Seven Must-Ask Questions and Red Flag Answers for Your Next Software Engineering Job

Ok, you’ve done it — you got a software engineering offer from a company. The compensation package is good, the benefits are solid, and you get along with your manager (at least, so far). What now?

I’ve been in this position several times in my career. After working at these companies for several years, there are definitely some aspects I wish I had known about before signing the offer. I’m skipping some of the more obvious ones that are probably documented in your offer letter, like “How much vacation can I take?” or “Is there an annual bonus?” These are questions you should ask your recruiter if you can’t find the answers to.

This list is by no means exhaustive (I’ve included a list of more questions at the bottom of the article). These are questions I found to be high signal in assessing whether I should join this company.

First, who should you be talking to?

Your manager (or the hiring manager) may be an obvious choice, but they may not be as connected to the day-to-day work you’ll be doing (and if they’re really focused on getting you to sign, they may sugarcoat their answers a bit). To get closer to your direct “peers”, try to find others who are similar to you in role and scope. For example, if you’re an individual contributor, find other engineers in the same role. If you’re an engineering manager, try talking to managers on adjacent teams.