There are times when I wonder “Is this the right company for me?”. Hence, based on my brief career experience, I want to create a self-guide to remind / encourage myself in finding a “right” company for me. This is going to be a continuous learning post.
A right company would have:
- Good CEO
- Expectations: (1) Have a clear KPI for the team and follow up with this, (2) Own up to his/her decisions (right or wrong) and make this clear to the team.
- CEO is indeed an important person to access, especially in a small company.
- Questions to ask: (1) What is the KPI you set for a company last month, (2) Can you tell me about a mistake that you made in the past 3 months?, (3) Can you describe your leadership style?, (4) How do you differentiate yourself from competitors?
2. Good direct manager
- Expectations: (1) Have a clear expectation / KPIs for his team with plan (no matter how short), (2) Trust and give the team opportunity to learn and do.
- Questions to ask: (1) Can you tell me about a mistake that you made in the past 3 months? (2) What is your leadership style?, (3) Can you describe your leadership style? (4) What is the job scope expected for this role?
2. Good team
- Expectations: A good team is a mixture of people who can both suck it up, stand up for the right thing and eager to contribute to company’s success.
- Questions: (1) What did your team do in the past 3 months? (2) What mistake was made and how you reacted to it? (3) What is your direct manager’s leadership style?
3. Potential Product
- Expectations: A potential product is when it solves a customer’s pain point (now or future). A good product would require superb execution from product quality, marketing and support. This can only be done if it has a good team behind.
