I was recently invited to interview for a role. Always flattering and it was an exciting opportunity. But my first question wasn’t about whether I could do the job, which perhaps it should have been because the job specs were a stretch and I’d never worked fo this type of company before...

But no, I trawled through LinkedIn and Instagram, trying to get a sense of how happy every was who worked there. I stared at their faces at work events and Christmas parties. I trawled through glassdoor comments. I did a deep dive on a few senior people’s Instagram accounts. I listened to interviews with their CEO.  

My questions: Did they believe in a hybrid work model? Did this company make space for different types of employees (like, you know, parents with other things to do). How many women were in the executive team? Did it seem like the kind of place where people burnout? Was this an hours over output kind of place? Do leaders listen? I’m not sure when I started to care more about these things than everything else. Like, whether I could actually do the job. 

I’m not afraid of hard work… but what I am weary of is working for a company, and within a team, where there is no trust. And where productivity ranks about all else. Above our need to be human and all that entails.

There’s no doubt that the pandemic has played a role in where we want to work. According to Harvard Business Review, candidates are now seeking workplaces where they can intertwine their beliefs with those of the company, and work together on a common vision of purpose and success. That seems like a lot of pressure to put on a job. And it also makes finding your next job that much harder. 

After all, unless you have a friend in the business, how much can you find out in an interview? Of course, you should always ask: “How would you describe the culture here?” But it doesn’t always reveal what you need to know. I have been interviewed by managers who are warm and insightful in the interview, only to realise that was the only contact I was likely to have with them once in the role. I’ve had bosses tell me they believe in autonomy, only to find out they adopt more of a “helicopter” approach. And it’s likely they were being honest at the time - they just don’t know another way to work. 

A question that I’ve found reveals a little more: “What kind of people thrive in the company?” You can at least discover the kind of traits and work practises your future boss values, and whether that’s something that aligns with what you bring to the table. 

Work culture means a lot of things to a lot of different people. I guess what I figured out in this process is that am looking for a sign that whatever company I join next, has maintained the new norms around trust and respect that even the most parochial managers were forced to embrace in the pandemic. Yes, that is about flexibility, but it’s also about a mindset that allows people to work in a way that best suits who they are and the life they want to live. Of course, that’s a lot to glean from an interview and some social media stalking. I’ll probably just have to suck it and see.