Before you accept, here's what you must do
20th Aug 2019
You’ve reached the end of the road, nailed most of your interviews and the final stage of the hiring process is now here. But this isn’t your first rodeo. You know you need to approach this last interview with optimism and scrutiny. You’re aware you won’t be the only person asking the questions because this is a pivotal moment for you. You’re getting prepared to assess your potential employer with a series of questions to reaffirm why this job is right for you. Because the last thing you want is working for a company this doesn’t align with your values or career expectations – right? But what are the best questions to ask before accepting an offer? Here’s what you need to do before signing the contract:
Reputation and Reviews
You must know the company’s reputation within the market and how ‘in’ are they with agencies or brands. Cross reference the market’s perception of the company with your connections and online sources, and deliberately seek out the opinions of those you trusted within your professional network. Researching the company’s leadership team by reading the “About Us” section and respective bios along with their LinkedIn profiles is highly recommended. What is their experience? Can these leaders demonstrate a clear passion for advertising and the industry that they work in?
Particularly in a sales role, the industry’s opinion of the company can determine how challenging your role can be. Will it be a tough sell? Is its tech up to standard? Turning to recent news and industry publications, along with scrolling through popular forums review websites is a must.
How a company is perceived internally is equally as important as its public facing image. Glassdoor is an insightful platform that shares anonymous employee generated content that offers detailed information about the company’s culture, benefits and salaries. Pivotal suggests searching for key words such as “management team” and reading the comments posted in relation with this subject. Are the reviews mostly positive or negative? What is the management style of senior directors and managers?
Tell me a story
Organisational psychologist, Adam Grant, suggests there is one simple question you can ask during the interview process before accepting the offer. He says: “Ask them to tell a story about something that happens in the organisation that would not happen anywhere else.” A good employer won’t regurgitate its values or mission statement, instead it will reveal a story that provides evidence of being a place where you will have a sense of psychological safety, where you can trust people, where your voice is heard.
In larger companies, you will find that its culture will be varied depending on what team or department you will belong to. For this reason, you must engage with your direct line manager to better understand whether you will be a suitable culture fit. Better yet, probe further by meeting the team you are joining and get direct feedback about the culture from them.
Team Dynamics
As an incoming manager, it’s critical to know the dynamics of your team before starting. Are you taking over a miserable failing team? Are there any previous issues with staff retention that require a solution? Perhaps it’s a high performing team that is sensitive to change. Either way, winning over a team is hard. Not only do you need to understand the intricacies of the team, you must be aware of the team KPI’s and what needs to happen in order to monitor success in the role. It needs to be realistic and you must have the confidence to achieve this.
Nice Package
It’s time to evaluate the finer details. Clearly, salary is important, however, you must check all of the benefits included in your package too. It’s imperative that you review the proposed pension contribution, holiday allowance and share entitlement. Additionally, don’t forget to question how your bonus will be paid out. Will it be revenue/MBO (management by objective) split?
Above all, do your homework. Do not accept a job without weighing up your options and completing a thorough online search about the company. Should you have any more questions, do not hesitate to follow these up with the hiring manager or recruiter you have been in contact with throughout the process.
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