How to know if a prospective employer has a good culture

Maya Angelou famously said,” When people show you who they are, believe them.” The same holds true in your job search. I was talking to someone that I have worked with for over three years. He was telling me about his new job and mentioned that the recruitment process was very quick. I said to him that they have told you how they operate...decision making will happen quickly and the pace will be fast. He chuckled and said yes, he was aware. Since he knows someone within this new company, they had already discussed this, so he could better understand how this company compared to one they had both worked at before.

In my experience as a career coach, I see job seekers discounting company culture, especially what they see and feel during the job search process, when making a decision to join a company. Sometimes it is because they so desperately want to leave a bad situation that they believe anything else would be better. Sometimes it is a case of only looking at the good parts of the process and discounting the bad parts as an aberration (confirmation bias). Sometimes it is just not being perceptive about what is obvious to others. Whatever the reason, not taking into account the behaviors you experience while interviewing with a company, its culture in action,  can cause you to make a decision that you will regret.

How can you avoid this? Look at the interactions you have during the process and assess how you are treated. Are you treated well or not? If they treat their job candidates well, it usually means they treat their employees well. Isn’t that the type of company you would like to work for?

Here are the main interactions you will have during the process:

1. Application

2. Phone Interview

3. In-Person Interview

4. Offer

Let’s look at how these interactions may go and how to assess a company based upon them.

Application

Whether you have found a position through networking or a job board, at some point you will have to submit your resume and likely also fill out an application. Look at the process with a critical eye. How easy or hard has the company made this process? Many companies, even smaller ones, use some sort of applicant tracking software. This software has both front-end and back-end functionality. How the software is configured in the front-end is very important for the candidate experience. First, assess how long is the application process. Depending on the industry, some information will need to be collected for reporting purposes to federal/state agencies. Yet, does the time it takes to complete the application process from start to finish seem onerous? This is a bad sign. That means that the company is discounting your time as a job seeker. 

Also, look to see if you are asked to fill in fields on forms with information that can be found elsewhere. Most applicant tracking systems are configurable, so asking for information multiple times is a choice. While a minor irritant to most job seekers, it does indicate that the company’s processes are not streamlined. If they are not streamlined here, what do you think they will be for employees?

Phone Interview

Assess how the scheduling goes and how you are treated during the phone interview phase. Were you told of a time for the phone interview or were you asked for your availability? Were you told who it was going to be with and the person’s title or given no information? If you feel your availability is given credence in the process, chances are the company operates in a manner that is more inclusive for employees. 

When you do talk to someone over the phone, were they personable and friendly? Or gruff and brusk? The first person you tend to talk to, at least in a larger organization, is going to be in HR. People in HR are hired, in part, because they have good interpersonal skills. If you do not feel the person on the other line is listening to you and appears to be pleasant, what does that say about the first impression the company wants to present? Does the person you speak with at give you some more information about the job or is it more one-sided with you only answering questions? The interviewer may be very busy and have back-to-back calls, but if they are professional, they will be able to structure their time to allow for you to get some additional information about the role.

Does the interviewer give you some idea about the process and when you might hear back? And do you hear back within that timeline? These are good measures of a company’s commitments and how well they are kept. If they make setting expectations and following through important to job seekers, they likely will do the same with you as an employee.

In-Person Interview

Your assessment of the in-person interview process should be based on many of the same behaviors you would see in the phone interview, except now you are dealing with the people who would manage you and would be your peers. An important part of this assessment is how you are made to feel with your various interactions. Were you made to feel welcomed or an interruption? Did people smile at you? What was the energy level in the place? Do people seem to be happy? Overwhelmed? Disengaged? Assess this honestly.

If your time is important, your interview should start on or around the time scheduled. If someone is running late, are you made aware and offered an apology? Or are you asked to just sit there and are given no information until someone comes to get you 30 minutes after the interview start time? I have known many people that have experienced a less than stellar in-person interview process and have taken the job that was offered. Almost to a one, they told me that their boss or team operates exactly how they experienced them at their first meeting.

Lastly, when speaking to the person that would be your boss, does that person have a sincere interest in you, as a person, or are you just a body to get things done in the role? While you do not need to be best friends with your boss, do you feel that in their decision making your wishes and wants would at least be considered? Would your boss even know what these things would be because they have an interest? You can get a sense of this during the in-person interview process. Don’t discount this when thinking of joining a company.

Offer

When you get the offer, it may be given to you by either your new boss or someone in HR. Whichever person gives you the information, are they doing it enthusiastically? Are they making you feel special and important? Or is this just a routine exercise? 

When it gets to the information about your compensation, do you feel that the offer is consistent with your expectations or a low-ball offer? Is there any explanation about how the amount was determined? Is your boss/HR open to any sort of negotiations or is this a take-it-or-leave-it offer? Will you be provided something in writing before you accept the offer?

If the company is more transparent about how compensation is determined for your situation, they may be more transparent, in general, on all matters compensation and benefits-oriented. Speaking of benefits, have you been made aware of what these will be or is this the first time that you are hearing about them. If you have questions, do you feel that the company is being receptive or are your questions treated as a bother?

Everyone has a hierarchy of things that are important to them in a new job...money, commute, boss, mission, etc. Know what is important to you and assess each critically when it comes to a new employer. You may be okay if the company culture is not great but you are making a lot of money. Just be honest with yourself. Don’t fool yourself into thinking it is okay to join a company that is not respectful to its employees if the company culture is as important to you as your total compensation.

If someone is telling you who they are, don’t ignore the signs.