Interviewing Your Future Boss?

crimethinker asks: "I am an embedded systems engineer for a small division of a large company. Up to now, we have managed to get by with little more than a 'team lead' position, but as our division grows, they are looking to hire a full-on engineering manager. I was one of the candidates, with my current boss's favorable recommendation, but I withdrew my resume when they told me the job was all paper and schedules; I'd never touch code or hardware again. Now the VP has a 'short list' of candidates, and has invited me to be one of the interviewers. Yes, you read that correctly: I will be interviewing the person who will become my boss. So, I put the question to you, Slashdot: what questions should I ask my prospective boss?"

Well

[Anonymous Coward]

If I hired you, would you agree not to fire me?

vacation...?

[paz5]

Can I have next week off?

"What is your opinion on..

[Various Assortments]

Naptime?"

My question

[teamhasnoi]

"Will you give me hell about reading Slashdot all day?"

Boss' Daughter

[Anonymous Coward]

"Is your daughter hot and available?"

Important Question

[MrNonchalant]

How much of a pay raise would you give me latet for a favorable reccomendation now?

Hmmmm

[Deanasc]

Let's say, hypothetically, that I came in still drunk from last night and told you what I really thought about those ugly kids in that picture frame on your desk and then puked behind the ficas tree in the lobby... How would you handle a situatioin like that?

The correct answer here is to give me a raise.

Do you allow...

[Exsam]

Pantless mondays?

The Only Question to Ask

[Enonu]

What would you do for a Klondike Bar?

be smart

[Anonymous Coward]

hire the one with the biggest tits and hottest ass.

Re:My question

[It'sYerMam]

Answers:

1: Hell no. I'll point you specifically to the pro-Linux bits
2: Only if I catch you.
3: Yes
4: WTF Is Slashdot?

1: Super geek. "Hired" pile
2: Benevolent dictator. "Possible" pile.
3: Idiot. "No way" pile
4: "Feed to goatse"

Just one question.

[Moofie]

Have you now or ever in the past had pointy hair?

Thanks

[Timesprout]

As one of the short listed candidates I would like to thank all those who submitted questions. I now feel very confident I can blitz this interview. Thanks again.

PS crimethinker, prepare to be sacked for lack of imagination.

Re:Ask more about Life, less about Tech.

[Anonymous Coward]

was she pretty? ;)

ask him to pee in a cup

[Anonymous Coward]

Tell him you just can't feel comfortable in an office environment in which drug or alcohol use is winked at. (Mylanta, Scope, Viagra may *sound* like silly street names, but they're a very really threat to the American way of life, as well as to germs, impotence, and acid reflux disease.)

Also, point out that as part of the terms of your employment, you'll be be able to quit at will, and will be periodically inspecting his desk drawers and email. For safety, etc.

Re:"What is the last book you read?"

[Lord Bitman]

how the hell am I supposed to make Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix sound professional?

Re:Hawaiian Shirt Friday?

[tabacco]

Hammocks! :)

Hank: Uh, hi, Homer. What can I do for you?
Homer: Sir, I need to know where I can get some business hammocks.
Hank: Hammocks? My goodness, what an idea. Why didn't I think of that?
Hammocks! Homer, there's four places. There's the Hammock Hut,
that's on third.
Homer: Uh-huh.
Hank: There's Hammocks-R-Us, that's on third too. You got
Put-Your-Butt-There?
Homer: Mm-Hmm.
Hank: That's on third. Swing Low, Sweet Chariot... Matter of fact,
they're all in the same complex; it's the hammock complex on
third.
Homer: Oh, the hammock district.
Hank: That's right.

Re:Ask more about Life, less about Tech.

[cyb3r0ptx]

The word "No" is easier to type.

Re:vacation...?

[saden1]

What is your take on Bean counting? Are you mythological or pathological bean counter?

What's your Slashdot User ID?

[fdiskne1]

If he say's "What's Slashdot?", he's out.

If he says he only lurks, or posts AC, he still could be worth hiring.

If he gives you a user ID, great! Now go find out if he's cool, a 1337 h4x0r, or a troll.

Re:"What is the last book you read?"

[IIH]

Besides, it's always interesting to throw an off-the-wall question at someone and see how they respond.

Where I worked, we interviewed our boss, and one of the Q's was "do you keep goats?" (as we had heard he had a farm. Positive answer, great boss, so that was added to our standard list of questions. Next interview (a few years later) when we asked "do you keep goats?", we got an answer of "No, but I minded cheetehs for a while, does that count?" (boss was from south Africa, and was an excellent one!)

In short - ask about pets! :)

Re:Don't ask job related stuff

[Provocateur]

...you know the drill. Start with:

You look down and you see a tortoise crawling towards you...

Re:Damn good answer

[Smallpond]

True. Some of my best managers have been non-technical. One guy had no clue, but he knew how to organize and keep a punchlist. We told him what we needed and he wrote it down. My worst manager thought he could do everything better than the people in the group. He drove away some of our best engineers. Finally, he left and went to Microsoft where he has thrived.