What probing questions can you ask during an interview to get a feel for a place's work/life balance? What are things to look out for?

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From a post I saw someone comment on CohnReznick page,

"High-ratio offshoring, indication of firm looking for 'growth opportunities', unreasonable busy season billable targets, focus on corporate jargon over measurable promises, compensation teetering on the low side without commensurate reduction of yearly billable targets, etc."

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1. What are some of the actionable items that I could implement in the first 90 days to hit the ground running? If the answer is major low hanging fruit then they have widescale broken systems and are disorganizaed.
2. What are some key takeaways that management has learned from previous people's time in this role that I could utilize to be more effective? Listen for toxic culture red flags.

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Red flags can be subtle and over time you learn what corporate speak really means. In general, if there is an attitude toward being "available" all of the time that means they overwork, micromanage, and expect accessibility after hours and while on PTO.

9 out of 10 times the use of "family" means overworked and underpaid. If they emphasize the need for someone who "isn't afraid to roll up their sleeves" or "get their hands dirty" it means there is a mess to clean up and they want you to fix it on day 1.

The sneaky way to get this out of them is to approach the questions as if you are that type of person so it comes across like you fit their dynamic. This usually lowers the bs guard and a bit more honesty is provided.

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