If you are jumping into that big wide world of work after some time away, there can be a lot that you will want to think about. Getting the most out of your new job will mean finding an employer that will look after you. You may well be inclined to be more worried about finding any job at all, however, if you find the right job you may well save yourself the hassle of immediately wanting to look for a replacement job when you realize that your new role is not what you thought it would be.
What Can Go Wrong
A lot can go wrong with your new job. You may get there and find that there is no training or support for new workers. They may be a company that relies on using existing team members to train their co-workers. There may be a very real lack of induction process, without any health and safety training. This puts you at risk in the workplace. There may be a lack of clarity over your job role and the expectations that the business has on you. This can lead to problems later on down the line if you do not meet their standards. There may be a poorly managed HR department which keeps poor records of hours work and makes incorrect wage payments. If the business does not utilize software such as cloud HR, they may not be tracking the hours that staff are working to the best of their ability. The management team may not provide enough notice ahead of your shifts.
How To Find Out If A Company Is Worth Working For
Ultimately, it can be difficult to tell whether a company will be good to work for, or not. Something that is important to you may not be important to someone else and vice-versa. With that in mind, you need to make a list of the things that are important to you and rank them according to your own personal priority. Before you apply, read up online to see if you can find reviews from current or former employees. There are a number of places you can look. Some recruitment sites allow users to review employers. Facebook is always a good place to look too, but be aware that some disgruntled employees may be out for revenge against a company that they have legitimately been fired from and may post lies about them on social media. Look for patterns in the types of things people are saying. Use your list to formulate some questions to ask during the interview question. It is generally considered to be a positive thing if a potential employee asks about training and support during the interview, so don’t worry about whether you feel it is appropriate to ask.
Ask questions about what progression there may be in the company. Find out about how they motivate their team, and whether or not they hold appraisals. Try and find out during your interview what the working patterns would be and how much advance notice you will get.