How To Spot A Bad Company And Avoid Getting Hired By It
Posted by
eli
on 7/11/09• Categorized as Business Advice
Working for a company, whether it be a business, industry, or non-profit organization, can always affect our well-being, personal welfare and career. This is for the reason that you spend an average of eight hours a day everyday to be with that company until retirement comes.
If the company is good, then it enhances your career and well-being, including your personal and professional development. Conversely, if the company is bad, it will have a negative effect in your personal and professional life, the way you interact and relate to your co-workers and members of your family, and the community at large.
The strategy is, in applying for a job, you first look at the company, whether it is a good or a bad one. In my previous post, I have discussed the characteristics of a good company, the company that it is nice to be working with.
How about the bad company? What are its characteristics? Robert Levering, in his book A Great Place To Work, has shared four characteristics of a good company based on his findings, as follows:
1 . Exploitative. No rights, arbitrary rules, capricious fringes, unfair wage cuts, favoritism, reckless disregard for employee health or safety, abusive supervision, divide- and – conquer policy toward employees, etc.
2. Mechanical. Workplace dictated by machine-like system, jobs highly specialized, impersonal authority sets rigid work standards, etc.
3. Entrepreneurial. In a new company, non-compartmentalized jobs structures and tremendous genuine responsibility may have broad appeal, especially to those new in the job market. But they also hide long work hours, ill-defined or non-existent rules, grueling pace leading to rapid burnout.
4. Paternalism. A paternalistic company is hard to tell from a good one, except in two respects: the former manipulates and controls employees with gifts, while the latter gives gifts that are earned.
So, next time when you find a company to work with, before applying, check it first whether or not the four characteristics are present. And avoid it like a plague, for your career and well-being’s sake.
Good advice.
One of the things I started doing when one of my kids ran into a few iffy companies while she was job searching was putting the name of the company she was thinking about applying to and the word “scam” in Google. Several came up with more than enough information to make her rethink applying.
Rather interesting. Has few times re-read for this purpose to remember. Thanks for interesting article. Waiting for trackback
hmm that was preety much interesting article that i have read, twitted and commented upon and even dugg !
nice info…
Funny Scraps
Hi, as a business management graduate, I have equipped already more of what you said yet it’s still interesting to know… I was touched on the 4th one. It also applies to the people/community one can be of. Informational!
When I evaluate whether or not I want to work for a new company, I usually look at the employees and determine if they are chill or totally stressed out. I judge their work demeanor because that’s how the work environment will be. I also look at the cars that are parked outside, because that shows how well off or strapped for cash the employees are and is usually a good indicator of how well they are compensated.