Finding the right company to work for is like finding a perfect love interest. It has the potential of helping you grow and be the best version of yourself, just like being with the right person. Just like a good relationship, a good company to work for is one that makes you happy being at work, the equivalent of being happy spending time with the right person.
We spend at least 8 hours a day, 5 days a week at work being in an environment that can either help us grow or be a nightmare. As a result, it is important to ensure that this is a place that you like being in and which excites you. You spend lots of energy at work and this energy should count for something. While looking for a job, it is, therefore, important to ensure that the prospective employer is a company that will make you excited to be part of. This means that you should spend enough time researching the prospective employer, even as you sharpen your interview skills to help you clinch that job.
Here are tips to help you along.
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Are You Being Treated with Respect?
Once you submit your application for a job, you have kicked off the interaction process between you and the company. How the process is handled from here on says a lot about a company’s culture and internal systems. Some companies are known to treat job seekers with contempt in the assumption that job seekers need them more. In an economy where jobs are not easy to come by, employers can sometimes treat job seekers badly with the assumption that there are many people jostling for the same position. However, a company with strong values and a good culture treats everyone with respect.
Observe how communication about interviews and general interactions with the company are treated. A company with good values communicates respectfully with candidates and is mindful of their time. Does the recruiter observe professionalism from the start or is he treating the whole experience like favour being extended to you? Does the interview process stick to important aspects of the job or does the recruiter freely ask you about personal matters and issues that should not be discussed in an interview? Does the interviewer keep time or does he act like your time does not matter?
All these issues point towards the culture of the company and how it generally treats its employees. Therefore, as you apply for jobs and attend interviews, be observant of how the whole process is conducted as it can tell you whether this is the right company to work for. Remember, an interview is also an opportunity for you to assess whether the company is the right fit for you.
2. What Do Former and Current Employees Say About The Company
Thanks to the rise of the internet and liberalization of information, it is now possible to find out how employees feel about the company they work for. There are many platforms on which current and former employees review companies and this can be a great source of information on whether the company is the right fit for you. Gone are the days when one had to rely on vision and core value boards as mirrors of what companies stand for. Besides, such messages are crafted by the company itself and can be sources of great public relations but not true indicators of the reality on the ground.
Nowadays, independent bodies like BrighterMonday conduct anonymous surveys and rank companies based on insights from current and past employees. The surveys act as great resources for any person wishing to join a company, as they can get the inside scoop regarding the company. The surveys often focus on certain key indicators of a good workplace, which are important in informing the decisions of a person wanting to join the company.
3. Research About the Company’s Leadership
A company’s leadership tells you a lot about what the company stands for. If, for example, the common thread amongst the leaders is that they are passionate about creating opportunities, then it shows that the company has great career paths for its employees and prides itself in creating growth opportunities. Moreover, if the leadership is balanced, it is an indication that the company values diversity and inclusion. As a result, there is room for everyone to grow and merit dictates the growth potential of all employees within the company. Thus, before choosing to work for a company, look at the leadership structure and see if the company is keen on creating opportunities for growth.
4. Observe How Employees are Treated
When you go for an interview, you get a good chance to see how employees conduct themselves, which is an indication of how they are treated. Observe the working environment, which says a lot about how a company values its employees. A good company that cares for its employees creates a conducive working environment, which is good for productivity. If, for example, a company’s lobby is beautiful but the inside part is disorganised and untidy, it means that the company places everyone else ahead of its employees, an indication that it does not value the well-being of its employees.
The conduct of employees also tells you whether the company has an open culture in which employees interact freely and have a good time while at work. As noted, we spend most of your days at work and this means that the environment should be friendly. Thus, observing how employees act while at work will help you know how they are treated.
5. Find Out About the Company’s Growth Opportunities
A fulfilling career is one that has had consistent growth over time. The more you work on a role, the more you sharpen your skills and increase your ability to take up more duties. A good company is one which recognizes hard work and rewards it with great career opportunities. Therefore, find out whether current employees have been able to rise through the ranks over the years, or they have remained in the same position for many years. You want to be in a place where your career does not stagnate and this means that the place provides chances for people to grow. Thus, if there are no growth opportunities, it shows that either the company is not growing and therefore, not creating growth opportunities, or that there are simply no promotion opportunities within the company. Both of these reasons should make you wary of joining the company, as they can stunt the growth of your career.
6. Find Out The Company’s Values and Ethics
Values and ethics are an important part of any company. They inform how the company is run and what really matters. A company with strong ethics and values will treat its employees with respect and will not expect them to act unethically to achieve any goals. Additionally, it is important to ensure that the company’s values match your own so that you do not feel conflicted while you are at work.
Finding the right company to work for is one of the best things to happen to any person’s career. You want to work for a company which matches your values and allows you to grow. You want to spend a good chunk of your life working in a place that satisfies you and therefore, you need to do your homework. Make use of resources such as surveys and company reviews to inform your decision before joining a company.
Take the BrighterMonday ‘Best 100 Companies to Work For’ survey and give employers insights into what makes a good company.
