I Loved This Job When I was Interviewing… What Happened???

Picture this:

After weeks of anxiety, several grueling interviews, and a few hundred dollars spent on a new wardrobe, you finally start your new job! Everybody is nice to you on the first day and things go pretty well. The second day is a little less hectic and you are starting to recognize faces. By the end of the first week you know almost everybody’s name and things are going well.

Then the second week a few things happen that makes you uncomfortable. You begin to notice that everybody seems to be talking about their resumes and how ‘this company’ (the company you just started working for!) won’t be around next year. You brush it off as just a few bad apples… surely this place isn’t all that bad, or is it?

By the end of the third week you are starting to send your resume back out into the market. You hate the thought of going to work and can’t wait to leave at the end of the day. Your days seem to take on a cloudy pall, no matter what the weather-dude says and you snap at the smallest inconveniences that life throws at you. ‘I left SIU for this?!? Is THIS what the real-world is really like? This sucks!’, you are constantly thinking to yourself.

Hopefully you’ll never encounter this situation, but you may. What to do? A good bit of pre-offer investigation is needed on your part to ensure that you minimize the chances of acting out the above scenario in real life.

First off, what is the company culture like? You can tell this very easily on your first visit to the facility. Take a hard, critical look at the body language of the people you see. Do they look genuinely happy? Ask yourself if they look like they would be working there even if they weren’t making any money. Maybe everybody looks glum and like they’re about ready to kill themselves (take that as a somewhat negative sign, FWIW).

Look around the building. Be honest about what makes you comfortable with and what makes you… nervous. Would you be alright with a 3′ x 3′ community bathroom with no locking door? Sharing a desk with somebody all day because they don’t have enough room for you anywhere else? Be honest and realistic with yourself.

Bring up the issue of fit and culture in your interview. Be direct and be honest - remember that you spend the majority of your life at the workplace. Some questions you might ask include:

• How do you see me benefiting the company?
• Are continuing education and professional development encouraged? What kind of programs can you point to as an example?
• Why did you choose this company?
• What is the company’s culture?
• What is your employee turnover rate?

If you know people who currently work for the company seek their advice out ans ask them to be brutally honest with you. If you don’t know anybody directly, maybe you have a friend who does know somebody ‘on the inside’… Put your networking skills to good use and make sure to investigate the company as much as they are going to be investigating you!