09 Judge the Company’s Background to Make a Reasonable Choice #

Hello, I’m your interview class teacher, Yang Yukun. Welcome to Lesson 09 on evaluating company background and making informed choices. In the previous lessons, we discussed the preparations needed for interviews and analyzed how to apply to desired companies. Besides top companies, it’s also worth considering applying to lesser-known companies. But how can we determine if these unfamiliar companies are reliable and how can we find the most suitable one for ourselves? Let’s explore this together.

Many people, due to lack of knowledge about the company, are simply eager to secure a job and end up leaving shortly after joining. Therefore, judging whether a company is suitable for your career planning is a responsible attitude. Now, let’s discuss several methods to evaluate a company’s background.

Judging through information displayed on the company’s website #

The internet is not unfamiliar to us anymore, so a lot of companies’ information can be found online. We can visit the company’s official website to understand its core business and company development information. We can also check out the company’s basic information on recruitment websites like “LaGou”. If you’re still not sure, you can also check on “TianYanCha” or “QiChaCha” to see if the company is operating legitimately. How can we judge a company’s background after finding these information?

(1) The company’s core business: You can check if the company’s current core business aligns with your career interests. Is it in a blue ocean or a more traditional industry? You can find out through media reports. For example, if a company has expanded rapidly within a year, it’s likely a blue ocean company.

(2) The company’s financing situation: You can evaluate if the company is mature by understanding its financing rounds and the financial institutions that have invested in it. This is because reputable financial institutions are cautious when investing in companies.

(3) The company’s staff size and office location: These factors can also indicate a company’s situation. If a company has many employees, it may suggest a more stable business. And having an office located in a reputable building also represents stability. However, it doesn’t mean that a company with a good office location and a large number of employees is the best company. Also, several start-ups with only a few employees are worth considering.

(4) The company’s founding time: Besides the above factors, it’s also important to consider the company’s founding time. A newly established company may not have favorable conditions. If you prefer start-ups, you can judge it based on the company’s business operations and the reputation of its investors. However, if the company has been established for a long time, you may need to consider more factors.

(5) Collecting speeches from founders online: You can gain some information from their speeches and compare the views with your expected company culture. This can also help you determine if a founder has industry insights, but try to avoid falling into the trap of PR speeches. Of course, there may be companies that are well-managed but have average company size and financing situations, for which you need to judge based on other information.

Judging through information from insiders #

The above methods involve judging a company’s background through the company introduction page on “LaGou” and the company’s official website. However, these methods only provide surface-level information about the company. If you want to understand the specific situation and management style of a company, the following methods may provide clearer insights.

(1) If you have friends (or former colleagues) or seniors working in the company: It is convenient to ask them about the internal team, departments, working hours, benefits, and even the leadership style of the team.

**(2) If you don’t have such friendships, you can use the discussions on “Job Yin” or forums to see how employees evaluate the company internally.

Judging through the interviewer’s behavior during the interview #

During the interview, you can also judge the company’s situation through communication with the interviewer. If the interviewer demonstrates organization and effective communication, it indicates that the company is a good choice. You can also observe the company’s environment. You can also check the interview evaluation section on “LaGou” to understand how other interviewees evaluate the company.

I believe that through these methods, you can gain a clear understanding of a company’s situation and make a better judgment on whether it’s worth pursuing.