How to Unveil a Company’s Culture

Deciding on the company to work in is extremely important for your career, and this becomes more and more important if you already had some bad previous experiences with companies that weren’t up to your standard.

Thus, to be able to unveil the company’s culture, you should do some real investigation, combining both old and new research method. Here are a few things to consider:

1- Research: Make a research about the company, not only its products and services, but what is written about it in the press. Also check the videos, the tweets, the facebook posts to get an idea on what is important for the company and the employees

2- Inquire: Refer to Linkedin and facebook to know who is working at the company, and try to relate to one or two employees. They may be common friends or friends or friends you can communicate with and inquire about the company.

3- Observe: When they call you for an interview, come few minutes earlier to the meeting. In the lobby, you can observe and see how people act, respond and interact. See how the office is organized and decorated, and focus on some main points and see how employees interact with each other: Do employees greet each other? Do you see employees working together or everyone is working solo? If you ask for directions are people friendly? Observe the faces, are people angry or relaxed?

4- Ask questions: During the interview, ask smart questions to get a feel of the company’s attitude towards several issues. Inquire about the dress code, the kinds of behaviors that are awarded or punished and if the company offers any sort of reimbursement or support for training, seminars, or college tuition. Check if some employees are working from home and if there are flexible work schedule. Don’t forget to ask about promotions rules and the possibility of shifting from one department to another.

5- Decide: After you have gathered all that you can discover and observe, decide if this is a fit for you. The only way you can decide is to know what is important to you. You should think about commute, colleagues, professional development and values.

The Business Lobby Team