How to Know If Company Values Match Yours in Job Hunting

Earlier in my career, after having my position eliminated, I made a poor decision and accepted a new role at a company and working for a leader that I never should have. I had received a large severance payout and wanted to get re-hired quickly to bank it. I found a job that was a step up in scope and pay. But deep down I knew it would go bad based on red flags in the interview process. The Chief Talent Officer openly criticized my future direct manager, essentially dangling his job in front of me as enticement. It gave me pause but I looked the other way when the offer came. Once I started, things got worse. There was a revolving door of unethical leaders, with the bad behavior unchecked from the top. Eventually they came for me too. I learned a lot about what leadership and integrity don’t look like. But most importantly, I realized I could have done a better job assessing culture and leader fit. If I could go back, here’s what I would ask: 🚩 What processes exist to capture employee feedback and incorporate it? Lack of listening systems is a red flag. 🚩 How do you support working parents, and work-life balance and wellbeing in general? Look for comprehensive benefits and leaders that walk the talk. 🚩 What are the company’s values and how do they apply in decisions and conflict resolution? See if clearly articulated and uniformly applied. 🚩 What % of roles are filled internally? Low rates show development isn’t a priority. 🚩 What leadership training exists on delivering constructive feedback and coaching? Lack of skill building in this space is a flag. 🚩 What % of those on performance improvement plans succeed? Is the focus on supportive growth or exiting them? Harsh policies are a bad sign. 🚩 When was the last time the company initiated layoffs? How would those impacted describe the experience and how supported they were? Listen for respect, transparency, generosity. 🚩 How much notice is given before layoffs? Short timelines show lack of care. 🚩 What severance and other transitional support did laid off employees receive? Generous support is a good sign. Assessing culture thoroughly upfront is key. Leaders’ and companies true priorities come through in how employee-focused these processes are. And remember, when someone shows you who they are, believe them. #Leadership #Coaching #CorporateCulture #TalentAcquisition #Values

Accepting a job offer is a big commitment. But, as a candidate, you spend only 4-5 hours of time with the interviewers (your future team). That isn’t much time spent before you sign on to spend 8+ hours a day with them for the next few years of your life. In a few short hours, do you really know… • How collaborative is the team? • Will they support you and help you grow? • Does the company's culture align with your own values and work preferences? • Does the company promote a healthy work-life balance? It’s hard to get a true sense of what it will be like to work there through a few short interview conversations. Rather than wait for the next interview, I would reach out to several other people on the team for informational (’virtual coffee’) chats to learn more about the team, company, and its culture. Since the interview process takes 3-6 weeks, you could have multiple conversations in addition to formal interviews. Not only do those extra conversations help you evaluate the company… They also help you become a much more competitive candidate because 1. You learn a ton about the company and its interview process, and you get insider info on the interviewers, etc.     2. Word will get back to the hiring manager that you took the extra steps to meet with the team, which shows initiative Taking these extra steps has paid off recently with 3 job seekers we’ve worked with. Not only did they receive job offers, but they were also much more confident in accepting them because they knew the company was a good fit for them. 💪 Next time you're interviewing with a company, find ways to have a few extra conversations. They can have a big impact on your future.

Too many companies use core values as a recruiting device rather than a guide for how people should act. The former by just platitudes. The latter is actual culture. This is why so many employees get burned, and the company they joined isn’t the company they thought. I’ve had this come up so many times with colleagues. It's something I think about often, so here are some culture questions I asked to land me at a great company with a great team at Crosschq. 👉 Tell me a story about the culture here that you wouldn’t hear at any other company. 👉 What does the company do to promote teamwork and collaboration? 👉 How does the company handle feedback and criticism from its employees? 👉 How does the company celebrate success and achievements? 👉 What’s one thing you would change about the company culture if you could? 👉 How do you see the company values reflected in your daily work? Can you give me specific examples? 👉 How are decisions made here? 👉 How does the company handle failure or when things don't go as planned? 👉 What kind of person tends to succeed here? 👉 What makes you (the interviewer) proud to work here? Much of the insight will come from the follow-up questions and conversations. Also, you can’t ask all of these in one interview, but you can spread it out across people and sessions. What would you add? 

I hated this interview question as a candidate: "Why did you apply to this role?" (or some version of this). To me, it seems pretty self-explanatory! Believe it or not, how you answer this question impacts your performance in the interview. Shallow answers will turn people off (e.g., “I found this opportunity on LinkedIn and it seemed like a good fit”). Recruiters, hiring managers, and your peers want someone that's excited about the company and has specific reasons for wanting to join. I developed a formula for answering this question. It's genuine and it leaves a solid impression with the interviewer. I call it the "matching principle". Here's how it works ... —— Step 1. Review the job posting and make a list of which requirements you meet. In this step you're "matching" your background and skills to the role. You can explain during the interview that you feel this is a good fit because you bring specific experience that they want. This is an opportunity to briefly sell why you're a good candidate. Example: "A big reason I applied to this role is because it aligns so well with my background. I noticed on your job posting that you're looking for someone with solid CTI experience, specifically open source-collection and querying. In my last role I spent significant time doing similar work using tools like Maltego, Shodan, and Python scripts. I'm also very strong with intelligence reporting which seems to be an emphasis on your team." Step 2. Consider the type of work culture you want and then research the company's mission, values, and offerings through their careers page, website, social media, and Glassdoor. Write down things they offer that are important to you (e.g., remote work/flexibility, growth/development, employee recognition, etc.). In this step you're "matching" what the company offers to what you want in your next role. Example: "I did a lot of research on [company name] and was impressed with the emphasis on teamwork, community, and the open-door policy among leadership. This type of culture is very appealing and something I've been missing in my current role. I'm also very drawn to your mission and the work you all do with [xyz] really excites me." ___ Remember to always be yourself and be genuine. There may be other specific reasons you want to work somewhere - share them! This is just one framework you can use.

In my experience, one of the best ways to get a vibe check on company culture during an interview is ask about a few specific things: 1. Onboarding - This tells you a lot about how invested they are in your ongoing success as well as how inclusive and supportive they are as an organization. 2. Performance Management - This includes metrics for your job duties as well as regular formal reviews that align with raises and promotions. This should also encompass their professional development benefits and if they offer any sort of internal mentoring. 3. Communication - This is an interesting one since it is such a fundamental piece of how any organization runs but it often gets overlooked in my experience. This is as simple as clarifying if they talk more over Slack versus email and how often you'll have team meetings or 1:1s with your manager. Typically it's tough to get an honest and in depth take on company culture if you ask about it specifically (Ex: "What's the culture like there?"), but asking about these three things can tell you a lot. This will help you make more informed decisions about working for different organizations.

Aaron, James and I had a fantastic career conversation with my friend, Julie Runez on the Purposeful Marketing Podcast the other day. I REALLY wanted Julie on because she has a fantastic perspective on career growth and company loyalty. In a world of switching careers every 12-36 months for better pay and a higher title ( 👋 hi, it's me, I'm the problem!), Julie questioned that career path. On the podcast, we discussed: 👉 The thought process behind sticking it out at your company 👉 Where company culture and leadership play a role in that decision 👉 What it means to grow in the career you have Overall, we came out with a great framework for deciding how/when it's time to stay or go in your career. 1️⃣ Values Above all else, you know you're in a good spot when your personal values match that of the company. It makes it so much easier and more rewarding to show up to work every day excited to do the work. 2️⃣ Culture Yes, this is different from Values because this is *how* the company plays those values out in their people and decisions. When the Culture matches the values, you enjoy the work and more importantly, the people you work with. 3️⃣ Leadership When it comes down to it, does your leader and the company's leadership team embody the Culture and Values? This is sometimes, No. (PLEASE go read Lost & Founder is you haven't already where this exact subject gets thoroughly discussed) And when it's Yes, you feel empowered to grow and bloom where you're planted -- knowing your leader will support that journey. 4️⃣ The work Okay, so you're at a company where: ✅ Your values match theirs ✅ The culture reflects those values ✅ Leadership embodies the culture and drives decisions using company values Now, do you enjoy the work? Is this position somewhere you feel like you can comfortably stay or comfortably grow your current skills? This seems like the easiest one, but this is the place where I've actually had to make my hardest career decisions. Because when the Values, Culture and Leadership all sync with you, but the work is not where you see your career growing, then it's far more difficult to leave than if the reason is Culture or Leadership. Episode dropping soon, but highly recommend listening in if you're in any kind of career development phase (aren't we always?!) #purposefulmarketing P.S. We just dropped an episode with the one and only Rand Fishkin where we go deep on the Values and Culture part of this framework 😎