Adapting to a new corporate culture

Companies — big and small — like to brag about their corporate culture. Some companies promote corporate culture that is cooperative or conducive to personal growth, lifework balance. Others stress entrepreneurial environment, creativity and innovation, while you may find companies that strongly promote contributions to the community, wellness, or any other priority.

And when it comes to corporate culture, it is important for you as a jobseeker to ensure that what you’re walking in is something that agrees with your personality or at least acceptable to you. Every workplace is different, and it would take some adjustment for you to adapt to a new corporate culture.

In the initial phases of interviewing and taking a job, it is important to understand what the company is preaching — and what it actually practices. This understanding will help you make an informed decision on whether or not you will to be part of this environment.

For many people who are simply looking to land a job quickly, corporate culture might be a luxury to scrutinise. In reality, it is critical to how well you will be able to perform your job and at what level of stress.

Here are a few points to keep in mind.

Big picture

Read what the company promotes on its website. This will give you an idea about the big-picture, strategic corporate culture that the company strives to achieve. It also may be stressed on its employee testimonials and other marketing.

Understanding the big picture can help you know how to answer questions appropriately during the interview to highlight your suitability. For example, if the company is interested in flexible, evolving roles, you don’t want to come across as rigid or set in your own ways.

The overall corporate culture also may help you predict changes. For example, changing roles in some companies is easier than others. Investing in employee development or enrichment may be another thing that you look for. Be critical, however, in filtering rhetoric from reality, and verify what you read through independent sources, like online job boards and communities.

Define your comfort level Priorities Experiences

To fully understand what a company prioritises in terms of corporate culture, you must talk to employees there. Remember online reviews are rarely impartial and can be influenced either by bad experiences or by management incentives. So if you want to get the whole story, try to reach out to your contacts there.

Make sure you’re jumping too soon into office politics by asking questions about any conflicts or badmouthing people you’ve interviewed with, however. Instead, ask your contacts about their experiences and what they appreciate most about working for this particular employer. Ask them about what they would like to see changed.

Although your goal might be to get a job, it is important to know what you’re looking for. If your past work experiences involved places that have formal hierarchies and reporting lines, and you jump into a flat organisation, you may feel uncomfortable in adjusting to the new environment. You may be willing to try it, but be aware that the change might not be easy.

In addition, be ready to be flexible in adopting the new structure rather than fighting it. For many people, they may begin with an open mind, but once they are settled, they want everything to be business as usual. That is when a gap in culture appears, and creates conflicts.

Subtle differences in corporate cultures may not matter to you. You even might not miss those causal days that your former employer promoted or the occasional get-togethers. But if the priorities of your company are significantly different, the impact can be intolerable on your life.

Think of moving from a nine-to-five job to a job that expects you to work 10 or 12 hours a day at a short notice. If work-life balance is critical to you, this is a change that is hard to swallow.

The point is: know as much as you can about a future employer’s corporate culture and don’t underestimate how you feel about them or how they are likely to impact your satisfaction with the job in the long run.