Do you trust the Glassdoor reviews?
"It feels like if I leave here to go somewhere else then I might be leaving a fairly comfortable situation for a real unknown. It's better the devil you know, sometimes."
Understandable fears come up all the time in my coaching Zoom room and this is a common one.
People who leave companies are very often not desperately unhappy, they just want to do something else, have a new experience and answer the 'what if?' questions that have been lingering in the back of their mind.
As with any fear, the greatest combatants are understanding, truth and information.
So if you have your eye on a company but you're just not sure whether to trust the Glassdoor reviews, the 'Great Place to Work' awards or the company's own declarations about themselves then go directly to the source of knowledge. The people who work there.
But what if I don't know anyone who works there?
You can find these people on LinkedIn, they're there for all to see, and connect with them. Or find them through contacts in common. Ask everyone you know - do you know anyone who works at Company X?
Then, you can do something known as informational interviewing. You schedule a call with the person (more than one in the same company, ideally) and ask them what you want to know.
The questions are for you to decide. What do you want to know?
Here are some questions that clients often ask:
What's your experience of working for Company X?
I noticed there was quite a lot of bad press around BAD THING - what was the reality of that for you?
Glassdoor seems to talk a lot about GOOD THING. Is it really like that?
I know Company X shouts a lot about being GOOD THING. How does that normally play out?
An old colleague of mine left Company X because she said BAD THING. Has that been the experience for you and others?
Who else might be good to talk to in your organisation to find out more about SPECIFIC THING?
The GOOD, BAD and SPECIFIC THING can be about culture, working practice, talent management, reputation, pay - almost anything you can think of that is important for you to know before you jump.
You could form the basis of your questions by asking yourself:
What is brilliant about your current organisation that you would be loathe to give up?
What is awful about your current company that you'd be immensely chuffed to see the back of?
What is important to you that you've never experienced before?
What is in your criteria that you can't find information about online?
What is the company saying about themselves in job ads, careers pages, LinkedIn that you want to get a horse's mouth sense check on?