Cracking Your Next Company's Culture

3 Tell me a story

Lunch may seem like time for pleasantries, but most of us are far too polite when asking about values, says Ginger Grant, a Vancouver-based employee-engagement consultant. She believes the closest thing to having your own crystal ball is asking a company to illustrate how it lives and breathes its values statements. "My favorite is, 'Our greatest asset is our people,' " she says. "I'll ask, 'Can you give me a specific example of how you invest in people?' " If you sense irritation, that's a red flag. "You're self-selecting out of an environment that's put off by your question."

Similarly, says Townsend, you can also use storytelling to gauge the level of bureaucracy. Ask the interviewer to walk you through a recent initiative. How was the idea sold across the organization? How long did it take to get approved? Those stories will help you determine whether the company is filled with careful, analytical types or shoot-from-the-hip risk takers.

4 Ask for the moon

Even if you're regaled with stories that make the gig sound like a perfect match, don't be shy about demanding a deeper look. Grant urges candidates to request dropping in on a brainstorming session or shadowing an employee for a day. If your experience in those few hours doesn't sit well with you, it's likely a sign you won't like sitting there the next few years, either.

Organizational psychologist Blair says it's also crucial to meet every person who will be in your reporting line, both above and below you. If anyone happens to be out, do not be pressured into accepting the job until you've met him or her. "You don't want any surprises," says Blair. Plus, be sure you ask each person in that reporting line separately to describe the role you're considering. Don't hear the same thing? That's an alarm signaling their expectations are all over the map.

5 Wear your spy cap

The best spies look where others forget. The same can be said for sniffing out a company. WorldWIT's Ryan says checking out the online photos and bios of a company's management team is all you need to cut through the veneer of an organization's culture. "Are they all 50-year-old white men? Did they all come from the same set of companies?" says Ryan. If so, chances are their culture and values are going to reflect that.

Besides scouring the Web--obviously, don't forget employee blogs, company-related message boards, or networking sites such as LinkedIn--you can do other detective work, too. Hang out in the office's parking lot, Ryan suggests, to see if you're inheriting a crew of clock-watchers who disband at 5:01 or workaholics held captive until midnight. One final idea: It's worth tracking down any discrimination or wrongful termination suits the company won't be so eager to showcase.

6 Ditch those rose-colored glasses

When Andy McKeon was offered the top creative-director job at a boutique ad agency's New York office, he couldn't say no. The gig would put McKeon, who'd been working at the same company's Amsterdam headquarters the previous two years, in charge of overseeing the office's creative work and hiring new people. Or so he thought. "My job was as far away from an executive creative director as possible," he says.

In retrospect, McKeon doesn't blame just the agency. "I stupidly ignored my own criteria," he says. "I thought a good salary would compensate for other shortcomings." He had already worked with the company's founder, and although he knew their values and styles didn't mesh, he thought he could make it work.

"We easily ignore our instincts, even when they're yelling at us," says Blair. Ambitious people optimistically believe they can go into any situation and change it for the better. Blair suggests a helpful way to ground those expectations. After leaving an interview, sit down and make a list of everything you learned, from the concrete to the esoteric, and flag anything that is of concern to you. "It's a very tangible way to get a more holistic picture of the place," she says. "Remember, an organization has no obligation to make things work for you. You have to make things work for you."