‘Secret Shop’ work before your interview

A man is sitting at a sad desk in a dark floor with an old computer

Photo: Stokkete (Splitting)

Perhaps the scariest thing about starting a new job is not knowing if you made the right decision. You could, for example, be fed and turned by an employer who would deceive you into a situation with false promises, or suddenly feel pangs of buyer remorse once you understand that your old job offered a friendlier feeling than your new one.

Online research firms have shortcomings; there’s only as much as you can get from reading employee reviews about a company on Glassdoor, so it’s best to be proactive when it comes to deciding if a company will work. ultimately appropriate. To do that, you can buy a company carefully, so that the hiring manager doesn’t know you’re spouting around for intel during the interview process.

Here’s how you should gather a forecast of a potential employer before making that important decision.

Talk to company employees

Find current or former employees and ask them questions, as there is little incentive for them to lie about their experience. If someone left their job after several years and still had a bad taste in their mouths, it may be a sign that the place was harming a toxic culture or may not look after the workers aige.

Ask questions related to your concerns. Don’t be shy if you want to ask about money, vacation time, health care plans, and basically all other essential aspects of a job offer that is possible. If someone was working at a place and happy to share their advanced knowledge, take it as a good sign that you are barking up the right tree.

When it comes to finding those people, talk to LinkedIn and social media. Or just Google the person’s name. Most professionals these days have websites, and they are usually easy to find and open to a talk shop.

Pretend to be a customer

Try to pretend to be a customer to understand how people in your prospective position work. For example, if you are applying for a position in insurance sales, try calling a representative and masquerading as a potential client. This way, you can get an idea of ​​the tools these sales reps use, how they communicate, and the kind of tone and approach they might use on the phone. This may work better if you are considering a position in sales, but if you can find a way to make it fit for another area, more power for you.

This can be a quick, 15-minute conversation where you pretend to consider various offers, and refuse to promise to do anything. But it will be a useful lesson in how you can talk to an interviewer, if you take the call as calm.

Talk to outsiders

Try to understand the wider reputation of your employer in your business. If he’s a well-known player, people who haven’t even worked at the company need to at least get a vague idea of ​​the company’s culture. In addition, people taken from this employer are likely to have a more neutral and impartial view. They will not be inclined to protect friends who may earn a reputation without a workplace, and they will not be against sharing company tricks that may upset someone. or damages control feathers.

Interview with recruitment manager

Job interviews are like a two-way street. At the very least, you should show some curiosity about the hiring manager’s long-term vision for your career, or how they’d like someone in your position to help them get better. If the questions asked of you in an interview stop you, or an announcement that you may not want to work for someone, it’s best to get into your more inquisitive side. As John Lees, the UK-based career strategist and author How to find a job you love, the Harvard Business Review in 2014, ask targeted questions that address your concerns and curiosity. “Ask about turning around and find out what happened to the last person to do the work,” he said.

If they don’t seem interested in having a conversation about this, it might be a good idea to look elsewhere.

Trust your gut

There are certain unrelated things that come with understanding whether a job is going to be very relevant or not. The energy of people in an interview situation is a real thing. You need to measure working relationships not only in terms of how useful they are professionally, but at more human levels, by asking yourself: “Could I afford to spend 40 hours a week? a week or more with these people? “Of course, no one you work with has to be your best friend, but it will help when you get a good feel for your colleagues.

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