Doing Your Due Diligence: How to Determine Fit Before You Commit

While interviewing for a job, it is difficult to get the full picture of how you are going to fit into a new role before you have sat in the seat for a period of time. It is also possible (it’s happened to me!) to accept a position only to discover after starting that it is not what you hoped it would be.

This article is intended to highlight “due diligence” practices for you to employ throughout the interview process to assess what it might be like working for a new organization and paint a clearer picture of what saying “yes!” to a job offer will mean.

Pre-interview

Once you have an interview on calendar, get to work on learning as much as you can about the company and the people with whom you will be having conversations. This is both to understand what they do at the company as well as the path that led them there. Find them on LinkedIn and review their profiles to see how they got to where they are, where they may have pivoted in their career, who might be mutual connections, etc. Having this insight will give you some sense of questions you may want to ask during the interview process.

Also, perform some outside research to gain additional information about the company, reputation in the industry, stability trends/concerns, notable news/accomplishments/new products, etc.

In terms of employee “reviews” (i.e. Glassdoor, Google reviews) they can be helpful to read and can potentially provide context for questions you decide to ask in the interview process. However, understand that someone else’s experience is theirs and it doesn’t necessarily mean you will have the same one.

Interview Process/Pre-Offer

Your interview will then be your opportunity to dig into the details of what it could be like working at that organization. Come prepared to ask questions using what you learned in your research and based on simply what you would like to know—your interviewer expects this to be a two-way conversation. Plus, your preparedness could set you apart from another equally qualified candidate.

Consider asking questions around these areas to help paint the picture of what it is like to work for this potential employer:

• Responsibilities — The most obvious questions that will come to mind are those regarding your job duties. What would you be doing? What would you be responsible for? How is work generated/assigned?
  • I also encourage candidates to ask about challenges – what challenges is the team currently facing? What challenges do they anticipate you potentially facing if you assume the position?
• Measuring Success — Ask about the company's/team’s expectations in terms of performance. How do they measure success? How do they communicate feedback? How often? Who is involved in those conversations? If you are achieving success consistently, what does that mean in terms of growth within the company?
• Colleagues— Take the time to find out more about the structure of the team with whom you will be working. What are their roles in relation to yours? Who do you report to (both directly and with a dotted line)? Who are the other stakeholders that may not be a part of your team but will give you tasks/feedback/collaboration? Understanding these relationships will give you a sense of where the work will be coming from and how much autonomy you will have.
• Reason the role is open — Roles become open for a variety of reasons. Sometimes they are brand new; sometimes they are replacing someone who left. Ask which it is. If it’s a new role, dig into why the role was created and their expectation for how much you will be expected to shape the role. If they are backfilling for someone who has left, see if you can gather any information around why that person left. Chances are the interviewer will give you some insight into whether the person left on their own or if there were challenges with the fit.
• Culture — To discern if this team is the type of team you will like working on, you will want to dive into questions about what it is actually like to work there. Ask your interviewers what their favorite things are about working for that organization and on this particular team. Also ask how they would describe the culture; their answers will give you insight into how they feel about working there.
• Logistics – After recruiting for over 16 years, I am still amazed by conversations I have with job seekers who cite drastic differences in logistics expectations as primary reasons for why they are looking. Ask questions about things like bonus and commission plans (How are they structured? How achievable are they? What is an average payout for someone in my role?) Do you truly understand the stock/equity component of your compensation? What is the “in office/onsite” expectation and does this make sense for you/your commute? Will there be significant travel?
• Additional Conversations – Do you still have questions or are you still lacking clarity about something? It is absolutely OK to ask additional questions as you move through the interview process/receive a formal offer or to ask for an additional call if it feels like there are still multiple topics on the table that warrant further discussion.
  • Also, do you know someone who works at the company who wasn’t a part of your interview process (i.e. a friend/former colleague who works in a different department)? It may be helpful to get some additional insights from another perspective/voice!

If you approach the interview with a sincere interest in the role, the organization and the team and then ask about all the things that are on your mind, you should be able to gain clarity. Remember to trust your gut! If your Spidey senses start tingling and answers seem oddly vague or “red flags,” you are probably right to question if this is a role you want to accept.

Escape Plan

Of course, the interview only gives you a small taste of what it would be like working somewhere. It is entirely possible that you still get in the door and realize within a few weeks that it is not going to be a long-term fit.

When this happened to me, I gave myself a timeline and set goals for what I wanted to learn and take from the experience. At the time, I was still early in my career and worried about the optics of a quick departure; I didn’t want to look like a job hopper. I decided to stick it out for a year and use that time to learn as much as I could. Think of every opportunity as a learning experience; not only can you learn a new subject matter and gain additional experience for your resume, but you can also figure out what you enjoy doing, what environments you like, etc. Ultimately, this knowledge will help you when going into your next interview and/or role.