what are some indicators of bad dynamics in team, or areas where you could get screwed coming into a job and a situation. How to avoid such situations? How much do you care about brand of a conpany? Do you forsee politics within the organization? Can you assess WLB within the team? what are areas where you could promote to do the work and potentially lead the team? How much technical depth do people really need?
Snarky, back-handed remarks about one another- whether that's bad mouthing the recruiter, one of the other team members, the manager or whomever. Lack of flexibility when it comes to submitting technical assignments or rescheduling interviews. As a full time employee, I already have an existing commitment, and interviewing is like having a 2nd full time job, except much more stressful and with a great deal of uncertainty. Prospective employers should be willing to be flexible around timing of interviews and rescheduling things as shit happens. Another obvious verification process- Glassdoor and teamblind reviews, reading about whether there have been any layoffs in the company by reading the news etc. What does the company care about? Follow the company on LinkedIn and check out what they are posting about. Is it about diversity and inclusion? Is it about how to change the ratio etc... do they care about building a great culture? Look up former role xyz at company abc on Linkedin and check out the churn rate of employees. If turnover is high, and short tenures, it is an indicator that the company might not be great. Really understand your prospective manager- check out his/her background and understand his or her personality as best you can to make sure you gel. Are you able to freely talk to this person? Does this person actually listen to your concerns throughout the interview process and address them effectively? or do they brush them aside? Are they kind?
Weak senior engineers is a huge red flag. You can get a sense by talking to them and the kind of answers they give questions.
I’m increasingly becoming more aligned with the idea that brand matters. Because I work for FOX and not only does it suck, but obtaining a new awesome opportunity elsewhere is tough because nobody respects the brand