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How do you know beforehand what sort of environment you're really involving yourself with? What sort of heuristics exist during the hiring / interview phase tha
by scruple 7y ago
How do you know beforehand what sort of environment you're really involving yourself with? What sort of heuristics exist during the hiring / interview phase that let's you sort good from bad? I have a few of my own sniff tests, but outside of knowing (and really trusting) a contact at a place, it's sort of a crap shoot.
My experience has shown me that it can take years to find the seams that you need to tug on to expose deep-seated work culture problems.
- OnlineGladiator 7y agoDuring every interview, I always ask "what do you like about working here?" It's extremely easy to tell by how they react whether or not they're being forthcoming. So far it's been 100% effective for me, at least for choosing good places (it's possible I filtered good places erroneously but I wouldn't know because I never accepted the offer). There are other more specific questions you can ask, but they tend to vary enough I wouldn't offer them as general advice.
- cpeterso 7y agoCan you share an example of an answer that would discourage you from working somewhere? Just the interviewer's reluctance to answer or giving a superficial answer? I have asked interviewers the opposite: what aspects of the team or company need improvement and what steps are being taken to address them? Of course they will sugarcoat their answer, but you can still glean some insight into the company culture for addressing problems.
- OnlineGladiator 7y agoThe only thing I look for is whether or not they seem happy while answering. If people really like their jobs, they will smile and tell you how great it is and you'll believe them. In my experience most people don't really like their jobs and are just in it for the paycheck (there's nothing wrong with that, bit if you're talented enough to be picky you should be).