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sniffing for culture smells & interviewing critically Liz Abinante @feministy [email protected]

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so, you’re looking for a new job,

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and you’re worried that you’ll end up working

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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?

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thanks! questions online: lizabinante.com Liz Abinante • @feministy • [email protected]