Leaving one job for another is always a leap of faith. You might love the job description on paper, but will your day to day be what you thought it’d be? Will you like your new coworkers, your new desk, your new commute? Will you be, well, happy?
The interview may have given you some clue, but the only real way to find out is to make the jump. When you do, it pays to pay attention to a few important details:
1. How open people are to answering your questions. Companies with great cultures practice more transparency in many aspects of their business. When it comes to onboarding new people, they take particular pride in being helpful, knowing this is often the fastest way to make someone feel at ease and help them avoid mistakes and misunderstandings down the line. If you’re at a company where people seem willing to offer you helpful advice, that’s a good sign.
2. Whether people converse and laugh. Every industry is different, and so is every office. You may well work in an office where you’re expected to work quietly all day. But if you notice that people leave the office at the end of the day without ever joining their coworkers in some banter, there may be an issue. The best companies know that having fun with coworkers is important. Data from Comparably shows that 60% of people say it’s either “extremely important” or “important” to the success of the company.
3. What insiders say. As a newbie it’s often hard to tell whether there’s a problem or whether you’re just being sensitive to a new way of working. Luckily, sites like Comparably can help, providing you with employee reviews about a company’s culture, management, perks/benefits, compensation, and more. (Microsoft used here as an example.) The site also gives you information on how female employees and minorities feel about the company.
Related: 3 Things to Do On Your First Day at a New Job
4. Whether there are all-hands meetings. It’s easy for people to get swept up in their own work and responsibilities; if your company takes the time to host all-hands meetings (preferably with food or snacks!), it’s a sign that they’re invested in bringing people together. Companies with great culture know that if they want to succeed, they have to work as a united team.
5. Whether people hang out outside of work. A sign of good company culture is if colleagues actively choose to get together after work. Whether it’s an after-work Happy Hour or a weekend brunch, meetings between small and large groups of coworkers are a good sign that the culture is fostering positive relationships.
6. Whether people are leaving all the time. Companies go through periods of change and with that often comes high turnover. But if your company seems to be doing ok and people are jumping ship left and right, perhaps it has something to do with the culture. More and more people are seeking jobs that fill them with a sense of purpose; when that’s missing, or when someone feels unappreciated or underpaid, there’s little reason to stick around.
Related: How to Decide if it’s Time for a New Job
Start with these tips and you’ll figure out whether your new company will be the one you stay at for awhile.
