Shweta PaiScrum master| ResMedHalifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
When applying for a new job, you might not have a very great insight into the company culture (especially for a PM/scrum master). It might be a good organization building good products but it might offer resistance to change and new suggestions. The PM/SM role is dependent on how much really your organization empowers you. Every program/project/team would need a different strategy. But, if you are not empowered then you land up just being a figurehead and just doing whatever management tells you. How can figure out if this organization is really for you?
Assume that you don't have friends there or no reviews on the internet for the PM role/SM role. All you have is the job posting (which obviously would have all the cool stuff in it with industry buzzwords) and the rounds of interview in which you have met employees of the organization. Saving Changes...
Drew CraigSr. Agile & Product Coach| VanguardPhiladelphia, Pa, United States
When interviewing, I point blank ask direct and detailed questions around culture. You can get a sense of what to expect through their answer. It's a question/conversation I'll bring up and each interview level.
...
1 reply by Shweta Pai
Sep 14, 2018 7:48 AM
Shweta Pai
...
That is a great suggestion! If you bring up this question at every interview level, then you could definitely have some idea of what it is like because not everyone might answer the same way!
Saving Changes...
Shweta PaiScrum master| ResMedHalifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Sep 14, 2018 7:43 AM
Replying to Drew Craig
...
When interviewing, I point blank ask direct and detailed questions around culture. You can get a sense of what to expect through their answer. It's a question/conversation I'll bring up and each interview level.
That is a great suggestion! If you bring up this question at every interview level, then you could definitely have some idea of what it is like because not everyone might answer the same way! Saving Changes...
Knowing your needs and values when it comes to organizational culture is vital when evaluating a new position. Can try assessing following areas of an organization's workplace culture via job interviews and research on companies.
1) Job satisfaction - First check on job/companies reviews on websites such as LinkedIn or Glassdoor and offline such as magazine publications. Then try tapping on networking contacts where there may be people you know with working experiences with the company, similar companies or jobscopes. We can know how satisfied are the employees and their reasons.
2) Organizational Learning - Do the employees and superior have opportunities to learn from each other in daily operations as well as projects? In a good organizational culture, teammates value collaboration and understand how to work well together. Communication is clear, transparent and honest, from vertical hierarchical with superiors and subordinates, and lateral among team members. Are expectations and goals clearly communicated?
3) Loyalty and Respect - Check the turnover rate of the job and employees. Does the manager you interview with speak with respect about their subordinates and vice versa? Take note on how do the employees and superiors greet and communicate among each other.
4) Effective Work Environment - The office space is an important aspect of organizational culture, and it greatly affects how employees carry out their tasks. Check the work surroundings and seek clarifications with the interviewers. Do ensure you will be comfortable in the work environment. After all, you will be spending a sizable chunk of your time in there.
Came across this article "4 Sneaky Ways to Determine Company Culture in an Interview" ( https://www.themuse.com/advice/4-sneaky-wa...in-an-interview ). These are simple questions we can ask various employees during the interviews - but need to carry out diplomatically - to get a gist of the norms and values of the company.
After outlining the company's culture, we then need to evaluate the suitability to our needs and values. Hope my opinions can be of some help or applicability.
...
1 reply by Shweta Pai
Sep 17, 2018 2:54 PM
Shweta Pai
...
Thank you for your detailed response! Definitely something that will try for my next job.
Saving Changes...
Shweta PaiScrum master| ResMedHalifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Sep 16, 2018 5:13 AM
Replying to Pang DX
...
Knowing your needs and values when it comes to organizational culture is vital when evaluating a new position. Can try assessing following areas of an organization's workplace culture via job interviews and research on companies.
1) Job satisfaction - First check on job/companies reviews on websites such as LinkedIn or Glassdoor and offline such as magazine publications. Then try tapping on networking contacts where there may be people you know with working experiences with the company, similar companies or jobscopes. We can know how satisfied are the employees and their reasons.
2) Organizational Learning - Do the employees and superior have opportunities to learn from each other in daily operations as well as projects? In a good organizational culture, teammates value collaboration and understand how to work well together. Communication is clear, transparent and honest, from vertical hierarchical with superiors and subordinates, and lateral among team members. Are expectations and goals clearly communicated?
3) Loyalty and Respect - Check the turnover rate of the job and employees. Does the manager you interview with speak with respect about their subordinates and vice versa? Take note on how do the employees and superiors greet and communicate among each other.
4) Effective Work Environment - The office space is an important aspect of organizational culture, and it greatly affects how employees carry out their tasks. Check the work surroundings and seek clarifications with the interviewers. Do ensure you will be comfortable in the work environment. After all, you will be spending a sizable chunk of your time in there.
Came across this article "4 Sneaky Ways to Determine Company Culture in an Interview" ( https://www.themuse.com/advice/4-sneaky-wa...in-an-interview ). These are simple questions we can ask various employees during the interviews - but need to carry out diplomatically - to get a gist of the norms and values of the company.
After outlining the company's culture, we then need to evaluate the suitability to our needs and values. Hope my opinions can be of some help or applicability.
Thank you for your detailed response! Definitely something that will try for my next job. Saving Changes...
Shweta, you have already mentioned that no much info on their website, so I would suggest that you do it the old way when we had no internet, if you can drive by the company before interview and you can watch the employee entering and exiting other vendors see their dress code and you can do it for one / two days because when you go on your interview day you need all those information ahead of time. Saving Changes...
RAJESH K LProject Manager, PMP| Bharat Electronics, Bengaluru, IndiaBengaluru, Karnataka, India
Agree with Kiron Saving Changes...
Eric IsomOwner| learn.pmguaranteed.comUt, United States
I have a friend whose mother made a killing on the stock market by investing in companies whose customer support people said they liked working there. She would just call them up and ask.
Anyone that you can reach, no matter the job title, who works at the company, can provide you will great insights into what it is like to work there. Saving Changes...
Arif KhalilDirector| Halkaphulka Islamabad, Pakistan
Hmmm... It's quite few years now I haven't appeared in any interview but knowing the culture of my potential employer is something I always keep an eye on. You don't know, when the need arise so you keep scanning the organizations and leadership in the industry.
The new culture/ trends in the industry if those are adapted or adopted is a key question I look an answer for, other is the vision of leadership and their integrity.
Is organization striving for a change, bridging a gap or just running its affairs. Something challenging while performing your regular job gives boost to your motivation and benefits both.
In the organizational scan I keenly look for both hard and soft cultural traits in its building, location, settings and style, personnel and their social transactions,* working environment, timings and its observation.
Social transactions are very interesting to observe and give meanings to. How they interact with each other and communicate? How smooth is their verbal and non-verbal communication...? you can spend hours on it ;-)) Saving Changes...
Keri ThomsonHillcrest, Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa
Building on some great prior responses:
Assess how you're greeted, seated, whether you have to wait, if the people walking past you smile and greet you, etc. The general vibe says a lot about the culture you can expect. Genuinely friendly and receptive, cold, formal, etc.
During the interview, does the interviewer willingly describe the company culture and probe for the type of culture you would resonate with? If the culture is as they say it is, they will be as interested in your fit as you are. Look for authenticity. Saving Changes...
