Before You Sign: How to Evaluate a Company’s True Sales Culture

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"I want to work at a company with a great culture."

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What does this mean?

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When I speak with candidates and they tell me that culture matters to them, rarely are they able to delve deep into the meaning of that statement.

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I hear things like this:

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• "I don't want a boss that will micromanage me."
• "Workplace flexibility is important."
• "No cutthroat sales environments."
• "I want opportunities to get promoted."

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While these are all important factors in your decision making, why do they mean something to you?

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Last month, I was working with on a Sales Director role. The company required the new hire to be 'in-office' at least 4 days a week. When I was headhunting candidates, I made this clear during our first email interactions and calls.

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One particular candidate I'll call Nina, seemed to fit perfectly into the requirements of the role. She had the right career experience, attitude and skills to fit right in with this company. She was currently working at a company with a hybrid culture (2 days in office, 1 day on the road, 2 days from home).

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However, the commute would be a dealbreaker. Spending 90 minutes each way would take her away from her family and impact her social, mental and physical health. We agreed this wasn't the right role and that we would keep in touch.

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2 weeks later, I received a phone call from Nina. She had reevaluated her decision and wanted to meet with them for an interview.

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"What changed?" I asked.

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She said, "I can get used to the commute. If the culture is the right place for me, I don't want to dismiss this opportunity."

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Noooooo! The 'in-office' part of the role IS part of the culture! This isn't something to dismiss from your decision-making process no matter how perfect the role is. There would traffic james, accidents, 'after-hours' events a lot of face to face interactions and collaboration in this role. Something she wasn't accustomed to.

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How can you assess the culture of a company and if it would be a good for you? Aside from asking, "What's your culture like" in an interview?

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My personal checklist looks like this:

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1. Self-Audit first. What's important to me about the working hours, location, product, service, size of the company, hierarchy, leadership team and the way I like to work?
2. Am I working with a Recruiter? What are they saying about the culture of the company? Have they placed someone in that company before? How long have they been partnered with them?
3. Online Research: Glassdoor, Comparably, Built In, Linkedin, Fairygodboss, Blind, Vault and The Muse to name a few. Even Google Reviews. Look for patterns and consistent statements.
4. Company Website: Do they have an "About Us" section or a "Culture" page? Does that align with your values?
5. Social Media - Instagram, TikTok, Youtube - can you get a feel for what it's like to work there?
6. Ask a former employee if they will speak with you. Check Linkedin for people who have recently left the company. Even better if they are in a similar role. Ask them if they would be willing to spare 5 minutes to discuss the culture of the company. You'll be surprised how many people say yes.
7. This is SALES - ask if you can talk to an existing employee. While you don't get to decide who, you can have some one x one time with someone immersed in the culture
8. Look at employee posts on Linkedin - what are they saying about their company? Are there pictures of events, tradeshows, inside the workplace?
9. Look at the company page, filter by people and see the demographic of people working there. Are they all under 25? Do they all come from similar career backgrounds? Do they all leave within a year?
10. Lastly - and the best one: Ask to spend a morning or a few hours with the team in the office, on the road or immersed in the culture. Yes, this is time consuming, and you won't be paid. But, what better way to see what working there would be like? I've done this twice and once rejected the offer to work at the company because of what I experienced.

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Culture is subjective and can be described by the company's vaguely. If you're working with an Agency recruiter, ask questions to help you decide if you want to make the leap.

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They have a vested interest in both YOU and the Company finding the right fit!

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For more Recruiter Tips and Secrets to help you find a Sales job, join the hirequity Academy or subscribe to my newsletter! For one x one chats, there is a link in my bio. Thanks for reading.