Beyond the offer: Things to consider before joining a new company
Looking for a job can feel as though it’s a job in itself. So when you start getting through to the final stages, it can feel like it’s only a matter of time. What I find people often forget is that when participating in interviews as the candidate, you are interviewing the company as well as they are interviewing you. Before saying yes to a job offer, I have some things that I am looking for and consider:
Is your manager a good manager?
What are the opportunities for career growth?
Does the company align with my values?
How is the company doing commercially?
These questions can act as a good way to compare other companies and offers.
Is your manager a good manager?
I’ve had a lot of bad managers and as a result, this question is always at the top of my list. When trying to answer this question you want to look at their track record: from people they have mentored and managed, how have they progressed? Has anyone in their team been promoted? This will give you a sense if they are good at career development and growth. Another area to explore is how they gather and give feedback and how often they give feedback. This is an important aspect if you want to know that you are getting regular feedback to understand how you are performing in your role and progressing in your goals.
What opportunities are there for career growth?
If growing in your career is important to you then it is key you understand how the company handles career growth. Is there a career framework that is used, with clear paths to progression? How do they identify who’s ready for promotion and how often does it happen? The frequency of promotions is a key question to answer. Some companies have a clear process that happens once a year, while for others it’s adhoc. If it happens once a year find out when in the year it happens, eg. if it happens in December and you’ve joined in January you will have to wait a year to be promoted.
In addition to this also find out when pay rises happen and what they are based on. Some companies base part of your pay rise on performance while others might just review your pay. Don’t expect a company to give you pay rises in line with inflation, I’ve worked at companies that give me a 1% pay rise even though inflation was 10%. The truth of the matter is inflation goes up and down, companies make assessments on employee pay mostly on how the company is performing and if they can afford it.
Does the company align with my values?
As I have progressed in my career this question has become more important to me. I am more interested in working for a place that has similar values to me, as it makes working there so much easier and less of a conflict morally. For example, something that is important to me is DEI. Previously, I had found myself in a place where DEI wasn’t as important, which meant when the murder of George Floyd happened I felt I wasn’t supported and felt very isolated. I was even looked to as the only black employee to advise leadership on how to respond. After that incident I made sure in my interviews I talk about my values and interrogate where they stand on these values.
How is the company doing commercially?
As layoffs and redundancies become more commonplace this is an important question to answer, especially in startups. I would ensure to ask questions in your interview but it’s additionally important to do your research. If they are publicly listed they will have published trading information to the market. For startups you should be able to look up their funding rounds. Ask how much runway they have and when they need to fundraise again.
Also understand if they have made redundancies and what plans have they put in place to avoid future redundancies.
Another thing to investigate is who has invested in the company and what is their track record, where have they previously invested and what has happened to those investments.
Having an understanding of how the company is performing can give you some sense of security and reassurance that you are joining a company that is healthy. Although like most things in life it’s not a guarantee.
You can never be 100% sure that you are making the right decision but having some questions in mind when interviewing can help you make an informed decision whether to accept the role or not. I always say that you should go with your instincts and if you’re on the fence then it’s probably a no.
