When I work with a job seeker, there comes a point after we have done all the things we know to do when deeper questions start to surface. Sometimes they come up right away. Other times they need to reveal themselves in their own time. I have noticed that when someone goes quiet mid-search, it is usually one of two things: they got the job and got busy, or something deeper came up that they did not know how to talk about yet. One of those deeper things is knowing how to identify the right company to work for in the first place.
You Interview Them Too
We all understand, in theory, that as a job seeker you are interviewing a company as much as it is interviewing you. It does not always feel that way, especially when you really need the job. But the information you gather along the way can help you make an informed decision sooner rather than later.
Ask Open-ended Questions
If you want to know whether a company has an inclusive culture, for example, try asking this: “Tell me about a time an employee made a request you found challenging, and how did you handle it?” Questions that start with how or what tend to pull out the story, the example that makes everything clear, and more information than you would have thought to ask for. That story tells you what you are actually walking into.
Do Your Own Background Check
Just as you might search the internet, you can ask your chosen AI platform to run a background check on a company, the same way an employer might run one on a candidate. Reviews on your preferred job boards are another place to look. I have used reviews to make decisions on everything from an apartment complex to the questions I asked an employer before accepting a role. Seeing how they reacted, and what they put in place afterward, helped me feel like I wouldn’t be caught off guard. Sites like Blind allow for anonymous sharing about different companies and are worth a look too.
Hold What You Find Loosely
Two things are worth saying here. Like AI, people can be mistaken or simply working from a different context than you, so take everything you find with a grain of salt. Some of what you are reading could also be wrong, and you are only seeing the output, not the full picture. Still, it matters to gather enough to make as informed a decision as possible, and to trust your own instincts alongside it.
How do you vet an employer so you land somewhere you are more likely to thrive?
