According to Ellen Wallach, "Organization culture is like pornography; it is hard to define, but you know it when you see it." 

How many times have you seen clients with the perfect job having the whole experience turn sour because of corporate culture and internal politics? It is our responsibility to help our clients appraise the corporate culture as much as the job description, salary and benefits, acknowledging that understanding the culture of an organization before working there is a challenge, teach them these tips for uncovering it.

Encourage clients to keep the corporate culture in mind while networking and interviewing. Listening for informal comments and being very observant may prevent taking a job in a toxic environment. Clients should try to assess support for professional growth, rate of turnover, leadership styles, employee morale, style of dress, length of the work day, support for life work balance, and the ease and frequency of internal communication.

Besides looking and listening to clues, clients should also look at the public relations material and the company's web site. Does the information seem forthright or withholding? Are people in the organization featured? Are the values and goals espoused by the organization ones that they can support? Encourage clients to trust their impressions.

Asking for a tour of the facility including the cafeteria and staff room can be worth more than information on the web site or public relations materials. If they get one message from the physical environment while being told something very different, they should take notice.

As you know so well, corporate culture should not be confused with the the corporate mission. But your clients may not know that working for a non-profit will NOT insure working with nice people, a kind atmosphere, fair reviews and less emphasis on the bottom line. Encourage them to check out the philosophy and leadership style of the CEO. They will be much better indications of corporate culture than the mission of the company. Ask clients to find out everything they can about the CEO. Show them how to conduct an internet search for articles about her. Have them ask for a press kit which usually contains biographical material . The CEO's beliefs and values will permeate the organization.

Finding the right organizational culture is very important to your clients' futures. Their progress in an organization will depend a great deal on their compatibility with it. They will be rewarded for "fitting in" as much as for what they do.

We ask clients to assess tangible information throughout their assessment, research and implementation of a job search so that they can be in charge of their compromises. Corporate culture mush be considered. Recently a client of mine passed up a much higher salary, a much more prestigious company and a position with more responsibility because of the corporate climate. His choice included a good salary, a position with lots of promise, a respected company and most of all a philosophy of life work balance that would allow him to be an equal partner with his wife in the raising of their new born baby girl. Corporate culture really counted when he considered his compromises.

For fun and some sound advice, suggest that your clients read "Your Stay or Leave Equation" and "Birkenstocks or White Shirts--Which is Right for You? by David Jensen at http://bio.com/hr/search/search_1.html