GUEST POST: Aaron Conaway
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This guest post from Aaron Conaway will really make you think about how important it is to be up front in your interviews, to question every word and detail. If you don't know about Aaron yet...well...where have you been! He writes on his wildly popular blog "Aarons Worthless Words", and you can follow him on Twitter. Follow him, read his stuff, and enjoy!
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I recently took a job at another company, and it didn’t go very well. When I mean it didn’t go well, I’m saying that I called my old boss after 4 days to beg for my old job back. I’m not going to rag on these guys and tell you how bad of a place it was. That’s just too unprofessional and doesn’t benefit anybody. The company, though, is a good case study in perspective and expectation. Whenever I see or hear a term, I usually have a clear definition in my head. For the first time in my 12+ years in networking, I found a company with very different definitions of terms I thought were pretty standard.
For example, in the job description was the phrase “responsible for the design, implementation, and maintenance [of the network].” In my head, that means that this position was the guy or gal who would look at requirements and figure out what was needed for the network to support a particular product, application, kitchen sink, etc. At this company, the design was actually done by the second-in-charge of the company - four levels above the position in the org chart. In my experience, that is just a ridiculous notion, but, from their perspective, that’s the way it’s always been done, and they were comfortable enough to advertise the job as a design position. There are lots of other examples with which I won’t bore (or entertain) you, but you can see my point - your definitions, though accepted by 99% of the world, may not be the same as a new entity’s definition.
How could I have known about this before I accepted the position? I definitely could have asked more questions, but I didn't think I needed to ask if their definition of common words differed from mine. I guess I should have, though, right? With that in mind, I tried to think of other questions that I should have asked but didn't think were necessary. Here are a few of those. Some I took from my experience; some are out of thin air.
Can you define the word “responsible/manage/implement/maintain/kitchen sink” that appears in the description? These definitions should come out in the general discussion with the hiring personnel, but make sure someone spells out in great detail what each line means. This is a big one to me (see above), and you need to be sure you’re comfortable with the definition given.
What’s the last thing you had to do that you felt wasn’t your responsibility? This will show you how often that “other tasks as assigned” section of the job description rears its head. While you don’t expect it, those other tasks may be to empty the trash. You may laugh, but I’ve heard stories of nuclear engineers having to mow the lawns.
Where am I going to sit? I don’t expect a corner office, but I do expect a cube at least. You may wind up at a folding table in the break room, though, so ask to be sure. This is where you’re going to try your best to shine; your environment should support that.
Who sits around me? A corner office is great and all, but, if the Yard Stompin’ Division is outside your door, you may not get very much work done. Even a neighbor who answers the phone all day may negatively impact your performance. Like I just said, your environment should support your ability to do you job.
When is lunch? Don’t assume that you get an hour to take around noon. It’s shocking to think, but some companies demand their employees take 30-minute lunches and be back at their desk at a certain time. This may be very trivial, but you don't want to be insulted when you show up with your coupons to TGI Fridays but don’t have enough time to use them. You also may want to be able to run an errand or two every once in a while.
Is someone in the group expected to be at a desk at all times? Sometimes, the CEO/CTO/COO just wants someone there to yell at if things go wrong. This harkens back to the old days where the white man in the three-piece suit would cower over his workers. It's not very popular or a modern management style, but it's still out there.
What’s the oncall schedule? You assume there is one, but there may not be. A small shop has no need for one, but a larger shop does. If you’re really good at what you do, people will prefer to talk to you instead of the other guys in the group. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but do you really want to take a late-night call because users are troubleshooting the fax machine and don’t know who to call?
Am I allowed to keep my cellphone at my desk? There are companies that don’t allow cellphones in the building at all. It could be compliance or policy, but think about not being able to use your cell phone at your desk for your entire career.
Some of these seem very over the top and melodramatic, but it’s better to know up front than be surprised later. Trust me; I know. And not in a good way.