Evaluating
employers
Knowing
the company you plan to join should be an important part of
your job search.
It
allows you to get a preview into the organization and find out
if you will fit in and enjoy your new job. It should give you
information to answer the question- Do your goals match with
those of the organization?
You
do not want any unpleasant surprises once you have changed
your job. You would also not welcome a move which turned out
to be detrimental for your career. In order to reduce
dissonance post a job-change, it is advisable then to research
your prospective employer thoroughly.
When and how should researching the prospective employers be
done?
Research the prospective employer
before applying for the job
At the outset you need to draw up a list of organizations that
you would be interested in applying to, based on broad
indicators like industry, product/services offered and your
prior experience. This would, of course, be done keeping in
mind your career goals.
The
second step would be to evaluate each of these prospective
employers against a set of criteria established by you. This
set should be as detailed and exhaustive as possible in order
to give you as much relevant information as you can get
regarding the organization. This evaluation should enable you
to classify companies into two groups- the ones that you
definitely need to apply to and the others that do not fit in
with your career goals.
The
third step would be to send your resume to the short-listed
organizations and wait for interview calls. The information
you have gathered during your research of the company would
help you give better and well informed answers regarding the
organization you are interviewing with, the work you think you
could be doing there etc. This will project you as a keen and
dedicated candidate who has done his homework and is aware of
the company. And of course, once you are made a job offer your
research will help you decide if the job and company fit in
with your career plans.
The focus of this article will be on the second step i.e.
evaluating your prospective employers before you apply for
specific job positions i.e. before you send out your resume.
Establish criteria and prioritize
what is important for your job
To evaluate prospective employers, you need to establish
certain criteria. A detailed list of criteria should cover
different aspects such as the organization culture, its market
reputation, its growth prospects, requirements of your job
etc. Once this exhaustive list has been drawn up, you also
need to prioritize what criteria are important for you in your
job. This will help you to compare different job offers and
choose the one that satisfies your requirements the most.
This is what your
detailed list of criteria could look like. You could divide
the criteria into different categories:
The company background
1. The industry that the organization is in
2. The products/services that the company deals in
3. When the company was set up
4. Number of offices/branches in various cities
5. Size of organization-its turnover, employee strength
Performance of the company
1. Its turnover and other financials-profits etc.
2. Market share of its products/services-is it a leader?
3. Growth prospects of the company
4. Current and future expansion plans/objectives
5. Its competitors
6. Company reputation amongst customers/suppliers
7. Company problems/needs
Human Resources
1. Organization structure
2. Quality of personnel
3. Working environment
4. Corporate culture/philosophy
5. Company salary structure
6. Increments pattern
7. Performance appraisal systems-is company a meritocracy?
8. Management style
9. Importance of training programs
10. Any plans for re-structuring
About your prospective job
1.Job description/requirements
2.Match with your existing skills and education
3.Frequency of travel
4.Chances of transfers
5.Benefits package
6.Work hours likely
7.Job location- city/upcountry; urban/rural
8.Opportunities for promotions/advancement
This
list has 30 criteria listed and you could add some others that
you can think of. An research like this on your prospective
employer would provide invaluable information to help you
decide on the most suitable employer for you that would match
your needs and your career goals.
Word-of mouth a significant source of
information
This list can serve as an excellent guide to gather
information on the prospective employer but the important
question here is from what sources? The information source
needs to be reliable, accurate and up to date. You could use
alternative sources of information for this purpose such as:
-company home pages
-investment portals
-libraries
-stock exchange/CMIE compilations
-company annual reports/brochures
-trade associations like FICCI
-newspaper/magazine articles
-word of mouth
A
few comments on these information sources. Company home pages
are useful, however you need to remember that they will tell
you what they want you to know in order to project themselves
positively. Not that there is anything wrong in that. It's
just that you could also look elsewhere.
One of the significant sources is word of mouth, that is
talking to people currently working in the organization or
people who have earlier worked in that organization and have
since left. This could give useful information on work
environment, organization structure, job content, management
style and personnel. You would get a real feel of what the
organization is like from these first hand accounts.
Let's hope an
exhaustive research like this of your prospective employers
ensures that you take the right decision and join a great
place to work!
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