Communications of the ACM
Do This One Thing Before You Accept That Job
In order to find a new job that will be challenging and rewarding, it helps to have a clear, real-world view of the potential employer from someone who knows the company well, yet has no vested interest in whether you take the job. Sometimes it's not enough to research the company, meet with different team members, or go on a tour of the office space. IT workers should also call a colleague who used to work for the company to get the inside story about the company culture, as well as the company's attitude to various aspects of the work that are important to you. This conversation, which is almost a reverse job interview, can confirm many of your thoughts on the organization while alerting you to other aspects of the place and people that you may not have been aware of.
Obviously it's important to get to know the company you're considering working for as best you can. If you haven't had any experience with the organization yourself as a customer or client, it's not enough to rely on a Web site and your interviewer as your only sources of information. There are a few other ways you can research your potential employer. You can ask others who've worked at the company how they enjoyed their time. Of course, their reasons for leaving the place may skew their answers to your questions, but this is a good starting point. You can also ask if you can speak to another person who works for the company about what it's like there. You might suggest this to your potential employer as a way to get a feel for the company culture from an objective person. Spending half an hour with someone who works in the organization can be a useful way to gain insight into the way the place functions and the way that it values staff and clients.
From Web Worker Daily
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