This article was originally published on .cult by Mikaella C. .cult is a Berlin-based community platform for developers. We write about all things career-related, make original documentaries and share heaps of other untold developer stories from around the world.
The job posting looked great. The company is interesting. The role offers you a challenge youâre excited to tackle. But when you get to the first interview, you have a strange feeling of unease⌠or worse, you think the interview is fine, miss all kinds of red flags and end up working somewhere truly miserable.
Some interview red flags are applicable to anyone in any career: an interviewer who is rude to you, for example, or a company who forgets to book a space to interview you in. Thereâs also the importance of trusting your own gut â if you have a creeping feeling that you donât want this job, you might be picking up on under-the-surface signals. But there are also some specific warning signs for developers on the hunt for a new role. In this article, weâll tell you what to watch out for!
1. âHaha, yeah, we work a lotâ
Itâs no surprise that developers often end up putting in overtime. Itâs a demanding job, and sometimes youâll have a stressful or busy week or month. But watch out for companies who seem to imply that constant overtime is just âpart of the job.â Some companies will expect developers to put in more hours than is fair, and even the dream job might not be so dreamy if youâre working 60+ or even 80+ hour work weeks.
How can I be sure?
Aim to get a clear, satisfying answer about how many hours are typical. Donât let your interviewer off the hook with platitudes like âthis is industry standard, soâŚâ or âwe work hard to play hard!â If youâre expected to always be reachable on your company phone, the phone might not be worth it in the first place.
2. The job sounds simple but they insist it will be challenging
Sometimes a job description will feel like a âcheck the boxesâ situation: yep, I can do that, and that, and that! But what if the role looks incredibly straightforward, and yet your interviewer keeps emphasising what a âchallengingâ place this is to work, or that they need someone who âloves a challengeâ?
Of course, a challenge at work can be a great thing â it can keep you motivated, help your professional development and add some interest to a routine workday. But if the interview stresses how challenging the role is, and the job description doesnât seem very challenging to you, it might be a danger sign down the road. Maybe itâs not your role thatâs challenging, but the companyâs management style. Maybe theyâve had people quit over poor deadline enforcement or internal communication, and are trying to reframe those flaws into âpart of the job,â rather than something that needs to be fixed.
How can I be sure?
Ask your interviewer exactly what about the role is âchallenging.â Ask for specifics, and donât be afraid to say that the job duties seem standard to you, and youâre not sure where the challenge will be.
3. âRockstar required!â (Or any similar barf-worthy name)
This is the kind of red flag that can pop up in a job description or interview. âRockstar required!â has become a part of start-up jargon that many developers are now rolling their eyes at because itâs one of those terms that doesnât seem to mean anything. It can cover a multitude of sins, including a role thatâs going to be mostly responding to panicked demands from higher-ups, or a role that hasnât been properly defined.
How can I be sure?
Sometimes trendy jargon is just that: trendy. It might be a little annoying or overdone, but itâs not necessarily a warning sign as long as the rest of the role looks clear and achievable. But if itâs paired with a vague description or an interviewer who doesnât really seem to understand engineering and what a business really needs⌠beware!
4. âMust know 10+ languages and every possible toolâ
Unreasonable or outsized technical requirements might mean that the company doesnât have a solid and sensible operation method. Even in the newest of startups, youâll want to work for a company that is approaching its development in a practical, straightforward way. If they want you to know too many languages and tools, it might be a sign that they donât yet have a grip on their programming requirements and processes.
How can I be sure?
Get deep into the technicalities. If there seem to be lots of languages and tools at work, ask them for their reasoning behind this requirement. Make sure that theyâre thinking through the way they work, and not simply expecting their developers to jump on every buzzy language or tool at the drop of a hat.
5. You only get a technical interview
Of course, your coding skills are usually the most important part of your job. But theyâre not the only part! If a company is only interested in a technical interview, this suggests that theyâre not interested in your collaborative, communicative, or even problem-solving skills. And that, in turn, means that theyâve probably hired other people whose skills in those areas have not been evaluated, which means you could be working with people who are all hard skills and no soft skills. That makes for a lot of fights in meetings or unpleasant lunches.
What if your favorite part of the job is the coding and you prefer a role thatâs not heavy on interaction? Of course, thatâs completely fine! But even if you donât talk to people much in your job, you probably will have to talk to them from time to time, and a company should be ready to evaluate that. You can make it clear in your job interview that youâre less interested in the âsocialâ side of work while still showing that youâre a pleasant and communicative team member. And remember, a team who doesnât talk to each other is never going to get anything done.
6. Your interview looks like a pop quiz
Just like a purely technical interview might indicate youâll be working with difficult people, an interviewer whoâs too invested in testing your intellect might not be the easiest person to work with.
Because developers work in the âhard skillsâ arena, itâs important that an interviewer tests you on your knowledge and skills. But watch out for an interviewer who spends all their time quizzing you and trying to beat you in intellectual one-upmanship or an interviewer who is only able to accept their solution to the problem theyâve posed. This could be a sign of arrogance or lack of flexibility in the workplace. Most of us want to avoid a hostile dog-eat-dog working environment, so watch out for anyone who starts barking!
7. âUuuh, the other devs are too busy to joinâ
The person who can give you the most insight into your potential role, along with its challenges and its responsibilities, is another developer. For most developer roles, there will be at least one developer whoâs part of the interviewing team. Or perhaps, if the developers donât want to or arenât up for interviewing a candidate, the company will organize an opportunity for you to chat or have a coffee with one or more members of your future team.
But if youâre not given the opportunity to talk to another developer, it might be that thereâs unrest in the team. Perhaps the other developers arenât happy with the company or there are problems the hiring committee doesnât want you to know about. If the interviewer says something like, âoh, theyâre all also new and wonât be able to give you much insight,â or says that itâs rare to meet people whoâve been in the office for more than a few months⌠You may be looking at a warning sign that the company has a lot of turnovers and doesnât value its long-term employees. Donât be sucked in by a smiling face that isnât going to give you real insights into the team.
How can I be sure?
Sometimes the lack of this option might just be an oversight, particularly if the hiring committee is busy or if the role is urgent. But always feel free to ask. The way your interviewer reacts to your request will give you good insight into whether it was a mistake or a strategic decision to hide things from you.
8. Non-existent vision, purpose, or reasonable goals
One of the interviewerâs responsibilities is to make it clear how your job will feed into the companyâs greater output. If your interviewer canât explain the companyâs vision, purpose or goals, you might be running into trouble. A developerâs role is to build the technology that enables a companyâs USP. But if your interviewer canât clearly communicate what that USP is, it might be a sign that you have a long and frustrating path ahead with this company, where youâll be stuck trying to divine their concept of the company and transform it into code. Youâre a developer, not a mindreader!
How can I be sure?
Sometimes individual people get flustered and explain something badly â and believe it or not, interviewers themselves get nervous about hosting a job interview. If they give an answer that is muddled or unclear, ask a follow-up question, or say something along the lines of, âIâm sorry, Iâm still not clear on the companyâs exact aims. Could you break it down for me?â If possible, ask another person in the hiring team or the company. And if youâre still struggling to understand, it might be time to reevaluate.
9. The ten-year-old company that is still a âstartupâ
Look, we all love startups. They can be some of the most exciting and inventive places to work, and itâs a lot of fun to get in on a company on the ground floor. But a company that is still defining itself as a startup after ten years might not be headed in such a great direction. Even if theyâre not struggling financially, they might be using the âstartupâ concept as an excuse for bad performance, bad management, and bad development strategies.
And there are all sorts of potential pitfalls that could be waiting for you if you choose to join such a company. Maybe the product has expanded so much and so wildly that itâs tough to add new features. Maybe there are thousands of old bugs that you canât dismantle without taking the whole product offline. Either way, it could be a balancing act rather than a chance to build.
How can I be sure?
Ask your interviewer what the past decade has taught the company. Ask them why theyâre still self-defining as a startup. Ask what the path for the future looks like. And be sure to talk to another developer who will be able to give you an insight into whatâs going on behind the name.
10. Employees with glassy eyes and no spark
Start checking out your potential new company well before the interview officially begins. As youâre being led to the interview room, take a look around: how do people look? Are the corridors busy and full of conversation and activity, or has the company culture translated into a deadened, apathetic feel? Where do the developers work, and is it an office set-up youâd be comfortable in?
If youâre looking at a remote role (or âremote for nowâ), it can be more difficult to get a feel for the environment, so make sure to ask about the company culture. How does the company make their workers feel welcome even in a situation where you donât physically work together? And what are their plans for the future? If you want to stay remote, or if youâre looking forward to returning to the office one day, itâs important to get a sense of whether your preferred working style will be an option.
How can I be sure?
Why not ask something simple like, âCould you describe a typical working day at your company?â See if the interviewer mentions regular team check-ins, lots of meetings, company coffee breaks, and more. Watch out for anything that would make your daily life much better⌠or much worse!
Go forth and interview!
This list might seem like a lot to remember, but itâs unlikely that youâll have to keep track of all these red flags. If you do find a company proudly flying them all, put them in the worst interview hall of fame The main thing to remember is that even though a recruitment process feels weighted towards the companyâs needs, itâs also your chance as a potential future employee to evaluate them and decide whether their working style will be a good fit for you. Trust your gut, ask questions and youâll be sure to land a job at a happy â and sane â company!
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