How do I ask
I am stuck in a job where the managers do not how to organize work well. Our department has been on mandatory overtime for over a year now and I believe it is due to poor management. How do I ask in future interviews what the work environment is like and get a truthful answer? I want to make my choice as wise as possible and want to avoid a company that is always working in chaos rather than working in progressive changes that make sense. I am highly frustrated right now and know I can't continue to work in this environment. I have mentioned this with my boss several times before; but it continues to fall on deaf ears. Is there a way to ask this type of question without sounding negative and what kind of reason do I give to a future employer if it is in the same line of work?
You can always state the obvious to a potential employer: "I'm looking for another job because my present employer is disorganized which causes a lot of unnecessary overtime work." But that may just wound like you are a whiner who won't put in the extra effort when necessary. You can ask about workloads, how often extra time is necessary, etc... but do it in a casual manner and not like it is a deciding factor (even though it may be).
But even if you phrase the question in the best possible way, you will probably not get as accurate an answer as you would like. Because an organization that disorganized and chaotic is not going to admit it, or they would be acknowledging something and not doing anything about it. So you might hear things like "We have a crackerjack staff and everyone pitches in to meet our deadlines" instead of "We can't plan our way out of a paper bag and do everything at the last minute". Or "We have a super admin staff and you will have all the resources that you need to meet your goals" instead of "Our admin person is the boss's daughter who shows up when she doesn't have anything better to do and isn't much help then". Sorry, but this might be the kind of thing that will really take some digging and maybe some inside scoop if you can get it, not something that you will easily get from an interview or even several.
If I remember correctly, there is a message board on vault.com dedicated to finding scoop on companies from employees. Have not used it, but chances are that the ones who post are the disgruntled ones, so the opinions will be biased.
First I wouldn't even address this issue until a second interview, or at the very end of the first interview, when you are asked if you have any questions. You may have been able to get a sense of this during the interview, anyway. If not, you could phrase it something like, "Can you give me an idea of the work process here? Does each department have its own set of procedures, or is there a company-wide way of handling workflow, etc., etc., etc." You can be tactful about this....
Interviewers will never tell you that the company is disorganized or the employees are overworked or everybody is paid under what they are worth or their job is worth. At the end of the interview, when the interviewer typically asks if you have any questions, ask things like:
Questions of this type may give you a clue as to how the company handles being overworked and how organized they tend to be.
It's very easy. Just explain your current work environment and say that you won't want to run into that again with you new job. So ask the interviewer to describe the environment in which you'll be working. And you'll have to decide for yourself how honest they are being. | |
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