Is this development job a good fit for you?

One of the more overlooked steps in the process of getting a job is deciding if the job is right for you. Sure, when you are on the job hunt, any offer that meets your compensation needs is worth considering. But all too often, people take a job that just is not the right fit, and the result is uncomfortable at best. So how do you decide if a job is really right for you?

• Project management style: are they using Agile or a waterfall technique? Neither is “right” and neither is “wrong” but I can say without a doubt that not everyone is equally suited to both. If the company’s project management style does not fall into your comfort zone, there will be a problem.
• Quality of governance/process: a company that does not use basic tools like source control and is not working to solve those shortcomings is one you do not want to work for.
• Managerial questions: does the management team have a firm understanding of the development process, or will you be facing an uphill battle dealing with them?
• Business model: not every business model is well suited to keeping the developers happy. You should try to learn as much as you can about the business and how it makes decisions to see if you will like working there long term.
• Training, resources, and support: are you going to get what you need to do your job with as little friction as possible? Or will you be plopped into an office with junk equipment, no help, and no idea of what to do?
• Tools: development tools can be very expensive. Even if you stick to open source or free tools, you may well need some expensive servers to work with. If the new employer tries to be cheap on the tools, your job is likely to be frustrating.

Are there other criteria you use to decide of you are a good fit for a job? Let us know in the forum.