Questions you should be asking at your job interview as a Junior Developer
Preparing for a job interview — especially a tech interview — can be daunting. So much so that it is easy to forget all about things like culture and workflow and other key features that you should also be considering when applying for a job as a developer. Of course you can ask about compensation and vacation, but those answers are going to tell you anything about who you are really working for. Asking questions back to your interviewers shows that you have thought critically about working for their company and that you have a standard that you want to maintain in your work. Asking questions just looks good.
Don’t know what to ask? I’ve got you covered!
What is the mentorship and onboarding like?
This question should be your top priority. You want to get a feel for what your first few weeks/months are going to look like. Is there a company-wide program and/or one for engineering? Once you are on a team, do you have a direct report/mentor that you can bounce ideas off of? The last thing you want is to feel like you’ve been dropped in the deep-end so make sure you feel comfortable with how your first chunk of time on the job will be.
How large are the teams?
This helps you get a good feel for how the company operates. Are you going to be in a small group that you become friendly with and will ask questions to? Or will you join a massive team and feel a bit out to sea when you start getting stuck on more complex bugs. My personal preference for team size is to follow the two-pizza rule, but maybe you thrive in larger group settings.
What are the testing practices?
Are these testing engineers on the team or is it up to the devs? What is the code coverage like? Are devs expected to be writing unit tests? Even if you are someone who doesn’t like testing, going into a codebase that is thoroughly tested will make your job so much less stressful. If the company hasn’t implemented much in the way of testing (which can be common among early stage startups), are they doing anything to remedy that? Trust me when I say this, but you will sleep easier knowing that your most recent deploy won’t take down the entire system because a bug was caught in testing.
How does the company deploy their code?
Is it continuous deployment? Is there a deploy schedule? Although the answer to this question might not affect your decision to join a company, it is worth knowing what your sprints/deadlines will look like, as deployment patterns can change all of that very easily.
Is there opportunity to learn outside of my regular tasks?
As a junior developer, the name of the game is learning. The first few weeks/months are going to be a bit intense learning the code patterns and practices of your new company and that should be your main focus. But once that dust settles, you still want to strive to grow as much as you can as a developer. It is very easy to fall into a pattern where you work on mostly the same content day in and day out, so if that is the case then ask to see if the company enables their employees to grow their careers. Maybe its time set aside for online courses or lunch and learns, or even just side-project time, but a company that is invested in your learning is also invested in your best interest — and that’s definitely a good thing.
In Conclusion
Job interviews are a 2 way street. You need to show up prepared and eager to learn about your potential workplace. Although at times it seems as if you will be happy to accept any job, you need to think of job hunting more like matchmaking and ask the right questions to decide if a company is right for you as much as they need to decide if you are right for them.
