Information about the interview from the company’s employees. In the Top 10 Sources of Information for the Employer Before the Interview , it became clear that talking to former and current employees is one of the highest priority sources of information that you can use in your preparation for an upcoming job interview .
Former and current employees better than any other source can give you the guidance you need for the interview because they have first-hand impressions of their employer. No other source of information about your employer can give you as much detail and information as they do. What information about the interview
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What information about the interview can we get from the company’s employees
Here’s some information from current and former employees that you should consider for your interview:
What is the atmosphere like in the company?
Current and former employees can quickly give you an idea of what the company’s atmosphere is like. Specifically:
- Is the atmosphere cheerful and positive or tense and stressful?
- Is there understanding or conflict between employees?
- Do people in the company work as a team or rather compete in their jobs?
- How do people go to work – with desire, with boredom, with fear?
All of this is well known to former and especially current employees, and it may be relevant to you during the interview, where you may have to answer questions related to your personal work style. What information about the interview
What is the leadership and management style in the company?
Current and former employees know the bosses well at the company and can tell you a lot about them. Be mostly interested in the following:
- Who are the main figures in the company who define its policy and influence decision-making?
- What is the preferred working style of senior managers, as well as your potential direct one – do they work liberally with their employees or rather authoritarian?
- What does your potential line manager care about most? For example, does he value punctuality, speed of work, accuracy, loyalty, taking personal responsibility, taking risks, etc.?
- Does your potential direct boss support his employees – does he provide them with the necessary conditions and resources for work, does he listen to their ideas and suggestions, does he delegate?
- Is your potential direct boss loyal to his employees, i.e. does he stand behind their actions, defend them when necessary? Or more often he gets away with “it’s your business, not mine, you’re responsible (guilty) for…”
- Is there a practice for sudden, unexpected fines and penalties?
Does the company have clear goals, strategy, work standards?
I strongly advise you to gather this information from current or former employees you know before you ever go on a job interview. For me in particular, this has always been a major question. What information about the interview
I guess you will agree that it is one thing when every employee is aware of what his company is striving for, what are its main goals and priorities, and it is quite another when no one in the company knows what his company is “fighting” for. What information about the interview
Clarity or ambiguity about goals and priorities reflects directly on the work of each employee, i.e. it will also reflect on your personal work if you win the job interview. What information about the interview
Clarity about common goals and priorities unites, focuses efforts, raises standards for quality in work, raises demands on everyone’s personal performance. It helps both managers and employees to work better. What information about the interview
Conversely, the lack of clarity regarding the company’s plans and strategy often makes its employees inert, working “day by day”, non-initiative, uninterested. When employees don’t know what they should strive for and why (as well as what they will get as a result of their efforts), they don’t know how or why to perform better.
I hope that such clarity is important to you, so be sure to ask your acquaintances – former and current employees – about it.
Don’t be surprised if your acquaintances can’t answer this question of yours. In most Bulgarian companies, people do not know what the goals and strategy are. But even if they fail to answer your question, at least you will have “one thing in mind” for the interview, i.e. you will know if you are talking to a serious enough employer or not.
What is the payment?
Without a doubt, this question is one of the most important for any employee, and it will be best answered by the current or former employees you speak with.
In addition to an indication of the salary you can expect at the company (unless this is stated in the job posting you’ve read), try to gather more information about the following:
- What is the practice regarding bonuses – are there any, when are they given, are they rather episodically distributed or is there a system according to which this is done? What is this system?
- What is the practice regarding raising the fixed salary – at what time periods, for what merits, is this done at the personal discretion of the “bosses” or is there a system? What is this system?
- What are the highest paid positions in the company (branch, department)? This is often an open secret in many companies, and this information would give you an idea of what is more common at the company you are interviewing for.
- Are rewards paid regularly or are there delays? How is the issue with insurances, at what salary are they considered?
- What are employee benefits apart from salaries or bonuses? What are the restrictions on the use of these benefits?
The variety of salary information you acquire will be extremely helpful in the job interview, as it will allow you to set realistic goals when you begin negotiating compensation (see Rule #9).
What are the opportunities for promotion and career development
Current or former employees will very quickly orientate you about the opportunities for promotion and development in the company, as they have direct impressions from their personal experience, as well as from the experience of their colleagues. What information about the interview
Specifically, look for the following information:
- How are promotions made, on what principle?
- Are the promotions principled, or rather, the one who is “someone’s man” is promoted?
- Are promotions tied to seniority, or is it possible for a relatively new employee to be promoted if they show merit?
In the job interview, it is quite possible to talk about your plans for professional and career development. Therefore, information about the principles of promotion in the hierarchy of the company where you will be interviewing can help you give the most accurate and realistic answers.
What are the main problems in the company?
This is also a very important question that you need to find the answer to. Specifically, be interested in:
- Is the company in good financial condition (this can be felt with the naked eye and your acquaintances cannot help but know it, more or less)?
- Are there problems with the products (services), does the market like them, accept them?
- Are there problems with colleagues – what kind?
- Are there problems with the bosses – what?
- Are there any customer issues – what?
- Are there any other important issues that may affect your future employment if you win the interview – what?
Is there turnover? And why did the former employees leave?
Information about the reasons for leaving can be crucial to your preparation for the interview, because if the reasons for leaving multiple employees are the same, then there is some serious problem in the company.What information about the interview
If the turnover is due to the seasonality of the company’s business, this is understandable. But if the turnover is significant and is due to internal company issues, remember this information as it will help you in that phase of the job interview where you will be asking questions of your employer.
If you are talking to former employees of your potential employer, try to listen to them soberly and objectively. Especially if they have recently left, they may harbor negativity and ill feeling towards their former employer.What information about the interview
Instead of paying attention to their frustration, focus on the reasons for that frustration. This way, you will come to a conclusion whether you really want to win the job interview to which you have been invited.
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Everything we covered above are important questions to research if you really want to ace the job interview. Or in other words, if you care where you go to work.
Of course, if you don’t care where you will work, but rather need some money and are ready to take the first job you come across, there will be no need for such careful preparation. In this case, collect only information about the reward, as well as fines and penalties. What information about the interview
We recommend you to see our articles in the how to make category that we have prepared for you.
