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Have you ever glanced at a job description and thought it matched your skill set so perfectly that the hiring manager surely had you in mind when creating it? Only to realize at the interview that you would never, ever fit in at such a place? There is no denying that possessing the right skills and background are imperative to the position you want. But as too many people learn, allowing yourself to be seduced by great pay or benefits while ignoring warning signs about the culture can be disastrous.

Why should job-seekers care about a potential employer’s corporate culture? Aren’t there more important factors to consider, such as the job itself, salary and bonuses, and fringe benefits? These factors are important, but increasingly career experts are talking about the employee-employer “fit.” How well the employee fits the culture can make the difference between job-search success and failure. According to Leadership Coach Ron Rael, today’s applicants will base their decision to accept a position on two criteria: 1) the person that he will work for, and 2) the feel he has for the corporate culture.

Just what is corporate culture? Simply put, it’s the personality of an organization. It guides how employees think, act, and feel, and includes a company’s core values and beliefs, ethics, and rules of behavior. Culture reveals itself in many ways, both obvious and subtle. The décor of its offices, how its employees dress, and how they interact with each other are all observable clues.

Before you dismiss the corporate culture factor as insignificant, here are some tangible ways it affects you: the amount of hours you are expected to work; whether it’s a fun or hostile environment – or something in between; the dress code; the type of office space you’ll occupy (and rules regarding display of personal items); the training and development you’ll receive; the availability of onsite perks such as fitness and daycare facilities; and the interaction you’ll have with other employees, especially top management.

How do you uncover the corporate culture of a potential employer? The truth is that you will never really know the corporate culture until you have worked at the company for a number of months, but you can get close to it through research and observation. Understanding culture is a two-step process, starting with research before the interview and ending with observation at the interview.

Experts suggest arriving early to the interview — unannounced if possible — and spend the time observing how current employees interact with each other, how they are dressed, and their level of courtesy and professionalism. While it is great that firms are now using their cultures as a tool to attract and retain talent, companies must be able to substantiate their claims of a work/life balance, team atmosphere, or any other such promise.

The bottom line is that you are going to spend a lot of time in the work environment — and to be happy, successful, and productive, you’ll want to be in a place where you fit the culture. A place where you can have a voice, are respected, and have opportunities for growth.

Portions of this article have been excerpted from Dr. Randall Hansen’s website, quintessentialcareers.com. anding

By Lauren Moreau

Is there a more precious time in New England? For the adventurers among us, there is a plethora of outdoor pursuits to enjoy – hiking, biking, boating – the list is endless. No doubt, all of these enticing activities will be vying for your attention this season including your job. Though you’ll continue working hard this summer, it is critical to carve out quality time to spend with family and friends. Here are some tactics you can use to ensure that you meet your commitments and make the most of this special but fleeting time of year.

• Commit to leaving the office at 5:00 pm, at least a couple of days a week. Make up the time by arriving earlier in the morning, working through lunch, or setting aside a “late day” or two. Getting home early enough to enjoy a leisurely walk or an ice cream with the kids works wonders after being inside an office or on the road all day.
• Schedule your vacation days NOW. You may not have given much thought to what you’ll be doing this summer, but before you know it, the season will be over and your plans for a lakeside getaway will have slipped through your fingertips. Planning ahead will ensure that you secure the time-off you want.
• Take advantage of any flex-time benefits your company may offer. If you’re able, take that extra half-day off or work those extra hours to get an additional Friday or Monday off. For those of you who are job hunting, that extra day may be the ideal time to schedule interviews.

Contrary to popular belief, summer job hunting does have its advantages. If you’ve set a goal to secure a better position by the end of the year, don’t put it off. A summer job hunt has its pros and can yield positive results. After, all, companies still have positions to fill. Here are some guidelines for conducting a summer job search:

• Yes, it’s true: decision makers take vacations, too. Qualify your prospects. Make contact with them early in the season to find out their vacation schedules. Work around them. As we’ve mentioned, an extra flex-day during the week might be the ideal time to set up a meeting.
• Use the lack of competition out there to your benefit. Many job hunters do suspend their searches during the summer. Capitalize on this by continuing your networking and interviewing efforts in July and August.
• Summer is a more lighthearted time of year. People are generally happier and in better spirits. Seize the day! Use your energy and attitude to secure that new job.

By Lauren Moreau

Thank you letters are not just the dreaded notes that you have to write after your wedding or some charity event that you took part in. In the working world, they can literally make or break you when being considered for a job opportunity – they can also help you seal the deal on a sale. Thank you letters, in their entirety, are very simple. A well executed thank you letter can show your professionalism, creativity and persistence with follow up, which we all know is very important in sales. However, a terrible thank you letter can cause you to lose a potential job offer no matter how well the interview process went. How you ask? I once had a candidate misspell the company name in the thank you email, which in turn ushered him out the door of his interview process. I’ve also had a candidate write a thank you letter with terrible punctuation and horrifying grammar which had the same result. If you’re going to put such lack luster follow up into a note to a potential employer, that tells them that you’ll do that same to new business prospects and companies simply do not hire those kinds of sales professionals.

So, how do you write an effective thank you letter? It is quite simple, my friends. All you need is four main components:
1. Thank the interviewer for their time.
2. Include three reasons on why you’re interested in the position – repeat things that you discussed in the meeting.
3. Include three things why you think you’d be a good fit.
4. Wrap it all up with a call to action for your next follow up and you’ve got yourself an amazing thank you letter that will ensure that your resume and candidacy don’t go in the trash.

When you’re writing a thank you letter be conscious of your audience. Are you writing to the sales manager or HR? If you’re writing to sales managers, you want to be more direct in why you think you’d be a good fit and get technical. What are the main skills that you need to know for this job and emphasize that you have those – show them exactly what kind of sales professional you are. If you’re writing to HR, you want to be more general and enthusiastic about the role and the company in whole.

The timeliness of the letter also plays a key factor into the notes effectiveness. I am a firm believer that you should follow up the day of the interview. Once you leave the office the interviewer has time to digest your candidacy: Do you have the skills? Will you fit in with the team? Do you share the same company values? Is he/she really interested in making a career with the company? And right as their thoughts of you start to fade, you want to remind them again of who you are and why you’re a good fit – with a strong thank you note. You should also follow up after every interview but you don’t have to write the same thing every time. The more you meet with the person, the less formal the letter has to be. Another great touch is to send an actual hand written card. In the world of Web 2.0 that we currently live in, getting a card in the mail is one of those personal touches that one tends to remember. The same goes for following up on a sales call. There have been several success stories of companies taking risks on a vendor after a personal card was sent.

So, thank away and do it now! And, remember, make it timely, write with conviction and check your grammar! Don’t hesitate to call Treeline for help.