When you are looking for a new job, what types of things do you look for in a potential employer? What do you look for?
Beyond the skillset match, what are some of the most important features to look for in a company to best fit intellectual work and development mojo?
Beyond the ubiquitous Joel Test?
Do they do/make something I want to be a part of? If they don't, I stay away. If they do, then it comes down to attitude of the folks I'd be working with.
And where it's located, but again - if I don't want to be there, I wouldn't be applying to start with.
I look for information about:
I don't look for any specific development methodologies or technologies. I like to make sure they ask me hard questions that make me think and plumb my knowledge. I'm not talking about MSFT-type riddle questions--I mean questions that take some real thinking and reasoning. This shows they're not just filling chairs and are looking for quality developers.
I also try to see if they are staffed with people smarter than myself. This one can be hard to find out during an interview, but it definitely makes me a better developer to learn from people who know more than I do.
I may add...
Do they seem to know what are they talking about? If they don't know about your expertise, are they honest about it? I once interviewed a potential boss that said that .NET is a programming language. At least that person also said she was no expert, but anyways, if she's going to make decisions without even reading wikipedia about 5minutes to get an idea about the technology she's working on, it does not look good.
I also try to avoid companies with GURU working models. You know, "we have this super guru that knows absolutely everything there is to know, but we also need intelligent developers that can implement our super guru's revolutionary ideas". Baaad bad mojo :)
My 2 cents :)
My list of general questions:
What software development methodology do they use?
What kind of specifications do developer machines generally have?
How often are meetings to hear what is going on within the company?
What bug tracking, time sheet, and version control are used?
What versions of which IDE are used for most of the development?
What kinds of processes are there for code reviews and other basic standards?
Besides the actual answers, I'm looking to see if there is some confidence in their answer and that they do give a reasonable answer and not some BS that they think I want to hear.
Questions you need to ask:
What will your working environment be like? (Quiet? Noisy? Crowded? Will people be bumping into you all day long? Will you be under the room's air conditioning duct? Can you use an ipod? Can you bring in comfort items (wrist-rest,keyboard,mouse,armrest pads) from home?)
Software: Compiler? IDE? Revision control? Testing? Bug-tracking? Editor? OS? Window manager? Can Open-Source tools be installed? Will you have root access? Can you bring in your own .emacs, .cshrc, etc files?
Hardware: What will be on your desktop? Monitor size & type? Computer? RAM? CPU? Harddisk?
What are their coding standards?
How are code reviews handled? How often will they be conducted?
Ask about and review any (NDA/Employee) agreements you will be asked to sign!
Find out how you will be evaluated? What freedom will you have in determining your software design, time estimates, deadlines, and methods of measurement?
From the WARFILES: I started a new job last Monday. I lasted 90 minutes. I thought I knew what I was doing... The right questions to ask... After all, I've been around the block a few times. These folks certainly talked a good game.
Boy, when I'm wrong...
So these folks hired me to develop C++ applications under Linux. Monday morning I found out I'd be restricted to using Outlook/IE. Installing, let alone using, Firefox was forbidden. I asked the obvious question. (How to use Outlook/IE under Linux?) Turns out their programmers get a Windows box on their desktop with Hummingbird X-Windows software installed, and need to share a common Linux machine with other developers. We were cautioned against using too many resources on that machine, because after all it is SHARED...
Move on to the NDA. It's a little overly broad, perhaps unintentionally giving them rights to whatever I develop during my off-hours. Without compensation, of course. I dabble in open-source, so this is a small matter of concern. I tried to negotiate more reasonable terms. (I'm happy to give them rights to anything they pay for.) They seemed to feel that, since they use [purchase] open-source software, my developing open-source software in my off-hours constituted a conflict of interest and promptly rescinded their offer.
I'm a lucky man. Somebody up above was watching out for me that day!
I've since learned that they're on a death-march. I'm now hearing rumors that their coding standards, which I did not get to see, prohibit casting between base and derived classes, amongst other atrocities. But thankfully I can't confirm that.
Bottom line: ASK QUESTIONS! A job can go from Mr.Right to Mr.Wrong faster than you would ever believe possible!
I always get a tour of the office during my 2nd or 3rd interview. Things I look for:
All the answers here have good stuff in them.
There is one that is obvious that tells the story quicker than any of the others.
Are the employee bathrooms clean and supplied?
I don't care about the executive ones.
Do they care enough to keep them clean for the employees?
If the answer is no, try somewhere else.
Find out if the company attitude is one of caring about people. This comes from the top down. Do they treat people as human beings or as comodities? Are they trying to build a business, or make a quick buck? Look at the bosses and try to see if they are interested in people. Look at the employees and try to tell if they are happy. One way to tell: what's the turnover?