Things You Should Never Do When Changing Jobs! Series: How to Spot a Toxic Company - Part 2: The Interview Edition
I am currently 32 years old. In this era of the 100-year life, I have set a vision to enjoy both my work and private life as an active professional for a long time, and eventually, to provide a spark that ignites many others.
Recently, I have been compiling my activities as a career change agent, my own personal experiences, and shares from job placement services into a blog.
I believe that in the coming era, due to factors like the shortening of corporate lifespans and the limitations of the retirement system caused by the declining birthrate and aging population, 'career change ability'—the ability to change jobs at any time—is required. I believe that contributing to the cultivation of people who possess this ability leads to social contribution, so I am sharing information to the extent that I can.
Following my previous post“Things You Should Never Do When Changing Jobs! Series: How to Spot a Toxic Company - Part 1: The Job Posting Edition”
I will now deliver the “Interview Edition” of how to spot a toxic company, which I believe many people are curious about.
Here, I will touch upon the '4 points to identify a toxic company during an interview' that will serve as a reference for you to feel out and judge during your actual interactions with interviewers.
1. To begin with, your application passes too easily
To put it extremely, a major characteristic of a toxic company is thatthe hurdle for joining is low. In other words, your application passes almost automatically. Of course, there are conscientious companies that give quick replies after careful consideration, but if you receive a notification that you have passed on the same day you applied, there is a high possibility thatthey are treating you the same way as every other job seeker. However, if you were told in the job posting or by an agent that 'the document screening pass rate is high' or that it is a 'guaranteed interview case,' this does not apply to everything, and there are companies that want to determine whether or not to hire you while interacting with you in the interview. I hope you will keep this in mind asone trend or characteristic.
2. They do not touch upon business skills or personality in their questions
This is something I have experienced myself, but if the interviewer (especially if the person asking questions is at the manager or executive level) only usesmentalistic words like 'passion' or 'motivation', there is a possibility that it is a toxic company. For companies,mid-career hiring, unlike new graduate hiring, has a strong policy of 'immediate hiring', so they often focus onwhat kind of experience the person has, and what kind of skills or results they have produced. Despite this, if they do not ask about your background, episodes from your previous job, your motivation for applying, or your reasons for changing jobs, and instead ask the above questions or 'When can you start?', you should be careful of companies that have a stance ofgiving a job offer immediately. Of course, since recruitment activities also cost money, there are companies that have a policy of clarifying the ideal candidate profile and making a judgment in a single interview, so this is not true for everything. However, it is dangerous to simply be happy that'I got a job offer!'. A career change isa matching process between a company and a job seeker. I think it would be good to carry out your job search activities with the premise that you are both choosing and being chosen.
3. The interviewer has an arrogant attitude
No matter how much the interviewer is an executive or the president, companies where theyarrive late for the interview start time, do notapologize even if they are late, orsuddenly speak in casual languagemay havea possibility that their attitude toward internal staff (employees) is the same or even worse. There is a tendency tothink of employees only as pawns and not value people, so I think it is good to gather judgment material while keeping your antenna up for the interviewer's behavior. In the past, there were 'pressure interviews' conducted intentionally to test stress tolerance, but I think that is outdated due to harassment issues. You should be careful of companies where such attitudes are prominent.
4. Ask questions skillfully to bridge the gap
In an interview, there is almost always a'question time'. There is a time when the job seeker can ask the interviewer questions. Whether or not you can use thistime for questions effectively can be said to determine the success rate of your career change (matching rate, fewer gaps).
Even if you want to ask questions, you might not know what to ask. To be honest, I was that type of person too.
This is because asking good questions can make the interviewer think and allow you to get honest opinions and quite deep information..
For example, asking about the 'percentage of mid-career hires' is a good idea. If the percentage of mid-career hires is low, there might be mysterious factions between the 'new graduate group' and the 'mid-career group,' or there might not be a proper training system or environment in place for mid-career hires to settle in. You need to be careful, as there may be a dangerous practice of 'if they quit, just hire someone else to replace them.' Also, be wary of an age structure where there are few people in their 20s and many in their mid-30s to 40s. This means there is no middle management, which also suggests a lack of personnel to handle training, and there is a possibility that young employees are treated like pawns, while the company is run by executives in their 40s or older. In that regard, I have experienced both sales companies composed entirely of mid-career hires and companies where new graduates are given preferential treatment, but
if you can find out in advance whether there is someone in the company who is conscious of training, it makes a huge difference whether or not you have someone to consult with or someone to confide in after you join. If you are job hunting with the intention of building your career while working for a long time, I think it would be good to proceed with the selection process while checking those points as well.
5. Summary
I have listed the characteristics of toxic companies so far, but it is also dangerous to conclude that a company is toxic just because it fits all of them. There are also many things that you won't know until you actually join the company. Personally, I believe that what is important in changing jobs is 'satisfaction level.' Even in the resignation negotiations I introduced previously, if you discuss your treatment and future work style with your current boss and they promise improvements, and you feel satisfied with that, then choosing not to change jobs is also the correct answer. If you change jobs and end up in a situation where you think 'this isn't what I expected,' and the dissatisfaction grows in your heart, leading to resignation and then another job change, there is a risk of repeating the same cycle.
There is no company that you can be 100% satisfied with. And if you accumulate trends and knowledge and have the ability to use them yourself, even if you end up in a toxic company, it becomes easier to avoid the worst dangers. Even if you encounter a toxic company, instead of blaming the company, I believe that those who can think proactively about how they will avoid it, how they will behave and move forward, and how they will break through the situation are more likely to have a good job change (a job change with a high level of satisfaction). I think the spirit of making this job change the right one is also important. In my daily job change support, I provide advice based on my experience for each situation when meeting with job seekers. There are many important points that are not written here, and I myself learn a lot from outputting them. I would be happy if what I have mentioned here contributes even a little to your job search and the realization of a highly satisfying job change. I hope to continue sharing topics related to changing jobs. Next time, I will write about 'how to answer the desired annual salary asked in interviews and how to utilize agents.' Look forward to it.