Developer's Checklist: 25 Questions To Ask Your Future Employer (Before Relocation)

Even if you've been dreaming about your new job, (with relocation or not), for months, and have a reliable agency or person to help you, it's still a crucial affair. To choose the right location, company, and position, you need to possess as much information as you can. That's why I always tell candidates: Don't be shy to ask questions while talking to recruiters and/or hiring managers. To help you concentrate on the most important things, we've gathered 25 questions you need to ask your future employer before making that final move.

As here at Relocate.me we help tech specialists to find decent jobs overseas, some of these questions refer to job relocation. BTW, if you're looking for tech jobs with relocation, browse them here.

Technical questions

1) What technologies (languages, frameworks, libraries) are used on the project?

2) Is the app monolithic or microservice? What patterns are implemented?

3) Does the team employ CI and CD practices? Are container technologies used in the project?

4) Is the code reviewed by other team members before deployment?

5) Who is responsible for maintaining the project’s documentation? How often is it updated?

9) How is the code tested? Which amount of code is now covered by tests? What bug trackers are used?

10) If the server failover happens in the middle of the night, who will be responsible for fixing the issue?

Apart from these, find out as much as you can about the operating systems, databases, APIs, build tools, IDEs, version control systems, etc. You need to know exactly what you're going to work with. After all, your interest in a particular project directly depends on the tech stack, right?

The project, the team, and the company culture

11) What is the ratio of development and maintenance?

12) What methodology is used — Kanban, Scrum, Agile, Waterfall?

13) How many people does the team include?

14) To whom will I report? Will I be reported to?

15) Will I have any career advancement opportunities? Do you have a job rotation program?

16) Do you organize any hackathons or workshops? Do you pay for conferences and courses outside the company?

17) Will I have a mentor? Will I have to mentor somebody else?

18) How flexible is the schedule? Is it possible to work from home? How many (paid) days off are allowed?

19) Will I have to go on business trips? If so, how often, and what will be my destinations?

20) Do you hold any corporate events? If yes, how often do they take place?

21) What will my relocation package include?

It's important for any person to work in a friendly environment with an appropriate schedule and growth opportunities. (For expats, it's even more important.) Make sure the company you're going to move to is exactly such an environment.

The hiring process

22) How many stages will the interview process include? How will it proceed?

23) What does a test task look like?  Will there be any deadlines for performing the test task?

The hiring process may vary from company to company, from project to project, and even from candidate to candidate. Nobody will tell you everything in details, but it's important for you to know at least the basics to be timed perfectly.

Other important questions

24) What is the salary range for this job? How flexible is the salary, and how often will it be reviewed?**

25) Can I talk to some of the team members personally?

The recruiter's answer and reaction to the 25th question will show you whether all they've told you about the company was the truth :)

**Don't get ahead of yourself — better wait for the hiring manager to bring up the salary discussion.

Changing a job and relocation is not an easy process, and it would be a pity to spend time and effort on the wrong company and position. Save this checklist, and ask these questions during every call to identify your perfect employer.

If you have other interesting questions to ask, please write them in the comments below :)