How to Evaluate Personality and Company Culture Before Accepting A Job - Walrath Recruiting, Inc.

How to Evaluate Personality and Company Culture Before Accepting A Job - Walrath Recruiting, Inc. Why do you need to evaluate your personality and company culture before taking a job?  The positions you work in need to play to your skills and strengths as an employee as well as be something you have interest in and are passionate about. One thing that is often left out of the equation, in hopes that we can ‘make it work’ in order to move forward, is personality. This happens all too often; people attempt to conform to the environment they are in and end up unhappy as a result. Conformity is somewhat expected, as we do need to be flexible in life (we cannot always have everything we want) but, it does not have to come down to changing your personality completely in order to work. Our personalities effect everything we do in the workplace whether it be how we interact with co-workers, how we adapt or react to various situations, etc.; it will determine if you will fit in with the company culture or not. True personalities eventually show through, so be genuine from the start and do not fake it. If you were to attempt taking personality out of the equation and end up working somewhere you do not naturally fit in, issues can arise. It can result in feeling uncomfortable, dissatisfied, or cause you to take on unwarranted stress among other things. Find out more about personality in the workplace. Consider the first time you meet a potential employer during an interview. The goal is to impress the interviewer, so we do our best to adapt to the environment we are in, as well as to what we think the interviewer wants to hear. It is true, you do need to impress the interviewer and show that you are a good fit with the company, but honesty is the only way to go about it. Remember, you will be spending quite a bit of time there so, this is your opportunity to find out more about the company and make your own assessment of them, while they assess you. Will it be an environment that your personality can thrive and find success in? Or, is it one that will hold you back? It can be difficult to evaluate  personality and company culture from a single conversation, so do your research. Find out what types of personalities are already in the company. This does not mean that you have to stalk every employee on Facebook or LinkedIn, but that you should do your research. Research: Take a look around the company’s website, social media, review sites like ‘Yelp’ or ‘Glassdoor’, for more insight into what current and former employees have had to say about the company. Do not be afraid to connect with a few and ask a couple questions. Ask about it: Probe a little deeper in the interview (this is your time to ask questions as well). “What times of the year are the busiest?” opens the discussion about support and collaboration. Or, “How often does the team meet?” can give insight into how you will be working, independently or with the team. More questions to ask can be found here. Trust your intuition: What is your gut feeling? We are intuitive people and we can gather a lot of insight from the various social ques we see and hear as we talk with people and examine the places we are in. If, in the brief period of time you were at a potential employer’s office, you felt uncomfortable (more than just nerves from going to an interview), there was probably some truth to that feeling, and is something to consider. How did the office feel? Do the employee stations have personal effects (pictures, etc.)? How was the general mood in the office; hostile, on edge, warm, friendly, etc.? It may take a little work, but finding the environment that best fits your personality will go a long way in finding happiness and satisfaction at work.