I realize there are sites dedicated to career discussions, but I like the advice I’ve seen lurking here. I’m currently interviewing for a remote-work technical position at a well-known Silicon Valley company. I’d be leaving a stable, somewhat boring, high-paying position that I’ve had for 10 years, for something much more exciting and intellectually challenging. I’m also old (late 40s). This particular company has a reputation for treating its employees well, but with SV’s reputation for rampant ageism and other cultural oddities, what questions should I be asking and what advice would you give for evaluating the move, if an offer comes up?
I’m roughly your age, and have been working for 10 years at the same company (in the Seattle area, not SV, but we have offices there). Unlike your position, it’s never been boring—I’ve been able to work on both immediate-impact and far-reaching topics, and there’s always more interesting things coming down the pike.
I mostly want to address the age-ism and cultural oddities issue. It definitely exists, and is worse in California than other places. However, it’s a topic that can’t be analyzed by averages or aggregates over a geographic area. It varies so much by company, by position/role within a company, and by individual interaction with the nearby-team cultures that you really can’t decide anything based on the region. This is especially true for remote work—your cultural experience will be far different from someone living there.
So, the questions you should be asking are about the expectations for your specific interaction with the employer and coworkers, rather than about the general HR-approved culture spiel you’ll get if you ask generally.
Yes, as Dagon says it is very company specific. Is there a way that you could talk to people who already work at the company who are not the people who are involved in the hiring process? If you are on Linked In, perhaps you could find out if you have some connections who would talk to you informally over the phone or in person.
Even though you would be working remotely, it may be worth it to go visit the place in person to get a feel for things and observe things that they wouldn’t tell you explicitly, before making a decision of this magnitude.
Also, read the company’s annual report. There are clues to its culture in there, and numbers that will help make sense of the company and the direction it is likely to take in the near future. Not enough people read the annual report when applying for a position at a company or evaluating an offer.
I realize there are sites dedicated to career discussions, but I like the advice I’ve seen lurking here. I’m currently interviewing for a remote-work technical position at a well-known Silicon Valley company. I’d be leaving a stable, somewhat boring, high-paying position that I’ve had for 10 years, for something much more exciting and intellectually challenging. I’m also old (late 40s). This particular company has a reputation for treating its employees well, but with SV’s reputation for rampant ageism and other cultural oddities, what questions should I be asking and what advice would you give for evaluating the move, if an offer comes up?
I’m roughly your age, and have been working for 10 years at the same company (in the Seattle area, not SV, but we have offices there). Unlike your position, it’s never been boring—I’ve been able to work on both immediate-impact and far-reaching topics, and there’s always more interesting things coming down the pike.
I mostly want to address the age-ism and cultural oddities issue. It definitely exists, and is worse in California than other places. However, it’s a topic that can’t be analyzed by averages or aggregates over a geographic area. It varies so much by company, by position/role within a company, and by individual interaction with the nearby-team cultures that you really can’t decide anything based on the region. This is especially true for remote work—your cultural experience will be far different from someone living there.
So, the questions you should be asking are about the expectations for your specific interaction with the employer and coworkers, rather than about the general HR-approved culture spiel you’ll get if you ask generally.
Yes, as Dagon says it is very company specific. Is there a way that you could talk to people who already work at the company who are not the people who are involved in the hiring process? If you are on Linked In, perhaps you could find out if you have some connections who would talk to you informally over the phone or in person.
Even though you would be working remotely, it may be worth it to go visit the place in person to get a feel for things and observe things that they wouldn’t tell you explicitly, before making a decision of this magnitude.
Also, read the company’s annual report. There are clues to its culture in there, and numbers that will help make sense of the company and the direction it is likely to take in the near future. Not enough people read the annual report when applying for a position at a company or evaluating an offer.