Company culture is something that I think doesn’t get talked about enough.  

What is it?  How do you determine what it is?  How do you know what is right for you? 

When you interview to work at a company, do you know if you will actually like working there?  If you say that doesn’t matter…it does.  No one wants to get up every morning and go to a job they hate.  No matter how much they get paid. 

When looking at potential employers, culture goes a long way.   

How do they treat their employees?  What work is valued and rewarded?  

How do employees get promoted, get recognized for good performance?  Some companies have defined career tracks…you do a job for 3 years, then get promoted. If you don’t get promoted, you may have a problem. 

Other companies do not have such defined tracks and don’t consider a person in the same job for 4 years as a failure. – I have had to explain this to Managers who questioned why an applicant did the same job for 5 years…The Manager didn’t understand the culture. 

How do they talk?  for example: Nike uses a lot of sports analogies when making a point or suggestion.  As a sports person, I liked that.  I could relate to it. 

Is it like the military with clear lines of reporting, structure?  is it not?  Do you have “skip levels”?  (1×1 check ins with your boss’s boss)?  Does the company encourage you to question your boss?  Is that not allowed?  When you go to the office for interviews, are people stressed out or do they look relaxed?    On and on … 

There is a lot to be considered when thinking about company culture and where you feel you will do your best work.  Even though it might be a famous company it doesn’t mean it is the best place for you.  As you do your research on where you want to work next, add company culture to your evaluation list.