4 Steps to Figure Out Workplace Culture Before Applying

4 Steps to Figure Out Workplace Culture Before Applying4 Steps to Figure Out Workplace Culture Before ApplyingTo get started, try these strategies for figuring out companys workplace culture before applying1. Make use of social media.Getting to know a company is like getting to know a person. What would you do before a blind date? Probably search on social media to see what you can find. Same applies here, says Majja Dennis, executive vice president of talent and development at Allen Gerritsen. She suggests checking out the company on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and the like to see how it talks about itself. While its certainly a public face, its not going to be wildly different than the private one.The content of posts can provide interesting information, such as company involvement in local literacy efforts or that it now offers employees standing desks. But dont neglect subtle insight. Tone can convey the type of image the employer wishes to project, and pictures can offer clues about everything from staff diversity to office dress code.2. Dig around for information.Continue your online detective work with thoughtful consideration of the companys website. Mission statements, employee profiles, the our culture section, and blog entries can be helpful. Then, do a Google search on its name to find items such as press releases, customer complaints and kudos, and news events. Repeat the search with the word culture after the name.3. Seek firsthand information about the workplace culture.If you know someone who works at the place of interest, ask as many questions as possible. Explore your LinkedIn network for profil connections. (Past employees can be particularly helpful as they may feel freer to respond truthfully.)Several websites specialize in company reviews by current and former employees, and workplace culture is often a popular topic. See what you can find on Glassdoor, Vault, or CareerLeak.4. Reflect on the potential match.Finally, ponder ho w what youve discovered fits with your personality and needs.In order to know what youre looking for, you first have to know what YOU value, Dennis says. If steady hours are your thing, then a comment like Work hard, play hard to describe a culture should be a watch-out. If you are looking for a place that celebrates individuality and unique contributions, a social presence that highlights individual contributors over constant company-focused content sends you a great signal.If you have qualms based on what youve discovered, it might be worth pursuing more information before applying (or shifting efforts elsewhere). But if you catch yourself saying this place sounds like me, chances are youve found a place where you could thriveReaders, what steps do you take to figure out a companys workplace culture before applying or interviewing? Share your tips with us belowCheck Out the Top 100 Companies with Remote Jobs

Jump Out of the No-Pile and Onto the Call-Back List

Jump Out of the No-Pile and Onto the Call-Back ListJump Out of the No-Pile and Onto the Call-Back ListWhen youre competing against so many other talented job seekers, its hard to have the confidence that helps you get the job. And while plenty of other candidates will spend as much time as you carefully crafting their application letters and rsums, others will sloppily send them out to every job that interests them. With a little extra attention to detail, you can better position yourself to move to the call-back list.1. Use words from the job description. When you write your application letter, carefully reread the job description and pull out points you can make in your letter that relate to what the company is looking for. Do the same for your rsum. Hiring managers may not even notice if you use similar verbiage as the job description, but theyll like your application better if the language is familiar. For example, if the description asks for someone with extensive experience man aging teams, mention that and highlight your experience to show this off on your rsum.2. Keep your ear to the ground. Dont let the job description from a company be your only knowledge of the brand. See what the company is saying on social media and search for news online. This will give you a bigger picture of whats happening at a company where you want to apply to work. That knowledge can help you look sharp in an interview.3. Tweak your online brand. Since you know employers will Google you to see what youve got going on online, its in your best interest to make sure whats out there puts you in a positive light. Keep a steady stream of content on your personal/professional blog to show youre tapped into your industry, and keep your social updates professional enough to not turn off a hiring manager.4. Get out there. Meeting people at networking events can work wonders. Start by connecting with people on LinkedIn, then see what types of events they attend. Find a way to introduce yourself, then start building the relationship.5. Volunteer. Not every company is hiring much this year, so one way to get your foot in the door is to volunteer or intern with the company or an organization with which its associated. For example, if you know a company has strong ties to the local Humane Society, helping out there might be a way to meet people you need to know.6. Stay on top of job listings. Yes, looking at job boards every day makes your eyes cross. But you never know when the one will pop up. Keep up with which jobs youve already applied for so you can easily see which ones are new and worth exploring. Use the email subscription features to be alerted for new posts in your area of interest.7. Make friends with recruiters. Recruiters often know about jobs you wont see online, so keep your information updated with those that work in your industry. Let them know youre actively looking so they can keep you on their short list.8. Be patient in the follow-up. Whether you re anxious to find out if the human resources manager has reviewed your rsum, or youre waiting to hear if you got the job post-interview, its tempting to call too soon to follow up. Follow up to thank everyone for their time and reiterate your interest and then let the company come back to you. If you got the job, theyll let you know. Its very important to show your interest, but bugging them every day for a decision wont make anything speed up.9. Ask around. You never know who might know who is connected to a great opportunity, so put the word out with your friends and social circles that youre looking. It might end up being a friend of a friend of a friend who helps you find your job.10. Give it time. Finding a job takes longer these days, so prepare to put in enough effort to make it happen. Dont give up. Also dont wait until you quit your current job to start looking. Plan as far out as possible to give yourself plenty of time to find the right job.Lindsay Olson is a founding pa rtner and public relations recruiter with Paradigm Staffing and Hoojobs.com, a niche job board for public relations, communications, and social media jobs. She blogs at LindsayOlson.com, where she discusses recruiting and job search issues.

How to Take and Give Feedback to Your Co-workers - The Muse

How to Take and Give Feedback to Your Co-workers - The MuseHow to Take and Give Feedback to Your Co-workers I always strive to be a levelheaded, open-minded, and poised professional.But often, when I receive unsolicited feedback from my co-workers, all I want to do is channel my inner five-year-old with an exaggerated eye roll and the ever-sassy retort, Youre not the boss of meMature, I know.But feedback from your peers is a whole different ballgame than feedback from your manager. Because its from people at the same professional level as you, it can feel more like a blow to your ego, or even a personal attack on your abilities.But to help your department produce the best work possible, and to constantly push yourself to improve, you cant keep ignoring that constructive criticism. And if you see sohonigweinhing that could be improved, you also need to be able to voice your feedback respectfully. To do that, zu siche are some tips to reframe your perspective and learn how to effective ly take- and give- peer feedback. Take it or Leave ItFirst, its important to realize that its not your job to give your co-workers feedback, and its not their responsibility to provide it to you. Thats the job of your manager.The difference is, because its not coming from your boss, technically youre free to take your co-workers advice or choose to disregard it. At the same time, that goes for them, too. You may suggest they do something differently, but that doesnt mean they have to change their ways. That doesnt mean you can- or should- ignore co-worker feedback. But it does give you the freedom to consider it carefully before implementing it. Which brings me toEvaluate it ObjectivelyIf you have the same urge to roll your eyes at a co-workers feedback as I do, you have to tread lightly- because that may be a sign that youre mixing your personal feelings with your professional responsibilities. In my case, there was a brand new team member who was giving me suggestions for how to w rite an marketing campaign email a little differently. Instead of considering her advice without bias, I factored in all sorts of other personal feelings- that she was new and relatively inexperienced, and we werent exactly friends. So, of course I didnt want to take her suggestions.Whatever your personal feelings are about that person, put them aside, and look at his or her suggestions objectively (heres some advice for taking criticism seriously, instead of personally). Would reworking a sentence in your email truly make it more effective? Would it really be a good idea to solicit expertise from another department to make your report more well-rounded?Forget who the feedback is coming from, and instead, simply ask yourself, Would this make my work better? If so, making the change is going to benefit everyone involved- yourself included.Be Willing to CompromiseAs a marketing writer, I- as you would expect- do quite a bit of writing for my companys website. However, I am not, by any means, an expert in SEO. When I first started writing blog posts, my co-worker, the departments digital marketing specialist, constantly gave me constructive criticism regarding my content and headlines. Immediately, I took offense. I put a lot of effort into carefully crafting my posts and titles, but time after time, hed approach me with suggestions to make my writing more SEO-friendly. But to me, optimizing that content meant compromising the quality of the work with less effective headlines and distracting keywordsBut at the end of the day, I had to take a step back and figure out how to compromise. After all, I was the writer, but he was the expert in SEO. To make our end product successful, we had to work together. So, I asked him to take some time to go over some basic SEO rules with me- that way I could more effectively weave keywords into my writing and formulate effective headlines from the get-go. In return, if I felt strongly about certain elements of my content that I didnt want to change, hed agree to leave them unaltered. You may not agree with every bit of feedback you get- but with an open mind, you may be able to find a way to make it work.Balance the Negative With the PositiveThis isnt to suggest that you should embrace my personal pet peeve of the compliment sandwich, where you insert constructive criticism in between two positive comments. Everyone sees through that approach, and eventually, every compliment you dole out is going to be met with a raised eyebrow- because surely theres a but coming right behind it. What I do mean is that if you choose to give your co-workers feedback, it shouldnt be all bad, all the time. If youre going to dish out some constructive criticism and suggest ways for them to improve, you also need to take notice of the things they do well- and readily point them out (with no constructive criticism strings attached). By doing this, youll create a positive team culture, where positive reinforcement is valued just as much as constructive criticism.Learning to take feedback from your peers can be a challenging and humbling experience, but with an open mind, you can use it to drive your department- and yourself- to new heights. Photo of co-workers talking courtesy of Shutterstock.