Candidates: Check Company Culture Before You Apply
How to Investigate Company Culture Before You Apply
It's surprising how often people leave a job citing "culture", and
they're not talking about the absence of ping-pong tables or free lunch. They're talking about the relentless weight of dysfunction: meetings that
meander without purpose, toxic whispers behind closed doors, and the
soul-crushing silence when someone raises a legitimate concern.
These aren't isolated incidents.
They're daily erosions of trust and morale that compound
over time, until one day, someone walks out the door and doesn't look back.
Key Takeaways From This
Post
Research beyond the surface: Analyse company websites, social
media, and employee reviews on platforms like Glassdoor to identify consistent
patterns about workplace culture, not one-off comments.
Network strategically: Brief conversations with
current employees and recent departures reveal more authentic insights than
hours of online research alone.
Ask culture-revealing questions: During interviews,
request specific examples of how values guide decisions, how feedback flows,
and how work-life boundaries are maintained in practice.
Spot warning signs early: Watch for repeated mentions
of high turnover, vague values without examples, or weekend work as the
default - these red flags predict cultural misalignment.
Today, around 77%
of candidates say they always consider a company’s culture before looking
for a job, and 73% say they won’t apply for a role at all unless the business’s
values align with their own.
The problem is that culture isn’t always easy to define
based on a single job listing or website homepage. It’s often made up of the
small things, such as how a manager handles feedback, how flexible the team
really is, and if people feel safe bringing up problems without getting shut
down.
To learn about those things, you need to dig deeper. It’s
about determining if you can envision yourself working there, day in and day
out, without it wearing you down.
The Digital Deep Dive: Online Research Strategies
The internet has made it easier to learn a lot about a business before speaking to anyone. You
might not discover everything with online research, but you can find just
enough information to help you decide whether to invest time in an application.
Start With the Website, but Read Between the Lines
Most organisations will have a website. Often, they tell a polished
story about what the company does and what it cares about.
Read past the polish. Values that sound like they could
belong to any firm rarely help. Specifics do. A short note from leadership
about a tough quarter, a concrete decision that shows what the company stands
for, or a case study that credits the team rather than the hero CEO. Those are
useful signals.
Try this simple pass:
- Read the About and Careers pages slowly. Highlight any concrete examples of values in action.
- Open leadership bios. Note tenure, internal promotions, and any mention of setbacks or lessons learned.
- Search the site for words like “feedback,” “flexible,” “learning,” and “wellbeing.” See where those ideas are applied in real programs, not just in boilerplate.
Look at Social Channels for Tone and Texture
Social media profiles aren’t perfect truths, but they’re
less staged than a careers page. LinkedIn shows how the company celebrates
work. Instagram and TikTok reveal how people behave when the mask slips a
little. X is often where you see how they handle pushback in public.
When you scroll, notice:
- Who gets spotlighted? Leaders only, or teams and early-career folks as well.
- How wins are framed. All sizzle, or credit shared and specific.
- Replies to tough comments. Helpful and timely, or canned and defensive.
Step Outside the Company’s Feed
Third-party coverage helps test consistency. Search recent
articles in the business press or trade publications. A company that talks about transparency
should have examples in the record: a clear statement during a layoff, a
post-mortem after an outage, or a leader quoted with plain language rather than
spin. Investor materials can help too. Annual and sustainability reports reveal
what gets measured and funded over time.
For a data-driven perspective, consider exploring
independent cultural analyses. MIT and Glassdoor’s
Culture 500 mines employee reviews to surface common themes across large
employers, providing helpful context for what people discuss inside.
Also, carefully consider awards and
recognition. “Best
place to work” logos look reassuring. They are a starting point, not a verdict. Some rankings are rigorous, while others are based on small or self-selected
samples. Use them to guide where you dig deeper, then look for alignment with
real employee commentary. You will save time by trusting patterns over posters.
Employee Reviews and Testimonials Analysis
Reviews are noisy. Some are over the top, some sound like
PR, some are partially drafted by business leaders (rather than employees). What matters is what keeps showing up, not the one-off rant or the five-star
cheerleading.
Begin by searching for reviews on reputable websites. Glassdoor and Indeed are the big ones. Comparably, Kununu, and Great Place to
Work add extra colour. Each has its own tone: Glassdoor leans towards
long-form; Indeed feels more like snapshots; and Comparably breaks things down into
scores.
As you read, look for the echoes. One negative comment isn’t
a pattern. If several people mention late nights or shifting priorities, pay
attention. The same goes for positives; when numerous voices praise a manager's
support or flexibility, it’s probably genuine.
Also, adjust for timing and bias. People in the industry might write reviews after a significant
moment, such as a promotion or an exit. Expect emotions to play a part.
Don’t spend all day browsing reviews. A half-hour of reading
is usually enough to get a feel. Note two or three themes, then carry them into
your interviews.
Strategic Networking for Culture Insights
You get a clearer picture when you speak to someone who’s
been there. A ten-minute chat can tell you more than hours of research.
When considering a new workplace, start by identifying the right people to speak with.
Two groups are most helpful: current employees in or near
the role, and those who have left in the last year or two. The first tells you
how things run now. The second can speak freely about why they left. Reach out
over LinkedIn or email with a short message like:
“I’m exploring [role] at [company] and would love to hear how the
team works together. Would you have ten minutes for a quick call this week or
next?”
When you dive into the conversation, try to go beyond
opinions. Questions like “What do people here get praised for?” or “How do
deadlines usually get handled?” bring out stories, not marketing talk.
If you’re struggling to find someone to speak to, consider
using groups. Industry meetups, alumni networks, or conference chats can be
just as revealing. You don’t always need a formal sit-down.
Two or three honest conversations will give you a sense of
whether you’d be a good fit, or whether it’s worth stepping back.
Interview Questions That Reveal Company Culture
The interview is where culture stops being abstract. You are
listening for specifics, not slogans. Short, honest examples always beat
polished lines. If an answer stays vague after a follow-up, treat that as a
signal. Here are some questions to consider asking:
Work / Life balance
Open the door to how work really gets done. Set the tone
with curiosity, not challenge.
- “What does a typical week look like for this role in a normal month?”
- “How are urgent requests handled when they clash with planned work?”
- “What is the expectation around messages after hours or at weekends?”
Communication style
You want to hear how information moves, and what happens
when people disagree.
- “How does information usually flow between this team and its closest partners?”
- “Which tools do you rely on day to day, and what actually lives in each?”
- “When there’s conflict, how is it usually worked through?”
- “How is feedback given here? In the moment, in 1:1s, or both?”
Management approach
This is about autonomy, decisions, and growth. Ask for
examples, then ask one level deeper.
- “How are decisions made on this team, and who is typically in the room?”
- “Where do team members have the most autonomy in this role?”
- “What does development look like in practice over the first year?”
Values in action
Values matter when they shape choices, not when they sit on
a wall. Ask for a recent story.
- “Can you share a recent decision where company values guided the outcome?”
- “How are mistakes handled here, especially when the stakes are high?”
- “How does diversity and inclusion show up in everyday work, not just in policy?”
Red Flags and Green Flags
By now, you have compiled research notes, identified review
themes, and conducted a few conversations. Patterns matter more than any single
data point. Toxic culture isn’t an abstract concept. During
the Great Resignation, it was over ten times more predictive of attrition
than pay.
Red flags
Name them early so you can test them in follow-ups. One or
two is normal. A cluster is a cue to pause.
- Turnover that comes up repeatedly, especially on the same team.
- Values that never appear in real examples during interviews.
- Consistent stories of weekend work or “crunch” as the default.
- Leaders who gloss over challenges or avoid specifics.
- Hiring process that is disorganised or disrespectful to candidates.
Green flags
Look for steady, human practices rather than one-off perks.
- Leaders who share what is going well and what is not, in plain language.
- Clear paths for growth, with time and resources attached.
- Colleagues recognised for coaching and collaboration, not just individual wins.
- Managers are accessible between formal check-ins.
- Work–life boundaries supported by norms and tools, not only policy.
No company is perfect. The question is whether the
trade-offs fit your current season and goals. If the positives you've heard
align with what you value most, you are likely looking at a good match. If the
same doubts keep resurfacing, step back and protect your time.
Finding the Perfect Fit
Culture shapes the day-to-day aspects of life more than any
job ad can convey. By now, you have a simple way to see it clearly before you
commit. Start with what the company says about itself, check what employees say
over time, talk to people who know the place, then use the interview to test
what you found. Patterns matter more than one perfect answer.
A good fit will not feel perfect. It will feel consistent,
human, and sustainable. That is what supports growth and keeps energy steady
long after the excitement of the offer fades.