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Tips to Figure Out Workplace Culture

There are ways to suss out a company culture before saying “yes” to the role!

There’s almost nothing worse than startng your new job to fnd that the organisaton’s personality and character don’t align with your values and expectatons. If the workplace culture isn’t something that you can ft into, you’ll quickly fnd yourself enduring low job fulflment, or even struggling to perform. But if you’re a good match, you can enjoy job satsfacton, and even develop yourself both professionally and personally.

Sussing out workplace culture over the relatvely short recruitment process is not an easy undertaking. So, to get around it, you’ll have to intentonally go out of your way to fgure out whether it’s a match for you during, and even before, your interview.

Before taking the plunge, follow these tps to help you understand the culture of your prospectve company before you sign on the doted line!

Do your research

The best place to start your research is to take a check out the company’s website. Take a good look at the language used in their Mission and Vision, and see what you can infer from it. For example, the use of the word “innovatve” hints at a culture open to creatve ideas and forward-thinking. Even the photos on the company website can give you a peek into the culture there! Team photos are a good indicator of a culture of diversity and inclusivity, and if the same is true about the photos of the management team, so much the beter.

Job descriptons and other external sites that host reviews and opinions of your prospectve company are other sources you can consider checking out. But as you go about your research, you’ll inevitably come across both positve and negatve aspects of the organisaton. The words “ability to meet deadlines” in a job descripton may mean no worklife balance, for example. But don’t let this bother you! Everyone has diferent values and expectatons of a company and role, so you shouldn’t just base your assumptons on the last source you took a peek at.

Be early on the day of your interview…and discreetly snoop

Even though companies prefer holding video interviews, most will ask you to go physically to the ofce for at least one interview. This is the tme to take the chance and unobtrusively observe ofce life!

Although this isn’t exactly a foolproof way to ascertain workplace culture for yourself – especially as not all employees will be physically there – you’ll be able to see how happy or unhappy those present are.

If the ofce is too quiet, it may indicate a culture of overwork, as everyone is too busy trying to meet short deadlines. Similarly, if employees walk past each other without greetngs, it could be because the work environment is unfriendly. Your observatons alone may not make or break your decision, but at least you’ll have a reference to turn to later!

Ask questions during your interview

Near the tail end of your interview, you’ll most likely get the queston, “Do you have any questons for me?” This is your chance to ask about the company workplace culture! Take note, though, that the key to asking about workplace culture is to ask indirectly.

In other words, avoid asking questons that’ll get you “yes” or “no” answers, and instead ask afer daily tasks. How teams communicate with each other is another talking point, as is work from home policies, especially if the initatves are to contnue post-COVID-19. The answers you get here may be on the open-ended side, but you’ll be able to see how healthy – or unhealthy – a company workplace culture is!

Read between the lines

The way in which your questons are answered is just as important as the questons you ask. Take note of your recruiter’s body language when they answer. Are their arms crossed to show that they’re on the defensive? Or do their answers sound like they’re being reluctantly dragged out? Do the answers sound rehearsed, much like your recruiter is trying to hide something?

Take note to pay closer atenton to what’s being emphasised, too. For instance, if an answer sounds like, “We allow employees to wear jeans and shirts to the ofce on weekends”, you’re either looking at a bad joke, or a workplace culture of overwork. Although these tps can help you fgure out what the workplace culture at your prospectve company is like, they’re not exhaustve. Don’t take it too hard if you misjudged the company’s environment. There are other elements to job satsfacton, and you may stll end up enjoying your tme working there.

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