Please leave any tips or suggestions you’d like to share in the comments section. I’ll incorporate them all into a future blog post.
How Do You Vet An Employer? [Video]
9 responses to How Do You Vet An Employer? [Video]
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November 27, 2012
[...] A former colleague reached out to me a few weeks ago with a quandary. She had recently joined a well-known company in a Marketing leadership role – and learned a few weeks in the manager, culture, and organization were not at all what she expected. She loves the work she’s doing – but doesn’t feel she’s in the right organization and was seeking advice on how to pick the right employer. The full background of our discussion is here. [...]
I would have asked for more time. Especially once you have an offer in hand, an organization would be silly not to ask for a few more days. In terms of tips, here are my top coaching tips for my clients:
- ask to speak to more people in the organization–make sure you get 15 minutes with key team members in all reporting lines
- ask your potential new boss what his/her day is like–what meetings they have on the calendars and how work gets done
- find people who have just left the org (previous job on linked in profile) and find out why
- ask for examples of times things happened that they promise. for example: “that’s great to hear that you’re really focused on career pathing as an organization. Can you provide an example or two of how that has played out for a few individuals?”
- ask things like “how would you react to me doing ______” and fill in the blank with the innovative idea or unique work practice you’re accustomed to.
Susan – Thanks for the tips! All good suggestions. I’ll incorporate them into the blog post and link to your blog/twitter.
I agree with Susan on talking to former employees – however, be careful if you are soliciting the words of curmudgeons. Bright candidates are also going to do research into business dealings of the company. Talk to executives about this in interviews and see what the reaction is. Hear spin? Run. Hear legit explanations, keep listening, and ask probing questions to take them off course from any canned response they may give.
Things not to do? Rely solely on glassdoor.
Good points Pete. Thanks for sharing them.
Even before the interview stage, there is research that you can do to uncover potential red flags:
1. Use LinkedIn to research employee turnover – look for patterns that might indicate they have trouble keeping talent for long, or have high turnover in certain departments (could indicate a bad boss).
2. Ask suppliers/contractors for their impression – you’d be surprised what the courier company can tell you, for example, about how well run a company is, whether they pay their bills on time, what the culture seems like.
3. Google two year old or three year old press releases on projects/strategic alliances, then do so follow-up research – did it end up going anywhere?
If you find red flags, raise them during the interview, and pay attention to both the words and body language when the interviewers are responding.
Excellent point Karen!
I agree with all of the above and would add getting in touch with clients/those who use the services of the potential future employer.
For sales roles be sure to ask about revenue goal ranges, current revenue from the territory or account list and any “challenging accounts” you are taking over. This is critical to understand whether expectations are realistic and to see if you are being set up for success or failure.
Talk to people in roles you will work with day to day and connect with a few clients and/or competitors for great insights.