Thursday, July 23, 2015

What's that Smell?

The marketplace has clearly shifted to a candidate driven market.  What that means is that a lot of qualified people are on the move.  With all that activity and interest in you, it is easy to overlook some very critical, very obvious things (conditions) that can make your new move, your “great” new job a disaster.

One of those critical factors, perhaps the most critical of factors is the culture of the organization.  If you make a move into a new company with a culture that doesn’t match up with your style, you will struggle to keep your balance.

There are a number of key indicators that you should consider.  I’m reminded of an old Lynyrd Skynyrd song titled “What's that smell?”  Pay attention to the atmosphere in an organization.  You can “smell” a company when you are talking on the phone to someone inside the organization.  You can “smell” a company when you are sitting in the lobby, waiting for an interview.  When you are walking to the interview location, pay attention to how the people interact with each other.  Pay attention to the interviewer’s attitude toward you, the other people, the process itself.

Next, pay attention to the interviewer’s answers to your questions.  You should always go to an interview prepared to ask your own questions.  Remember that the interview process is a two-way street.  You are interviewing them as well.  Ask real, important questions and write down the answers.  These answers will serve you well as you review your day, compare one person’s answers to another in the organization and to judge the reaction of the answer given. 

Finally, your research into a company will give you some additional background and insight into the organization. 

All these indicators can be insights to the culture of the new company.  Pay attention to these subtleties and remember, you are planning to spend more time with this company than you do with your family.

David (Mac) McElhaney
Managing Partner
Global Recruiters of Huntsville
102 Clinton Ave, West
Suite 201
Huntsville, AL 35801
Phone: 256-533-1444 Ext 201

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