Asking questions that point out failings of a company (and they all have failings) can be seen as criticism. Criticism from the outside is often viewed negatively, as you don't have the background to understand why the company does things the way they do. To many people this give the impression of arrogance.
It sets the perception of your expectations high early in the process. This may scare of recruiters.
I'm not saying any of these are not relevant questions, but the manner in which they are asked is important.And unfortunately, human nature and defense of one's own failings can cause a negative impression.
My expectations are very high and there's no problem with that. I don't want to work for a company that can't handle high expectations for a supportive environment. So, if they drop interest after these questions because I asked them "too early", good for us both then. Neither of us would be happy down the line.
That’s absolutely right. I’m not sure if you are sending them via mail? If the company has multiple interviews, I would ask them in a first phone interview or so because then I could also ask again to clarify things.
I did a lot of interviews as an interviewer and I always liked it to get such questions because it shows that the candidate knows what’s important. So if you’re not getting further interviewed because of those questions, it was probably not the right company to work for.
It does matter how you ask a question, for sure. For example, I'd really rather not work for a company with no automated testing ever again. Instead of asking, "You people do automated testing?" you can ask, "Can you tell me about your process to ensure a quality product?" People like talking about how clever their processes are, and if they have a good one, they'll probably be happy to answer, and you'll get useful insights. If the answer is "We're a bunch of geniuses who never make mistakes," I can run screaming.
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Asking questions that point out failings of a company (and they all have failings) can be seen as criticism. Criticism from the outside is often viewed negatively, as you don't have the background to understand why the company does things the way they do. To many people this give the impression of arrogance.
It sets the perception of your expectations high early in the process. This may scare of recruiters.
I'm not saying any of these are not relevant questions, but the manner in which they are asked is important.And unfortunately, human nature and defense of one's own failings can cause a negative impression.
Interesting. Thanks for clarifying!
My expectations are very high and there's no problem with that. I don't want to work for a company that can't handle high expectations for a supportive environment. So, if they drop interest after these questions because I asked them "too early", good for us both then. Neither of us would be happy down the line.
That’s absolutely right. I’m not sure if you are sending them via mail? If the company has multiple interviews, I would ask them in a first phone interview or so because then I could also ask again to clarify things.
I did a lot of interviews as an interviewer and I always liked it to get such questions because it shows that the candidate knows what’s important. So if you’re not getting further interviewed because of those questions, it was probably not the right company to work for.
It does matter how you ask a question, for sure. For example, I'd really rather not work for a company with no automated testing ever again. Instead of asking, "You people do automated testing?" you can ask, "Can you tell me about your process to ensure a quality product?" People like talking about how clever their processes are, and if they have a good one, they'll probably be happy to answer, and you'll get useful insights. If the answer is "We're a bunch of geniuses who never make mistakes," I can run screaming.