Who is genuine and who is just painting a pretty picture? With these key points, you can sniff out the real side of a company’s culture to discover who is telling the truth and who is just painting a pretty picture… Read the full blog: https://www.psychopps.com/pages/9699-6-ways-to-discover-what-a-company-s-culture-is-really-about Visit us online: www.PsychOpps.com

1. REALLY ABOUT
6 W A Y S T O D I S C O V E R W H A T A
C O M P A N Y ’ S C U L T U R E I S

2. PSYCHOPPS.COM
WHO IS GENUINE AND WHO IS JUST PAINTING A PRETTY PICTURE?
Every company culture is different, and everyone seems to be
shouting about how great their cultural dynamics are. Job seekers
know that you never really know what’s going on in a company
until you start working for them.
With these key points, you can sniff out the real side of a
company’s culture to discover who is telling the truth and who is
just painting a pretty picture…
PAINTING A
PRETTY PICTURE

3. C o n s i d e r h o w m a n y i n t e r v i e w s y o u a r e r e q u i r e d t o h a v e a n d h o w q u i c k l y
( o r s l o w l y ) t h e p r o c e s s s e e m s t o m o v e .
A r e t h e y j u s t l o o k i n g f o r a b u t t i n a s e a t o r d o t h e y g e n u i n e l y s e e m
i n t e r e s t e d i n y o u , s p e c i f i c a l l y ?
D i d y o u f e e l t h e p e r s o n i n t e r v i e w i n g y o u w a s r e a l l y g e t t i n g t o t h e r o o t
o f t h e r o l e o r w h y y o u m a y ( o r m a y n o t ) b e a f i t f o r t h e r o l e ?
H o w m u c h ( o r l i t t l e ) d i d t h e y d i s c u s s t h e i r c o m p a n y c u l t u r e w i t h y o u ?
H o w d o t h e i r e m p l o y e e s d e s c r i b e t h e i r c u l t u r e ? D o e s i t s e e m g e n u i n e o r
m o r e l i k e i n s i n c e r e s u p p o r t ?
PSYCHOPPS.COM
READ BETWEEN THE LINES IN
THE RECRUITING PROCESS
WHILE ALL RECRUITING PROCESSES ARE DIFFERENT, THERE ARE SOME TELL-TALE
SIGNS THAT CAN KEY YOU INTO A “CULTURAL COVER UP.”

4. PSYCHOPPS.COM
YOU’RE NOT JUST THERE TO BE
INTERVIEWED; YOU ARE
INTERVIEWING THEM TOO
When you visit a company, make sure to keenly observe the office.
How clean is it?
Do the employees (those just doing their job, not interviewing you) look
happy with what they are doing? What is the energy like?
If there is a whiteboard on the wall, what’s written on it? Does it seem
to portray a lot of activity going on, is there a fun contest listed or does
it seem to be a lot of instructions for employees to follow?
Consider these factors as a whole. No one thing necessarily equals a
positive or negative culture, but when considered all together, they can
tell you some things about the culture.

5. PSYCHOPPS.COM
HOW
IMPORTANT
ARE THE
TO YOU?
Some companies will tout that they offer
free lunch everyday or incentives to win
tickets to the next baseball game. Think
about how much this truly means to you
or motivates you.
Lots of companies out there want to be
trendy and offer perks similar to this
because they think it will help create a
more positive culture. This ‘stuff’ can be
helpful to temporarily improve cultural
dynamics but after a while, they generally
lose their luster.
Its important to consider just how
important you feel this ‘stuff’ will be to
you in the first year and after 5 years.
‘PERKS’

6. PSYCHOPPS.COM
ALWAYS TRUST
YOUR GUT
If you get a gut feeling either way, trust it.
If at the end of the day, you truly feel that the wool is being pulled over your
eyes, don’t move forward with them. Trust that feeling.
However, if you feel there is a genuine effort to create and maintain a
positive and pleasant company culture, trust that feeling too.
Sometimes job seekers can get so excited about an opportunity that they can
become ‘blind’ to what may be right in front of them.

7. PSYCHOPPS.COM
ASK SOME
STRATEGIC
QUESTIONS
TO GET TO
THE ROOT OF
THE ISSUE
Its completely acceptable (and frankly,
I’d encourage you) if you’re feeling
unsure about a company’s culture or
politics to ask poignant and well-
thought out questions during your
interviews which could give you some
indication of what’s really going on.
Here are some suggestions:
What was the last big achievement that
was celebrated?
What activities or incentives does the
company offer to employees?
Does the company give back to the
community? (If so) in what ways?
If you could describe your corporate
culture in just a few words, how would you
describe it?

8. PSYCHOPPS.COM
STILL
FEELING
UNSURE?

9. PSYCHOPPS.COM
DO YOUR OWN
(THOROUGH)
RESEARCH
There are many websites out there that offer genuine reviews by current and past
employees sometimes with details on salary expectations and those ‘perks’ we
mentioned earlier.
Its important to note that not all negative reviews mean 100% accuracy. After all,
there are two sides to every story. What is important however, is to focus on the
content of the reviews and where do you find consistency.
A good rule to go by is if one review makes a claim, take it with a grain of salt. If
two or more reviews seem to say the same thing, you might want to give some
consideration to that and ask about it in your next interview.

10. PSYCHOPPS.COM
Not any single one of these points alone will likely
tell you if a company culture is being faked or not.
You need to consider them all together.
If all together it doesn’t feel right, don’t move
forward with it.

11. THANK YOU
FOR
WATCHING

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