Paying attention to these little things could have a big impact
By Jennifer Bewley
One of the best pieces of advice I received about interviewing
was to treat it like any other business deal. Difficult to do? You bet.
In our excitement over a new opportunity, it can be easy to overlook
certain red flags.
Pay attention to these seven things during the interview process to keep your emotions in check and make the best decision for you:
1. Industry choice:
I
asked a high-profile CEO why he chose to work at his company. He told
me when he realized he was ready to be a CEO, he had a consultancy do a
study on what makes CEOs successful. The number one factor was choosing
the right industry. Be sure to ask a lot of questions about industry and
competitive dynamics, because growth and opportunity covers a lot of strategy missteps and mistakes.
[post_ads_2]
2. Cohesive growth plan:
Businesses that are transparent tend to have defined strategies and goals,
which makes it easier for employees to thrive. If the people, at any
level in the company, you are interviewing with don’t know the growth
strategy, consider it a red flag. And, accept the likelihood that teams
will be pulling in different, usually self-interested, directions.
3. Follow the money:
Companies
talk a good game, but they vote with their resources. Make sure you
understand the company’s investment priorities. A good friend of mine
works in a multi-brand company. While his brand is recognized as having
potential, it's only 10 percent of the company's revenue. His plans and
resources are often sidelined to serve the larger brand creating
endless frustration.
4. Turnover, turnover, turnover:
Professionals
vote with their resources, too. Turnover at all levels is a critical
culture gauge — a measure that can be calculated from financial data,
LinkedIn data and other sources. The implied turnover range we’ve seen
at tech companies — four to twenty-three percent. Can you imagine what
it’s like to work for a company when one-quarter of their employees walk
out every year?
Senior management
stability is important to all employees, too! Every time a new
executive arrives, they have to make their mark, which can entail
strategy shifts, reorganization, turnover, and reallocation of spend.
Map out who reports to the CEO and how long their predecessors were at
the company.
5. Assess your role’s potential (and your bosses too):
Jason Brevard, Sr. Engineering Recruiter, at Professional Outlook recommends research that creates a roadmap of where a position could take you.
[post_ads]“If
you’re considering a job change I recommend utilizing LinkedIn to
search in keywords for the specific job title and company you’re
applying to. The search results can be filtered to show if they hold
that title currently or have in the past,” said Brevard. “By selecting
‘past,' it will show you how others have progressed in their careers
who've held that position. You can further dissect if they're still with
the company, how long they held that role before being promoted or
moving on, did they move on internally or externally, did they have to
relocate to be promoted, has it proven to be a worthy stepping stone for
those who've held that role? That exercise takes less than 15 minutes
and is free to basic users while providing a plethora of decision-making
data.”
Why you are at it — check out your potential boss’
standing too. Are they on the fast track, or have they been in their
position too long?
6. What are they not saying:
Message
discipline is an art that most companies' practice, which means it's
more illustrative to look at what they are not saying or where there are
inconsistencies. We recently investigated a company that only mentioned
marketing sparingly, while heaping praise on the product team. When the
reference checks came through, marketing was indeed an afterthought and
fighting for relevance within the company.
[post_ads_2]
7. Preparation and respect:
How
many times have companies said people are our most valuable asset? You
should assess if they lived up to it in the interview process. Did the
interviewers show up prepared?
Did they know enough about you to ask thoughtful questions? Were they
respectful of your time? If you are treated poorly when the company is
putting their best foot forward, how will you be treated when you are
just another team member? As Maya Angelou said, "When someone shows you
who they are, believe them the first time.”
--
Jennifer Bewley is the founder of Uncuffed,
which provides detailed research into prospective employers. Jennifer
has an unhealthy love of financial data and speaking her mind and she
uses each to help candidates choose the company they work for wisely.
COMMENTS