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How to research a company’s culture before accepting a job

Some companies will excite you, stimulate you intellectually and socially and create an office environment that makes you want to come back day-by-day. Others will be stressful, unsociable, stuffy and old-fashioned.

It's all too easy to get caught up in the buzz of finding a new job and rush to accept an offer with only a partial view of how the company really operates. The consequence could be that you're unhappy and ultimately that you quit before you've had a chance to achieve much or learn all that you hoped.

Cultural fit matters: in a 2015 survey of HR managers, OfficeTeam found that two-thirds cited poor cultural fit as the main reason for people leaving their company. The key to finding a position with a company that you'll like is, therefore, to extensively investigate the company's culture before you accept the job.

But how can you find out what it's really like to work somewhere? How do you research a company's culture before you work there?

Before the interview

As soon as you accept an interview with a company, you should begin to research them online. Just as you would if you were researching a major purchase or a holiday destination, you want to Google them to find out how they present themselves, how they interact with the world, and — crucially — what others think about them.

Begin by browsing the company's website. Is there a “culture” or “life at…” section? How much effort looks has been put into these pages? Does the company appear to have a genuine interest in the lives of its employees or does the page feel like a rushed afterthought?

Next, look at the company's social media channels. Does the company strike a casual and conversational tone online, engaging with those who engage with it or does it simply push messages out to the world in a cold and formal way?

Finally, look at what others have said about the company. Customer and client review sites (like Capterra and Trustpilot) will give you some insight into the customer experience, but focus on employee review sites like Glassdoor. Here you'll see anonymous write-ups of life working at the firm. In particular, look for whether the company has responded to any negative reviews and the tone they've struck.

Sites like Glassdoor are useful, but our advice is not to give the reviews you find their too much weight. Reviews are much more likely to have been left by those at the extremes: either they've had a very negative or a very positive experience, meaning that the views of the average employee are obscured.

Remember, cultural fit works both ways so you'll want to use this research to ensure that you convey the company's culture as best as possible at the interview. Check out our advice on what to wear to an interview for more tips.

At the interview

Always aim to arrive at your interview early and spend the extra time observing. Try to watch how current employees are interacting and how the office is organised (is it noisy or silent? Are people casually dressed or smart? Is the office split into individual cubicles or open plan?).

During the interview itself take full advantage of your opportunity to ask questions. Don't be afraid to ask your interviewers why it is they enjoy working at the company and what they like/dislike about the company's culture. It's best to go into the interview with a list of questions ready-prepared. Here's a list we suggested in a blog last year.

Finally, before leaving at the end of the interview, consider asking for a very brief tour of the office, or at least to see the space in which you would be working. The main entrance and meeting rooms may be beautifully designed, but it's worth checking out whether the employee workspace matches up to the facade.

After the interview

After the interview, before you make a decision, consider if there are any specific questions you want answers to. If you're working with a recruitment consultant, they'll happily communicate directly with the firm to get you answers.

Alternatively, you might use LinkedIn to find out whether you have any close contacts already working at the company. Just search for the company's name and click on the “people' tab. You'll see a list of employees that have LinkedIn accounts and your relationship to them. Reach out directly to any contacts you know and ask them for their first-hand experiences.

Finally, it's also becoming common for a conversation to happen after an offer is made. It's perfectly acceptable to ask to speak to the hiring manager or someone at a level similar to that at which you would be joining to ask additional questions before you accept. This can be a good opportunity to ask some more casual questions that you might not want to ask at interview. Be careful though — your new job isn't confirmed until contracts are exchanged, so don't drop your guard!

If you're looking for a new position then check out our current listings at 3Search — we're specialists in connecting talented employees in digital, marketing, communications, and business development roles with exciting opportunities.

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