and you’re worried that you’ll end
up working
for a racist company
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and you’re worried that you’ll end
up working
with a transphobic boss
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and you’re worried that you’ll end
up working
with misogynistic bros
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and you’re worried that you’ll end
up working
in a toxic environment
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how can we prevent that?
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how do we find places to work that
meet our technical, social, and
cultural needs?
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overview
multi-pronged approach
finding places to interview
pre-interview
during the interview
post-interview
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multi-pronged approach
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before
research beforehand
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before
find people you or your network know
that work there
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before
submit interview requests during
initial interview setup
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before
find an interview buddy
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during
bring a notebook, with questions
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during
ask all of your questions multiple times to
different people & write down their responses
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during
answer their questions as real as you can,
gauge their responses
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during
observe the “office” environment
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before, during, and after
take breaks in the process
self care
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finding places to interview
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who do you know?
where do your friends work?
if you haven’t built a network yet or don’t have friends in tech,
look for places that friends-of-friends work
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who sponsors what?
have a favorite meetup group, conference, or cause?
look at their sponsors.
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activate the whisper network
ask friends in private channels if they have insight
into a company, or if they know anyone there.
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pre-interview
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research.
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research.
who works there?
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research.
who used to work there?
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research.
what–if any–negative press exists
about the company?
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research.
where does their funding come from
and who do they report to?
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research.
what does the demographic look like
to an outsider?
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tactics.
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tactics.
ask to be interviewed by a person from
an underrepresented group in that role
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tactics.
ask to be interviewed by someone in a
different department
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take note!
who do they pick? what do they do?
are they a “token”?
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tactics.
submit interview requests as soon as
you setup the interview
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take note!
how do they respond?
do they fill all of your requests?
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tactics.
prepare a list of cultural screening
questions based on your requirements
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tactics.
ask to speak with a representative
from HR
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tactics.
ask about the interview format &
prepare as best as you can
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during the interview
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prepare your notes &
questions ahead of time
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office? try and visit the
different departments
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office? observe the environment &
actions happening around you
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take your time,
provide real answers.
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if you can*, do not hide or downplay
the importance of the things you
care about.
* do not feel unsafe, aren’t forced to out yourself
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if asking questions forces you to out
yourself
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find someone internally who can
ask those questions for you
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attempt to meet with HR
confidentially
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or request interview modifications &
do research that will help you answer
your questions without asking
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sample questions
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all questions available online.
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3 broad categories
diversity
employee value & retention
HR
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diversity
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why do you think diversity in the
workforce is important?
how do you define diversity?
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do you have trans-inclusive
healthcare? what does it cover?
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do you have a parental, maternity, or
paternity leave policy? lactation
rooms on-site?
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what does success in regards to
diversity at this company
look like to you?
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what diversity-focused initiatives
or policies have been enacted in the
last year? results?
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what work do you think needs to be
done to improve the work environment
for underrepresented groups?
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employee value & retention
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do you provide job training for
employees? which departments
have training budgets?
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what career paths are available
from this position?
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do you have career paths for all
positions?
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do you track metrics on retention &
job satisfaction? do you cross-
reference data with demographics?
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HR
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do you have an HR department?
who do they report to?
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how does HR handle internal
complaints?
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are employee salaries confidential
information?
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what is HR’s charter or primary
function?
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observations
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who eats lunch together? do people
socialize outside of their
department?
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do they have gender-neutral
bathrooms?
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what does the employee
demographic look like? what’s the
average employee age?
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are there people from
underrepresented groups in upper
management roles?
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how are the lowest-level employees
treated? do they get the same perks
as engineers?
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are they promoting internally or
hiring externally? experienced only,
varying backgrounds?
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is it difficult to enact change? what
changes have they made recently
and how long did they take?
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look for HR antipatterns
modelviewculture.com/pieces/hr-antipatterns-at-startups
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post-interview
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follow up with any additional or
unanswered questions. you can
reach out to any of your interviewers.
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gather your notes & research.
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examine perspectives vs. policies
and real-world practices
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do their words match their actions?
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what stances do they take on the
things that matter the most to you?