How To Know If A Company’s Culture Is Right For You
Accepting a new role is a big decision, and sometimes it can be tricky to determine whether a company culture is right for you when interviewing.
If you’ve only been to the office once due to a short interview process, there is a limited window for you to check out the team in action, and getting a picture of what it’s actually like to work there is difficult. Below are a number of things you can do in your interview process, whether it’s one-stage or 4, that will help you gain the best idea of what the company is really like to work for. Keep in mind that we all look for different things in the ‘ideal role’, so read this with your subjective glasses on.
Read as many reviews as you can get your hands on
Think Glassdoor, Facebook and Google: all of these allow you to rate a business without the company being able to remove the negative ones. It’s good to get as wide of a variety as you can, in order to get a full picture of the company’s pros and cons, but remember, take everything you read with a pinch of salt – generally speaking, reviews are either left because people had either a great or a terrible experience. People rarely bother to review something that was “so so”. Read each comment with your own priorities in mind and have a think about how you would feel about the situation in the reviews, as you may perceive them differently to the negative ex-employee.
If you want to really get your detective hat on, you can go as far as checking out your manager-to-be on LinkedIn, and see if they have any written endorsements that will give you a look into how their working style has been commended by others. If this is still not far enough down the extra mile for you, you can see the endorsements these managers have given other people (on the same portion of their LinkedIn page) and see how complimentary they are about their previous colleagues or employees.
Observe everything from entry to exit
You may be so nervous on the day of your interview that you miss small, but vital things that give away a lot about what the inside of a company is like. If you can, try to make a mental note of everything you notice in the office from the receptionists, to the office layout, to the noise levels. These things will hint whether the company fosters a more collaborative working culture or if they prefer to work autonomously, whether the workplace is exactly that and nothing else, or if they allow it to be a social place too.
Whilst in the interview itself, notice how your interviewer(s) talk to you and each other, if there’s more than one of them – how well do they gel with each other, do they give each other time to say their bit, or do they talk over each other and not really get on? Similarly, was the interview chatty or more formal? Did they try to make you feel comfortable or grill you? All are things to consider when taking a role, because as much as you’re supposed to impress them, they should be on their best behaviour around you too.
Meet your potential new colleagues
If you’ve been offered a role and haven’t been given the opportunity to meet the team, perhaps because you interviewed outside of the office or because the process was shorter than initially anticipated, then you should ask to meet the team before you make a decision. These are the people you’re likely to spend 8 hours a day with, 5 days a week, so it is incredibly important that you get on with them and are going to be able to work with (or around) them. Disliking, or clashing with those you work with can have an extremely negative impact on your enjoyment of the role and company as a whole, and can be the difference between you loving your job and loathing it. You’ll want to see how they react to you as a person, whether they seem nice, or accepting, or not bothered at all, and generally whether they seem like the kind of people you could see yourself spending time with.
The same principle goes for your direct manager – If they’re the one who interviewed you, did you get on effortlessly, or was it uncomfortable? Can you see yourself working well under their management or do you think you would be intimidated by them? Don’t be afraid to use the interview as an opportunity to ask them about their management style, and if they’re more hands-on or distant in terms of keeping an eye on your work.
Make sure you really know what you want
If you haven’t put a lot of thought into what you want in terms of company values, culture, management style, team dynamic etc, then you may end up accepting a role that isn’t right for you, and not realising until you’re a week in. Think back on previous employers or past team projects and assess what worked and what didn’t, what allowed you to be the most productive and what dulled your enthusiasm – was your old boss a micromanager? Was your team too small or too big? Do you prefer to take a lead or be a supporting role? Did you feel like you needed access to more resources or training in order to do your job better?
Determine whether you share the company values
It is likely you won’t find a company that can offer you every single thing that you’d want in a perfect world, but it is important that you don’t throw your desires out the window just because you’re ecstatic to have a job offer. Make a list of all the things you’d like a company to offer, and then choose your top priorities – for example, a collaborative working environment, social culture and a comprehensive training programme. Try to be realistic and keep in mind that there are some things that you won’t ever get (such as a six-figure salary and flexible working hours for a grad job).
Evaluate what their incentives and benefits are, and how these align with what you’re looking for; your interview is the perfect place to ask what they offer new recruits, and you’ll have the chance to tell them about your personal priorities for a new role. You may find that they are able to facilitate these things you have identified, even if they don’t initially offer them as a standard benefit.
“Culture eats strategy for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.”
Peter Drucker
When on the hunt for the perfect job for you, you have to keep in mind what you need to get the most out of each working day – maybe you work best in a lively, social environment, or maybe this just distracts you and you can’t get anything done. As with everything, the more you know about the company, the more prepared you will be to make the best decision; don’t miss your opportunity to ask questions during your interview or over email, and if need be, seek out the answers yourself.
If you’re in the process of finding a new career and are looking for more advice to help you secure the best possible role, check out our other posts here; we upload every Thursday and are more than happy to take requests for content you’d like to see.
