)?
What benefits are offered?
Equity/ Stocks Options
Healthcare, Pension, Life Insurance
Subsidized Lunches, Travel Allowance, Equipment/learning allowance, etc?
What are the interview steps, their format and who’ll be in them?
The big-brained among you will remember my Interview Tips from Episode 5 - this falls into our research strategy.
Knowing who will interview you allows you to prepare tailor your strategy and responses
If you’re talking to someone on the dev team, DO ask them about:
The deployment strategy
Automated / Manual / Hybrid
If they use a special Git/SVN/Version Control workflow
All in on Main/Trunk vs GitFlow, etc?
How do they separate the various parts of the applications?
Monolith vs Microservices?
How many layers?
Shared libs, Homegrown Frameworks etc…?
Where do features/tasks come from? Client, Product Team, direct from CTO, etc…?
Who provides Out-of-Hours support? Are there any SREs?
What does their dependency versioning/upgrade strategy look like?
One of my favorites is asking “If you could change anything about your development pipeline, what would it be?”. This gives them the chance to vent about something they’re working on, and you commiserating with them helps build a great rapport. It also gives you a clever insight into any problems that plague the team/projects.
NB: Be warned that anyone who says “they wouldn’t change a thing” is a bare-faced liar.
If you’re talking to the Hiring Manager in a separate conversation, ask them about:
Team Composition
Distributed team? How does that work with timezones?
Can you work asynchronously?
Development strategy (Agile, Scrum or Waterfall team, etc…?).
What prompted the hire?
New round of funding?
New Client/project?
Someone left? Is this a new position or to replace someone?
What Career advancement options lead from this position?
How long is ramp-up time? Expected to deploy to production on day 1 or do you have to go through 3-6 months of training/shadowing first?
A favorite of mine is “What does success look like for the chosen candidate in the first 3-6 months”. Questions like show you’re looking at this as more than a 9-5, and that you want to succeed.
Top Tip #2 - Read the Room!
If you have a pleasant, jovial, conversational interview - take advantage of the situation. Go with the flow and keep the conversational roll going!
If your interview is a talker, well, we all know that people who like to talk/explain JUST LOVE getting questions. It lets them keep speaking and showing off to you what THEY know. Explainers love questions, so use it!
If your interviewer is being belligerent, difficult or non-cooperative then they’re not going to give you quality answers, nor take note of the strength of your question. Don’t waste your time - it might annoy them further. Sometimes if the room or ambience isn’t right, it can be a good idea not to risk making it worse. Its possible to recover from these situations, so use your own judgement.
Be wary of lunchtime interviews or night-time interviews (out-of-office hours). Many people in these interviews have been assigned or dragged in against their will, so they’ll want to breeze through as quick as possible to get back to “their” time. Unless you’ve specifically requested one of these, try and reschedule. You won’t be able to make as much impact here, even with top-tier questions.
Top Tip #3 - Follow up their answer with another Question
Shows you’re actively listening and that you’re engaged in the topic.
Remember Reason 1 and 2
Gather more info
Showcase your expertise
You’re drilling down into the topic further, again showcasing your expertise
Something along the lines of “Oh you do X? How do you deal with Y?”
Top Tip #4 - Ask with Contextual Relevance
Don’t ask something unrelated to what you’ve been talking about - just to ask a question.
This goes hand-in-hand with the 2 principles we talked about at the start:
We ask questions to get info we want,
and to impress the interviewer.
Asking a random question, just for the sake of asking one, will do neither.
For example, If you’ve been talking about Stored Procedures, Joins and Views for the last 30 minutes, etc… don’t end by asking why the frontend team didn’t use React, or why the CTO isn’t hardcore into scrum. The person you’re asking MAY be able to answer the question, but might feel a little “off” that you segued into something else. They might get the idea that you have a desire to work on other projects/other teams once you get your foot in the door,, and then they’ll wonder if this is the position for you.
Keep it contextual! Ask something related to what you’ve already discussed.
Top Tip #5 - Don’t let a lack of time stop you
You’ll find there are times when the interview says at the end “We’re just out of time, unless you have a question?”. They’ll look at their watch or clock impatiently, and then back at you with a raised eyebrow, wishing you’ll say “That’s fine, thanks for your time”. Pay no heed and ask away!
Now I’m not saying drag it out, or waste their time just to prove a point.
However I AM saying that you shouldn’t drop this opportunity just for their convenience.
You’ll be remembered more for asking a good question than for letting them finish on time.
If you have an appropriate question to ask - do so. Don’t miss out on the opportunity and regret it later. If they’re 6 minutes late for their next interview or their lunch-break; well look - these things happen...
Top Tip #6 - the SECRET PRO TIP!
Did I say 5 tips? I lied!
If you REALLY want to stand out as a star candidate - then this is the tip for you.
DO NOT WAIT UNTIL SOMEONE ASKS IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS TO START ASKING QUESTIONS.
If you take away only 1 sentence from this entire episode - this is the one.
DO NOT WAIT UNTIL SOMEONE ASKS IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS TO START ASKING QUESTIONS.
I’ve covered before in Episode 5, that the interview should be a 2-way dialogue, not just a “They ask and You answer” session. You need to engage with the interviewer. Now, this doesn’t mean you need to become an extroverted, conversational wizard! However, it does mean you converse with them, and try to make them like you for this position. Show you’re pleasant to work with, that you can challenge ideas, find information and discuss solutions. The way for that to happen is ask them questions at appropriate points.
Be proactive in your questioning, not reactive. Fill them with confidence. Not only are you demonstrating you know your stuff, but also that you are present and involved. You’re showing that you’re not a drone and you’re taking initiative. This is NEVER a bad thing!
Summary
So there we go - 5 great tips for asking questions in an interview, with a sneaky sixth one for use by the PROs amongst you. Lets recap them quickly:
Ask the right person the right question
Read the Room
Follow up their answer with yet another question
Ask with contextual relevance
Don’t let a lack of time stop you
Pro Tip: Don’t wait until prompted to ask questions.
If you follow these, you are definitely going to see marked improvements in your interview strategy and in the way interviews and hiring managers will perceive you.
On a final note: I’m a firm believer in the phrase “If you don’t ask; you don’t get”. The point of interviewing is that both you and the company can evaluate each other. This means that both of you can make your independent, informed decisions on whether you’ll work in the offered position.
You can’t make an informed decision without information - so don’t feel put off. Ask away!
The right companies will be very happy that you did.
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I also offer mock-interviews and soft-skill interview prep – drop me a line via my contact form and we’ll get your sorted! I’d love to discuss your situation and how we can get you into a place of confidence and success.
Folks, we have been Speaking Software. Catch you next time!