[lmilcin]

> Am I allowed to have side projects that I own? > Does your insurance cover my preferred doctors? (obviously more of an email question)

Your contract specifies that and other answers to other questions. Don't ask your interviewer this question, the only thing he/she can do is rely to HR. Best ask HR directly.

> Why did the person before me leave?

It is unlikely you are ever going to get answer to that and even if you get it, it will have low value.

First, there does not necessarily exist a link between your position and the person before you. If you are a developer then it is more like a pool with new developers replenishing losses over time.

Second, a lot of people do not really know why they leave.

Third, even if they do know, they do not give truthful answer. They might be saying something like "I needed a change", or they might be rationalising it in some way, where in fact they just got a better offer from FB.

Fourth, as an interviewer you might not be privvy to that information officially.

Fifth, even if, by accident you got to know this information privately, I still don't feel ok passing private information especially one that can be basically gossip.

[dec0dedab0de]

If I'm interviewing with a future teammate, then they should know what the contract is. If the company is so big that they have bespoke employment contracts, then the first interview is usually HR.

As far as the person im replacing, that's more of a poker move to feel out if there is a toxic boss driving people away. Perhaps a better way to do that would be to ask about the turnover rate for the team/department/company?

[lmilcin]

The contract that the interviewer has may not look anything like the one you are going to get. The only contract that matters is the one you sign.

Every company will negotiate the contract with you and they will frequently be happy to negotiate other things than just your bare salary. There might be things that you care more than others and the company will be happy to provide you with.

A lot of people treat the contract as a formality. Don't. The contract is there for you to feel safe and for the company to get what they need, too. This is the actual agreement between you, everything you had before should lead to writing down what you figured out in form of a contract.

As to asking for reasons of previous person leaving, I think turnover rate is definitely better question. One that can be followed with an actual discussion about the reasons for this or the actions that are being implemented, etc.

[dec0dedab0de]

You're right, but I wouldn't want to have a special contract for things I believe should be standard decency. As long as I was in the position to turn down a job that is.

Actually, maybe the question I really want to ask is Can everyone have side projects?

[the-dude]

> I think turnover rate is definitely better question

They lied about that too.

[ryanbrunner]

Even if a potential teammate has an overly restrictive IP clause, in my experience a lot of companies are genuinely using boilerplate, never thought about it much, and are happy to redline to "Company's IP if on company time / company equipment / directed by company". I don't think it's inappropriate to bring it up with a manager, but I wouldn't trust any answer until you get to contract negotiation.

[Dayshine]

Unless you're at the strange faang companies which do intake without finding you a team first: one of your interviewers should be your like manager, who can get these amendments made to your contract, and should know the answer.

[lmilcin]

That depends.

I personally believe manager should be hiring their team. If only for the candidate to meet the manager and have a chance to make their decision based on the fit.

But I also was many times asked to stand in for another person. Maybe the manager was very busy and he trusted me I can do good job?

In any case, if you go for a large company and for a long haul it is likely you are going to be changing managers (but still it is good to get to know the first one).

[icedchai]

This is one of the problems with a company my friend is at. They do intake without preference to a specific team. They also do re-orgs every 3 to 6 month, so even if they did, the team you interview for might not exist for long anyway. He's on his third team in less than a year. People randomly get moved around due to dysfunction, etc.

[duped]

> As a general rule, the only job of interviewer is to decide whether you are fit for the role.

These days half the job is convincing the candidate to accept an offer if it comes through.

[hammock]

That's how it always has been, if you're getting good candidates.