I still remember the day when getting information was immensely difficult and time consuming. When I was in elementary school, I got an assignment to find information about local art. At that time the only available source for that was newspaper. I took a bundle of newspaper for the past 30 days just to found simple information.
Nowadays, getting information is not a difficult thing to do. We can find it in social media, websites, blog, and million other sources. However, easier access to information does not come without trade off. One of the biggest trade off that we face is it is getting tougher which information is accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
I face this situation when I was looking for information company I want to work. It is a bit ironic that in the era where information is easy to get, we often make wrong decision to join a company because we take wrong information into account. I have no stats on my hand but a lot of friends who regret their decisions in joining their companies because they made uninformed choice. A lot of them believe on myth about company. These are three most common myths about company that I discovered:
Myth #1: Company that performs financially well is a good company to work
Company that performs financially well tends to have more resources to take care their people better but it does not mean they put people as their priority. Although they put people as their priority, there is possibility that they are doing well on area that may not accommodate your aspiration. For example if a company boasts for good remuneration but what you are looking for is learning then the company does not really have what you need.
Myth #2: Company that has high ranking (Big Four, Top Three, Top Ten) must be a good place to build a career
A lot of company ranking is measured globally while in most of the time, we only apply for the branch. The problem is sometimes the global ranking does not really represent the quality of the branch. Hence the ranking is less relevant to judge the quality of a company.
Unfortunately currently we don’t really have information about company ranking in Indonesia. Although we have, we need to take a look on what are the metrics used (financial performance, culture, etc.) and how the ranking is measured (independent body or employee survey) on that ranking mechanism before we use that information as our basis to make decision.
Myth #3: Company that has good Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program will also guarantee employees’ well being
Company’s strategy to handle external stakeholder (customer, society, and investor) may not be the same with their way to handle internal stakeholder (employee). For example there are companies that have CSR in education while give minimum training to their own employee.
If you are a job seeker, most likely next question will be, “given the situation, how can I make an informed career choice?” There are tips to help you to make informed decision:
1. Ask yourself “what are the 3-4 factors that I’m looking for in work?”
Think about this question and answer it honestly. Consider your strengths, area of improvements, and your career aspiration. Usually factors that are commonly mentioned are salary, learning opportunity, cool projects, and great working environment. Be careful not to get fooled by the myths above
2. Choose 3 companies that you want to target
Start from the company that are familiar for you. You are also suggested to find out about other companies by searching in google or leveraging Linkedin. Once you find the companies, then map them under this table
3. Find information to fill up that table
There are multiple sources that I usually use to find relevant information about workplace:
General information: Check company profile in company websites and bukapintu.co
Salary: Look at salary range and employee testimonials in qerja.com and glassdoor.com
Culture: Figure out about company culture by asking employees who are working in that company. This step is sometimes skipped but I can’t emphasize more how important it is. The reason is sometimes the info about their culture that a company puts on website is their ideal state while in reality, it might be different. To check this out, the most reliable source of info is the employee of that company. If you can directly talk with the subordinates of your future boss, that is perfect. If that’s not possible (because you don’t know who your boss will be) ask 2-3 employees in the department you are interested in
Your Boss: Ask questions to your “future boss” during / at the end of interview. Use this chance to know more about his / her personality by asking questions. My favorite set of questions to ask revolves around his vision, strengths, and weaknesses in the context of managing a team. It would be nice as well if you can talk to some of his/her subordinates to understand his/her leadership style
This is the illustration about how to fill the table:
Guys, time is our most valuable asset. Don’t make reckless decision, join unsuitable company, and waste our time because we make well informed choice. A person usually spends around 2000 hours per year in the workplace so don’t let 2000 hours of your life get wasted living the life you don’t want to live. Good luck!