How to spot a toxic environment, culture, etc. during an interview?

By Jeff Altman, Big Game Hunter

This is not an easy task because, like you, employers and subordinates always perform well. But there is a way to do it.

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Hello! I’m Jeff Altman, big game hunter. I coach people in job search, recruiting, management and leadership, and generally be more effective in the workplace. Someone asked me a great question.

The question is, how do you spot a bad company culture, a bad environment, a bad job scope before you accept an offer? What a great question, it requires some effort on your part, and it starts with an effort to pay attention. For example, when you go for an interview, who is the interviewer like? How is the energy in the room? How they relate to you and make you feel like. . . Well, you notice how they feel. Are they energetic? Do they look exhausted? What’s going on? Now, one person is not enough to judge.

The whole office, two, three people, that’s something to notice and ask about because it’s more than just paying attention. That’s probably it. Do you have anything else to ask? Yes, I’m curious about the culture here. For example, you look tired today, or you look a little tired.

I don’t know if this is normal for you. What is it like working here? So I just wanted to see what the environment was like. You notice your future boss.

Do they seem irritable, irritable, or angry? Hey, anything else? You know, I noticed that you look stressed out. What’s going on? I’m curious what the staff is like here. Are they under a lot of pressure? It can be as simple as the question you ask.

Now, if you don’t want to do that in an interview, another approach is to look for people who work at this company and in this group on LinkedIn. Again, this requires some effort and may require you to send a connection request or join a group they belong to so you can message them, or of course pick up the phone and call. For example, you might look on LinkedIn and see someone doing a job similar to what you will be asked to do.

Do you have a job description? Take a few phrases from the job description. Do a LinkedIn search. Also narrow by company.

And, by the way, you can also narrow it down by former employees, not necessarily current employees, to be able to reach out to former employees and say, hey, you know, I just interviewed at so-and-so company, did you work for so-and-so company there? No? OK sorry. Do you know anyone who does this because I just learned some information about the environment there.

I just wanted to check it out because I don’t know if it’s true or not, but I just wanted to get an idea of ​​what it was like to work on that team. Oh, I can tell you that. They might share some stories.

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It could be a group that interacts with the people you’re interviewing. Regardless, the idea is always to investigate. Start by paying attention to what is said and unsaid, actions and character of the person you are talking to.

Are they highly nervous, irritable, seem moody, depressed? How is the noise in the room? You know, is it vibrant or is it lifeless, or is there some kind of gradient in between? Regardless, it’s always worth looking into. Again, going back to the idea of ​​working for a specific manager, I always remind people that everyone needs to present themselves well during the interview. Your behavior is good and so are theirs.

So, understand that they are not always as friendly and pleasant as the person you are talking to today. Sometimes they can be grumpy or grumpy or whatever, and you recognize that. But the question is, what is the general trend of this person? I recently talked to someone who had just joined a new company and he ended up with a manager from hell who had fired 60 employees in the last year.

Now, even if that’s a bit of an exaggeration, last year the number was 40. Many people need to turn over, and you recognize this. You hear this story and you head for the hills, because you can’t be one of the people who can succeed.

You are right to always investigate the culture, but like you, I remind you, they always perform well and everyone tells you all kinds of happy things, but unless you directly or indirectly investigate and ask what it was like to work in that team, you are operating with clairvoyance. I know I’m not particularly insightful. I suspect the same is true for you.

I’m Jeff Altman. Hope you find this helpful. My website is TheBigGameHunter.us. If you are interested in one-on-one coaching, you can also sign up for a free discovery call or sign up for coaching on the homepage.

There’s more on the blog for you to watch, listen to, or read to help you find a job faster. Also, if you’re watching on YouTube, just click on the little icon in the lower right corner and subscribe to my channel. You will receive a lot of information when I create it.

Have a nice day and take care!

You don’t need a job description

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