I was casually job searching and got a reply from a company I haven't heard too much about.

Is it okay to ask questions about employee moral and/or why the last guy quit or was released?



How else can i find answers to these questions? It's a large privately owned company, so there isn't much about them on the web.

6/6/2008 11:14:39 AM

i would imagine that you are not going to get a terribly honest answer if you ask about employee moral. although i don't have much experience applying for jobs, either.

[Edited on June 6, 2008 at 11:21 AM. Reason : i mean, why even bother asking that? if it's bad, they're going to lie to you.]

6/6/2008 11:20:55 AM

n/m

[Edited on June 6, 2008 at 11:45 AM. Reason : .]

6/6/2008 11:23:53 AM

I always go behind the hiring people back to find out about the company. I mean the hiring people are going to make it all glitz and glamour so they can recruit. If you know someone already there who will give you an honest review that is the only way you are really going to find out.

Also a companys retention rate says a lot about them. If you find most of the employees have been there a long time chances are their job does not make them completely miserable.

6/6/2008 11:28:29 AM

Some questions that I asked were "Where do you see the company in 5 years" since it was a start-up.

6/6/2008 11:29:09 AM

Asking why the previous holder of your position is no longer there is fair game. Worst case you get a b.s. answer, best case you find out something useful. I can't see that being considered offensive.

6/6/2008 11:38:27 AM

hahaha yeah I tried that for the job I just left.

I was told she left for a corporate job with benefits. (In my line of work you never get benefits) It took me a few months to find out why she really left, and it had nothing to do with benefits. The reason she left ended up being the same reason I left, and I pity the person that took it over after me.

6/6/2008 11:41:33 AM

The company is probably going to end up bullshitting you if it was for a bad reason. Employers typically don't talk about any of the real cons of the organization while you are in an interview. They are trying to sell themselves as much as you are.

6/6/2008 12:03:00 PM

yeah


i figured as much




so what kinds of questions can i ask to get a better idea about moral and such. I don't know anyone who works at this company.

6/6/2008 12:23:21 PM

ask something like what challenges have past employees had to overcome to succeed at this job?
it's not quite what you're looking for but it might give you some insight.

6/6/2008 12:36:28 PM

"what do you do to ensure low employee turnover?"

6/6/2008 12:47:53 PM

Quote :

"Asking why the previous holder of your position is no longer there is fair game. Worst case you get a b.s. answer, best case you find out something useful. I can't see that being considered offensive."

6/6/2008 12:56:08 PM

Quote :

"what challenges have past employees had to overcome to succeed at this job?"

i like that



I'm usually pretty good at interviews. I'll keep this thread updated with how it goes.

6/6/2008 1:07:18 PM

If they don't offer themselves, ask if you can talk to some people in positions similar to the one you are interviewing for. We try to give people we interview the opportunity to ask some candid questions to someone junior enough to not be intimidating.

6/6/2008 7:34:47 PM

probably not cool to ask which chicks put out and which ones are crazy right off the bat

6/6/2008 8:16:02 PM

moral - relating to principles of right and wrong

morale - the state or well-being or a person or group

6/6/2008 8:19:02 PM

be lucky they are interested in you....when the economy going to shit, i doubt they will waste time with questions like that....

6/6/2008 8:39:17 PM

I'd honestly avoid questions that might pick at a sensitive issue. I wouldn't want to start off on the wrong foot at a company by asking my future boss why they fired the last guy. I've found that the bosses I've had REALLY don't like to think about why they've had to fire people in the past. It's not a bad question to ask, but maybe consider asking it when the office goes out for a few drinks after work (and after said boss has put a few away).

I think it wouldn't be too bad to ask a less direct question like "How's business been for your company with oil prices and all that?". I imagine a boss would be less bothered to say "profits are down" instead of "the guy who held your job before you fucked up terribly and brought this company to the brink of bankruptcy" or something like that.

That's just my thought.

6/6/2008 8:49:50 PM

The way I always dealt with questions like this at residency interviews was to direct them at the residents themselves, rather than the attending physicians/program director. However, we usually had time built into the schedule to talk with current residents privately, without anyone else listening to the conversation.

Some of the negative questions could come off as a little too confrontational if you direct them toward the higher-ups.

6/6/2008 9:16:43 PM

The interview went well


this position is new.


i found out that it's a shit-ton of work.



im scared that im not qualified enough and i was as honest as i could be about it, but she seemed interested in hiring me anyway.

2nd interview is incoming

6/11/2008 11:44:04 AM

Quote :

"moral - relating to principles of right and wrong morale - the state or well-being or a person or group"

thank you

6/11/2008 1:07:54 PM

i hate you, quagmire

6/11/2008 3:23:59 PM