Questions to ask recruiters and hiring managers (IT): due diligence checklist

An interview is not only them evaluating you. It’s also you evaluating them.

Good questions help you avoid:

• unclear scope roles (expectations change after you join)
• weak process teams (constant interrupts and “everything is urgent”)
• surprises around remote/hybrid, on-call, performance reviews, promotions

TL;DR (must ask)

If you only have time for 6 questions:

1. What does success look like in the first 90 days?
2. What are the real responsibilities, and what is out of scope?
3. What stack and problem types will I work on in the first 3–6 months?
4. How are priorities decided and who owns decisions?
5. What does remote/hybrid mean in practice (office days, core hours, travel)?
6. Is there on-call? How is it structured and compensated?

Download checklist: DOCX · TXT

Preparation checklist

• Pick 8–12 questions based on the role (startup vs enterprise, remote vs office, employee vs contractor).
• Identify “gaps” in the job description (what’s unclear).
• Write down 2–3 personal constraints (schedule, remote, on-call, salary baseline).

Questions for recruiters (early screening)

• What is the compensation range / budget for the role?
• What seniority level is this role targeting and why?
• What are the interview steps and expected timeline?
• Is this a new role or a replacement? What’s the context?
• What does remote/hybrid look like and can it change?
• What level of English is required (internal/external communication)?

Questions for the hiring manager (scope, delivery, success)

• What are 3 concrete outcomes you expect in the first 90 days?
• What is the top priority project right now and why?
• What does “good performance” look like here (metrics, feedback, review)?
• How does the backlog work and who decides priorities?
• What dependencies exist (other teams, compliance, procurement)?
• What trade-offs have you made so far (speed vs quality vs cost)?

Questions for the team (collaboration, quality, ownership)

• How does code review work (standards, approvals, turnaround time)?
• Do you have a definition of “done” (tests, docs, observability)?
• How often do incidents/urgencies happen and how are they handled?
• Is communication mostly async or meeting-heavy?
• Is ownership clear per service/component?

Technical questions (stack + decision-making)

• What is core stack vs legacy?
• How much is greenfield vs maintenance?
• What testing exists (unit/integration/e2e) and what’s expected?
• What observability exists (logs/metrics/traces) and how do you debug incidents?
• How do you deploy and roll back (CI/CD, feature flags)?

Remote / hybrid (avoid surprises)

“Remote” means different things in different companies.

• How many office days are expected, and can that change?
• Are there core hours or mandatory overlap windows?
• Are there recurring meetings outside local hours (time zones)?
• Is there periodic travel (offsites)? Who pays for it?

On-call (if applicable)

• Is there an on-call rotation? How often?
• What does on-call mean (24/7 pager vs limited hours)?
• What incident volume is typical and what SLA exists?
• How is on-call compensated (money, time off, bonus) and where is it documented?

Compensation and offer structure

Even if you don’t negotiate in the first call, you can clarify structure.

• Is the salary gross or net and for what period?
• What bonuses exist and what is guaranteed vs variable?
• Which benefits actually matter in practice (health, learning budget, equipment)?
• For contractors: billing model, payment terms, contract clauses.

To calibrate, use Salary Insights and our salary negotiation checklist.

Red flags

Not always deal-breakers, but worth clarifying:

• They can’t explain what you’ll do in the first 3 months.
• No ownership; everything is “urgent”.
• They avoid discussing on-call and compensation.
• Remote/hybrid is vague and changes frequently.
• Process is chaotic with no timeline or clear feedback.

Short follow-up message template

Thanks for the conversation today. I especially enjoyed the discussion about [X].

I’m still very interested in the role and, if useful, I can share a relevant example related to [topic] or answer any follow-up questions.

Best,
[NAME]

FAQ

Is it okay to ask about salary in the first call?

Yes. Asking for a range helps avoid long processes without alignment.

How many questions are too many?

In a 30–45 min call, 8–12 well-chosen questions are fine. Prioritize: scope, work setup, on-call, process.

What if they dodge answers?

Ask who can answer, when you can revisit it, and if there’s a policy/document. If answers never come, treat it as risk.

Sources

• MIT CAPD — Career Handbook (interviews): https://capd.mit.edu/resources/career-handbook/