Evaluating Job Offers: How to Decide If a Company Is Right for You

Doing Your Research

Now that you’ve thought about and written down your criteria, your next step is to gather data to feed your decision. The amount of public info available will probably vary depending on the size and type of company you’re considering. In this section, you’ll explore ways to get the answers you need.

Research shouldn’t happen in isolation, but before and throughout your interview process. Having a good understanding of the company before interviewing is important, and that understanding should get more detailed as the process progresses. In the next section, you’ll get some higher-level guidance on preparing questions to ask during interviews.

You’re probably familiar with sites like Glassdoor and Blind that allow employees to review employers. They’re a good source of information, but keep in mind that, like any anonymous review sites, they have a strong potential for biased or manipulated data. Take them with a grain of salt.

The best way to utilize them is to look for patterns in the reviews that are worth exploring via other sources. For example, if a lot of recent reviews reference a dysfunctional relationship between engineering and product, that’s your cue to ask your interviewers how their relationship is with the product team.

Voluntary attrition is the rate at which employees leave the company on their own accord. A low voluntary attrition rate compared to similar companies is a strong indicator of overall employee satisfaction. You won’t have direct access to this data, but it’s a great thing to ask about during interviews and when you talk with any current or former employees.

If you’re applying to a big company, or if you’ve been referred by someone, you may be lucky enough to know people familiar with the area you’re considering joining. Knowing someone ‘on the inside’ is an awesome way to get real info on what it’s like to work at a company.

If you don’t know anyone who works there, searching LinkedIn for first- or second-degree connections at the company is a good option. If you have a lead, try sending a polite message explaining you’re interested in learning more about the company. Often, you’ll find people willing to exchange a few messages or even hop on a call to share their insight.

Now, you’ll explore more specific methods for getting information through the lens of the job satisfaction factors covered earlier. You’ll also see examples of questions to ask employers based on your research.

Researching Stability

Large established companies generally provide more stability than smaller and younger counterparts. If stability is a concern, you’re probably looking at companies that are public and easier to research.

For public companies, reading their latest earnings report is the best way to understand their overall health. These can tell you if the company is making money, how much cash they have on hand and what near-term risks they face. While you can never guarantee the future of a company, doing your due diligence here can prevent nasty surprises.

Next, read current news about the company. This can surface warning signs like recent layoffs and give you an idea of the challenges and opportunities your prospective employer faces. As with all your research, if you notice anything concerning, it’s a great topic to bring up in an interview.

Private or smaller companies can be harder to research, but you do have options. For startups, funding history is often public and easy to find in press releases or via sites like Crunchbase. You should also ask startups about their runway, which represents how many months they can operate with current funding.

For a private company without funding, you’ll likely find a few articles, but you won’t be able to get much additional data at this phase.

Beyond the health of the company, frequent changes in leadership and strategy are a stability concern. You can best determine these by questioning the interview team questions — and, ideally, a contact ‘on the inside’. Be sure to ask about voluntary attrition in those discussions, too, as it’s a great indicator of stability.

• “How much of the team that built the app is still with the company?”
• “I read an article that mentioned you were facing an issue with (something you’ve read). Are you concerned about this?”
• “What’s your current runway, and do you have an exit plan?”

Researching Career Growth Potential

Career growth might mean climbing a predefined ladder, adding new skills to your toolbox or getting into an industry or technology that interests you.

An important part of evaluating your job offer is to determine if your job title is appropriate to the position and a step forward in your career.

The first challenge is understanding where you fit on the career ladder. The same title can mean vastly different things at different companies. levels.fyi is a great starting point for comparing job titles across companies.

The required experience in the posting is another data point, which is especially helpful if you find postings for adjacent job titles. You should note the titles and backgrounds of interviewers, and look up employees with your offered title on LinkedIn. While these don’t give you solid direction on the current path, they provide some real-world context about what titles mean at your target company.

Typically, you’ll have a call with the hiring manager at the end of the process where you can resolve these questions; if not, it’s wise to ask for a call post-offer.

Start by asking what the career ladder looks like for your role. If progressing to the next level is important to you, ask them what that looks like at their company and on their team. Come prepared to ask follow-up questions to ensure you’ll be positioned to accomplish what you need to do to get to that next step.

Beyond the title, think about how this role gets you closer to your goals. Does it help you break into an industry you’ve wanted to be in? Does it provide opportunities to lead or to train up on new technology? Will it catch the eye of hiring managers at the company you want to work for in five years? If you’re unsure, it’s always wise to ask the opinion of someone in the role you’re building towards.

• “What is the career ladder for this role, and what would my road to promotion look like?”
• “What opportunities do you see for me to take ownership of a process or feature?”
• “What is the seniority level of the team, and where do you need the most help?”