💭 Job Evaluating

The un-documented check list for evaluating a US Software Engineer job offer.

Before Start

Pick company / people / role you're excited about
Pick a job you're unqualified for
- 10x growth
- build fundation early on, so they can pay off in the future
Think like you're investing in a start up

Have product that small people love, rather than more people like
Trusing exponential growth, momentum
Think about market size in the future, instead of today
Largest growth rate happens duing "platform shift"
Is the company exciting (why employees are still exciting about the company)
How impressed you are by the founders and the early employees at the startup
Idea that sounds bad but are good
- Big company: 20 yes no nos
- Starup: 1 yes hundreds of no
What are the smartest new grads excited about?

Company Culture
- What is the most unique aspect of the company culture, from your perspective?
- What is your turnover rate?
RTO Policy
- Remote work policy
- Time off policy
Visa
- OPT, H1B, and Green Card
What defines a successful hire, after 6 months?

One-time Benefits
- Signing bonus / Relocation: Cash or Reimbursement
- Stock options
Benefits
- PTO: Accrual and usage
- Health insurance: Out of pocket cost
- 401k: Matching?
- Stock: Type (RSU or Options), Vesting schedule, strike price, and expiration
- Misc reimbursement
  - Phone
  - Internet
  - Gym
  - Commute
  - Continuing education
  - Conference

Tech Stack
- Does the company provide Mac as work laptop?
- Languages, frameworks, and tools
- Monorepo / Multi-repo
What are the tasks I would do on a usual day?
What's the on-call plan / schedule?
- What's the pay for standby and call-out
Travel Requirement
(For Big Corp) What are company's expectation regarding Ramp-up
- Training, mentorship, and shadowing
- Onboarding, probation, and performance review
What's the promotion process?
- Timeline
- Criteria
Fast forward six months, after you've hired someone for this role. What would have made them a successful hire?