What to check before you accept the job offer

When it comes to employee engagement, success is a two-way street. My posts usually focus on the company’s role in this relationship. It is not only the employers’ job to match ideal candidates to a position, however, but also the candidates’ job to match themselves to a position that they know they will like.

Employee engagement is the concept that employees are so committed to the Brand Promise an organization makes that they exhibit the qualities and make an extra effort to deliver that promise to the Customer Experience.

There are some things you need to know in order figure out if you will be one of these happy employees.

Before you accept a job offer at any company, you should check on:

1. The Company Culture: If you are more of an, “Early in, early out” type who likes to eat lunch at your desk, are you going to do well at a company that regularly schedules 5:00 p.m. meetings and takes 2-hour lunches, making up the time later in the day? You need to find out BEFORE you join. If you like your space, are you going to like sharing a pod with four other people who work on your team? Finding out about the company culture is an important part of the interview process from your perspective.
2. The Unique Selling Proposition/Brand Promise: Be sure before you join up that you are fully versed on what the company provides its customers. Most of all, you need to understand and believe that the Brand Promise provides value to the Customer. If you don’t believe in what the company is selling now, it is more than likely you never will. This situation creates an unhealthy mix. Also, check out what Customers say about the organization. Is this an organization you would be proud of working for, or never want to mention it by name to people in a bar? I remember talking to employees of a water utility company in England that didn’t like saying who they worked for as they knew they’d get a barrage of complaints, taunts and questions as soon as they did. You need to be proud of where you work.
3. The Metric for Success and How It’s Rewarded: How the company measures success is important to know. What is the most important measure? Sales? Customer satisfaction? I once worked for a company that would have sold its Grandmother for 50 cents because sales were the overriding measure of success. I didn’t last long as my ethics would not allow me to do that! Make sure the key measure is something you can and want to do. Also, how do they reward achievement? Is it a monthly or quarterly bonus, stock options, all-expenses paid trip, or a hearty handshake and your name on a plaque?
4. What is the Development Plan? When I interview people, I ask them what is the next job they want. Their answer shows me whether the candidates have thought about their plan for their career path, or in essence whether they have a plan at all. So when you are considering a company you need to know the development path for someone like you or of any success story examples that are similar to your position with a similar level of experience. In addition, you should figure out the top reason for people leaving the job as well as their turnover rates in the role you are considering.
5. The Potential for Advancement: Having a clear-cut path for your advancement is an important consideration as well. See if you can look for similarities in resumes for the managers or partners on the company’s about pages to recognize what management considers leadership material. Also, getting a feel for office politics is never a bad idea. BusinessInsider.com had a great article on office politics that you should learn in your 20s, but I would argue these are a good reminder no matter how old you are.

There are several ways that you can learn these essentials about your potential new employer. Start by a total investigation into their online presence. Besides, it’s a safe bet that they are doing the same thing with you. Obviously asking questions in the interview will reveal many of the things you want to know. A great article on BusinessInsider.com. tells you the eleven questions you should ask at the interview, some of which relate to these topics. Be aware, however, that while you may get some of the information using this method, your best bet is to get a second opinion. To that end, in addition to the interviewer, try talking to a current employee. It’s best if you arrange this through a friend or acquaintance, or even contacting them through social media however, to hear the most candid answers.

It’s also a great idea to ask to spend a day in the office or on the job, doing a job shadow or ride along with a person in the position for which you are applying. To me it’s critical to ask to spend time in the office before you work there. This time will give you a good feel of the place and will go down well with your potential employer that you want to invest this time. I also think it differentiates you from other people. If you are willing to spend a day visiting your prospective place of work, you would go up in my estimations.

Employee engagement is a critical part of success for a good customer experience today. Having a chance at developing this important part of the business environment requires companies to find and recruit the right talent to be sure. However, it also requires a candidate to do their homework to make sure that they can get on board with what the company is selling. Fail to do this, and you will likely be looking up this post again in a few months when you start this job search again.

This article is published in collaboration with LinkedIn. Publication does not imply endorsement of views by the World Economic Forum.

To keep up with the Agenda subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

Author: Colin Shaw is CEO of Beyond Philosophy

Image: Job offers are seen in this illustration in Milan. REUTERS/Alessandro Garofalo