Shared, often unwritten expectations that shape how a team communicates, collaborates, and manages work on a day-to-day basis.
- What times do you have to work?
- Are there core hours when everyone is expected to be available?
- How flexible are start and end times for the team?
- Is after-hours or weekend work ever expected?
How the team works together on projects or tasks.
- How does the team typically collaborate on projects day to day?
- Do interns usually work independently or alongside other engineers?
- Will interns get a chance to shadow full-time engineers and see what their work is like?
How, when, and where team members communicate and seek help.
- What tools does the team primarily use to communicate?
- How does the team typically collaborate on projects day to day?
- Do interns usually work independently or alongside other engineers?
How choices are made, who is involved, and when decisions are escalated or approved.
- How are technical decisions typically made on this team?
- When someone disagrees with a decision, what normally happens?
- How are differing opinions or trade-offs handled?
- How does the team handle urgent decisions outside of planning cycles?
- Are decisions usually made by a single owner or through team discussion?
- Are most decisions made during planning cycles or continuously as work progresses?
How feedback is given and received, how learning is supported, and how growth happens.
- How does the team support growth for someone who is still learning?
- Are there regular opportunities for reflection or growth conversations?
- How does the team support interns learning unfamiliar tools or systems?
How much work interns are expected to complete, how quickly work is completed, and how progress is measured.
- How is progress tracked for intern projects?
- How are deadlines handled if something takes longer than expected?
- How quickly are interns expected to deliver their tasks?
- How do you balance learning with delivering work?
Where work happens and how the team operates day to day.
- Is the team primarily in-person, hybrid, or remote? If so, where is the office located?
- If hybrid, are there specific days interns are expected to be onsite?
- If remote, how does the team collaborate when some or all members are remote?
- How many engineers typically work on the same project as an intern?
- Where do interns fit into the team structure?
How interns receive support while learning the codebase, team norms, and technical skills.
- How do interns typically get support when they have questions?
- Are there designated points of contact for interns, or is help more ad hoc?
- What support structures are in place to help interns succeed?
How new team members ramp up in their first few months.
- How long does it take a new developer to get up to speed?
- Are there onboarding documents or guides interns typically use?
Backgrounds, experience levels, and challenges on the team.
- What kinds of backgrounds do people on this team come from?
- What strengths does this team have because of its experience?
- What challenges is the team currently navigating?
- How are responsibilities divided across the team?
Who the team works with outside of engineering.
- Who outside the team is typically involved in decisions?
- Who are the primary stakeholders this team works with?
- How often does the team interact with stakeholders?
How managers support intern growth and define success.
- What does successful growth look like for an intern on this team?
- What signals show an engineer is growing in the right direction?
- What would you hope an intern walks away having learned?
- If a return offer is possible, what should an intern focus on?
- How early does the team know whether there is capacity to hire after the internship?
Understanding how and when to communicate with your manager.
- How does the manager prefer to communicate with the team?
- How often do interns typically check in with their manager?
How managers provide feedback and evaluate progress.
- How does the manager give feedback to interns?
- How is intern progress evaluated?
- How do you support interns who are improving but not yet meeting expectations?
- What skills do interns typically develop the most during this internship?
Insights into team strengths, weaknesses, and challenges.
- What tends to be hardest for someone new to this team?
- Is there anything you wish individual contributors understood earlier?
Understanding what the team builds and why.
- What problem does this product or system solve?
- Who are the primary users of this product?
- How does this product support the business?
What the team owns and the kinds of problems interns work on.
- Is this team working on a customer-facing product, internal tools, or infrastructure?
- At a high level, how is the system structured?
- What kinds of problems might an intern help solve?
Understanding the technical landscape and day-to-day work.
- At a high level, how is this application architected?
- Which parts of the system does this team own?
- What does the deployment process look like for this team?
- What does a typical day or week look like for an intern on this team?
- What kinds of feedback do interns usually receive on their day-to-day work?
How quickly the team completes and delivers work.
- How often does the team typically deploy changes?
- Does the team work in sprints or another planning cadence?
- How do you decide when to adjust timelines or scope?
Understanding how the product makes money and business priorities.
- What are the main revenue streams for this product or business?
- Is the business focused more on growth or on maintaining existing customers?
- What factors most influence revenue changes?
- How does this product fit into the company’s broader business strategy?
How engineering work connects to business goals.
- What business goals does this team’s work support?
- How does this product contribute to revenue or growth?
- How is engineering impact measured from a business perspective?
How customer needs influence decisions.
- What problems are most important for customers right now?
- How does customer feedback influence product decisions?
How priorities shape the team’s work.
- What business priorities most influence what the team works on?
- How often do priorities shift based on business needs?
Understanding company growth and future outlook.
- What stage of growth is the company or product in?
- What does success look like for the business over the next year?