How to interview your employer

Jobs are serious, monogamous relationships, yet most of us take the plunge after only a handful of hours. You can always quit and find another one, but inertia is stronger than you think. Let’s cover some high-signal questions to learn the truth before you commit years of your life. They kick off what I call the Question Domino Effect. When you ask high-signal questions, you come off as more interested in them, which in turn, makes you more interesting: ‍

Every business has a hierarchy of needs. Where you sit in their hierarchy determines the upper bound of your value to them. It also predicts the impact you can make, which shapes the story you tell when you leave. A reliable way to predict challenges is to understand the life stage of the product, from conception to old age. A big company usually has products that span the spectrum, creating completely different learning experiences. Here are some examples:

‍ Want a chill job? Work on products whose stage you’re intimately familiar with, or find something starting in late adulthood. Want to grow quickly? Work on products whose stage is adjacent to your past experience, where you can bootstrap learning faster.  

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