5 Key Questions to Ask Yourself When Researching Companies

As a job seeker, it's important to do your due diligence when it comes to researching potential employers. Otherwise, you’re just a few mistakes away from being a lost job-hopper. The right job can be a game-changer for your career, but it's not just about finding any job – it's about finding the right job, the right company, and the right environment for you. To do that, you need to have a clear idea of what you're looking for in a company. Here are five key questions you should ask yourself when researching companies:

What are my long-term career goals?

It's important to have a sense of where you want your career to go in the long run. This can help you narrow down the types of companies you're interested in working for. For example, if you want to eventually become an Engineering Manager, you might want to look for companies that have a strong track record of promoting from within. Go through their employees on LinkedIn, how many have been promoted? how long do people typically stay for? Message these employees and ask what it is like, do they prefer internal promotion over external hiring? Do they invest in their development? Look at their company page, what is the story of their management team, did they start as the apprentice, where they hired from a competitor where they were already a manager. Ring their HR department and ASK THE QUESTION! Don’t be afraid of them giving you the answer you don’t want. Ask them for a 10-minute phone call, even if they aren’t hiring.

Ask yourself what you want your career to be and then actively go out there and find the company that can facilitate that.

What kind of company culture do I thrive in?

Every company has its own unique culture, and it's important to find one that aligns with your values and working style. Think about what kind of environment you thrive in – do you prefer a laid-back, collaborative culture or a more structured, hierarchical one? Do you work well in high-pressure, fast-paced environments or do you prefer a slower, more deliberate pace? Will you work better in a smaller company where you will most likely wear multiple hats, or would you prefer a big corporate where you will focus on particular elements or tasks.

My best advice here is try it and find out for yourself, no other person is going to be able to give you that answer.

What kind of work do I enjoy doing?

This might seem like an obvious question, actually it’s probably the most obvious question of all, but it's worth taking some time to really think about it. What are your strengths and weaknesses? What kind of tasks do you enjoy doing? What kind of work makes you feel fulfilled? This can help you narrow down the types of roles and industries you're interested in.

Do you enjoy being in a design office and left to your own devices with minimal exposure to the workshop floor. Do you enjoy solving problems and helping to streamline processes, or improving performance? Do you enjoy client engagement and getting out of the office? Do you enjoy just getting your hands dirty and fixing what others couldn’t?

Make a list of every task you do in your current job and what you have done in previous roles and rank them. But don’t just sit on the fence and put everything between 6 and 8 out of 10, you’re just wasting your own time. Seriously think about it and at the end you would have created your perfect job description, now go search the job boards and company career pages to find it.

What kind of work-life balance am I looking for?

Different companies have different expectations when it comes to work-life balance. Some companies might require long hours and weekend work, while others might offer more flexibility and remote work options. It's important to think about what kind of work-life balance you're looking for and make sure the companies you're considering can accommodate that.

I had to put this in here because everyone talks about it now. For a lot of engineering roles, you have to be on-site which makes this bit easy. But there are some roles where hybrid or fully emote can work.

Don’t just say to yourself I want to work hybrid because your friends do, or some people rave about it on LinkedIn. Ask yourself have you got the mindset and discipline to work at home? Do you have the space at home to separate work and home life? If you start blurring those lines your home can become a very toxic environment.

What kind of benefits and perks am I looking for?

Finally, it's worth considering what kind of benefits and perks are important to you. Are you looking for a company that offers generous vacation time, health insurance, or a retirement plan? Do you value perks like free food, gym memberships, or company outings? Make a list of the benefits and perks that are most important to you and use that as a way to evaluate potential employers.

What do you do now?

Now it’s time to go out into the market and use the research you have done to find that job that closely aligns with everything you want. Yes, that right closely aligns. I hate to bring you some bad news, but 99.9% of you will not find the perfect job, mainly because it probably doesn’t exist. No engineering company is going to operate a 4-day week where you can work from home whenever you want, complete design work in between going to the gym for 2 hours and getting your 10,000 steps in before 4pm. Although some social media accounts may say otherwise.

Be realistic and know the compromises you’re willing to make. This will set you up for success when you’re job-hunting.