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During the past 20 years, the author has watch China move from being a developing country into an industrial superpower
Money Moves, 5/24: Chocomize Co-Founder Fabian Kaempfer talks with Bloomberg’s Deirdre Bolton about the business of customizing chocolate
The president's campaign has a new rule—no cell phones allowed
In honor of remote control inventor Eugene Polley, we recognize other influential but neglected inventors who have felt the sting of stolen glory
Forget Adderall. Traders now pop chia seeds to stay focused and energized
The Italian automaker and others are adding hybrid technology to elite cars
The storied bridge that links San Francisco and Marin County changed the face of California
Schools cultivate ties with startups before they're big successes
Dave McClure's traveling venture capital show scours the world for promising startups
Get Four
|  | JULY 15, 2004
By Amey Stone 10 Employer Secrets Worth Cracking [Page 2 of 2] 6. Is turmoil at the top likely? Employees at Credit Suisse First Boston were caught by surprise recently when Chief Executive John Mack agreed to step to down. Perhaps they shouldn't have been. He was sharing the CEO role with his European counterpart at parent company Credit Suisse Group. That's often a sign that one of them is dispensable. "There are lots of cases where most people are shocked, but the astute employee saw the signs all along and already had it figured out," says Sawyer. Is your boss due to retire soon? Does a wave of consolidation in your industry mean your company is available to be swallowed up? If major change is coming, consider how potentially disruptive that could be, advises Bernard. How to find out: Don't focus too narrowly on dynamics within your own division. Follow company and industry news. Pay attention to management shifts at the top. 7. What is the company's hidden culture? Any long-term employee knows the hidden culture at their company. Is it hard-charging and aggressive? Or is it a more sensitive, consensus-driven place? "That's extremely important to know if you're the new kid on the block," says Bernard. If you don't fit in, you might have trouble succeeding. You may be able to find a similar position at a company with a culture that suits you better. "If someone is very outgoing and likes a work environment with open communication and without a lot of structure, they might get frustrated at a place with a very traditional, rigid, structure where executives are shut off," says Tim Carrington, senior vice-president for strategic support services at staffing firm Aerotek. "The better the cultural fit, the more fulfilled we find the person is," he says. How to find out: Before you start, go out to lunch or have drinks informally with a few people who work there, advises Bernard. Also, check out the job boards on Web sites like TheVault.com for company scuttlebutt –- just be sure to take this kind of griping with a grain of salt. 8. Is the company as family-friendly as it claims? Morgan Stanley is now reeling from a $54 million settlement over sex-discrimination charges. No doubt the employee manual promised a work environment hospitable to women and minorities. Maternity and paternity leave and flex-time arrangements are other areas where official corporate policies may differ markedly from reality. What happens to the careers of women who go part-time after having children? Do men ever really take paternity leave? Anyone with young children or planning on having them should check out the unofficial policies. How to find out: Talk to employees with kids at the company. For women, see if women are in positions you aspire to and find out about their career paths. 9. What's the (real) travel and expense policy? This might sound like small potatoes, but for executives in sales or consulting, it's something to watch for, says Bernard. Just as cultures vary at different companies, so may one applaud you for taking clients out to a fancy lunch while another would wonder why coffee and a donut wouldn't suffice. Bernard says clients have recently complained to him that it can take 60 to 90 days to get reimbursed for expenses or that they're now required to fly coach. If you're going to be taking lots of trips to Europe and are accustomed to flying first class, this is something to check out. How to find out: Again, your best source is informal chats with current employees. 10. Is the company in good financial shape? Finding this out is No. 1 for employees at startups, as many people learned during the dot-com bust. Is there strong venture-capital funding? Are there lots of deals in the pipeline? What's the burn rate? Says Sawyer: "If you're going to go to work for a company that's venture-capital backed, you have to be able to ask smart questions." Even employees at large companies (think Enron or WorldCom) are wise to plumb company finances these days. How to find out: At a private company, you may be able to see the books if you sign a nondisclosure agreement, says Sawyer. If you work at a public company, check out its balance sheet, debt rating, or average stock rating. BusinessWeek Online has such information in its corporate snapshot on public companies (see "estimates and opinions" and "company financials"). It's impossible to find all the secrets of a company without spending a long time working there. But if you ask the right questions and look for answers from the right sources, you'll learn plenty.
 Stone is a senior writer for BusinessWeek Online in New York Edited by Beth Belton Get BusinessWeek directly on your desktop with our RSS feeds.  Add BusinessWeek news to your Web site with our headline feed. Click to buy an e-print or reprint of a BusinessWeek or BusinessWeek Online story or video. To subscribe online to BusinessWeek magazine, please click here. Learn more, go to the BusinessWeekOnline home page  | | |
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