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In a candidate short market, some companies may be saying what people want to hear in order to attract staff. Here’s some tips on how to decipher if they’re being genuine, or just trying to win you over.

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Ask a lot of questions

Questions are great to find out if they have certain perks or a culture that you’re looking for, or to follow up on something they mentioned in the interview. For example, they may have mentioned that they have a great perks scheme but didn’t go into further detail. Ask them for the specifics. What are the perks? Team lunches. How often?

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Enquire about their values

A company’s values is an easy way to see what their focus is when it comes to their staff. These can often be found on their website or you may want to ask this during your interview. It might be a good idea to ask them how they demonstrate and act on the values.

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See the office and meet the team before accepting

If you can, try and get into the office before accepting an offer. This’ll allow you to meet your potential future employees and see what the office is like. You can suss out if the great coffee machine they mentioned in the interview is a café grade machine, or a pod machine.

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Look at their socials and website

A company’s online presence gives an insight into their personality. This should portray their culture. Some things you might want to look for are posts on:

• Promotions within the company

• Social activities

• Fundraising and charities

Research other companies in the industry and see how they appear online

This will help you gain a greater understanding about what the norm is within the industry. You might find that the company you’re considering has a better culture or way of working than others. Or it may do the opposite and help you understand that they don’t actually do the things they promised in the interview.

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Have they won or been nominated for any awards?

While awards aren’t everything, if they’ve claimed to be the best in their sector it might be worth seeing if they’ve been nominated or won any awards. Did they have these on display in the office when you had your interview? Is it listed on their website? It may help solidify what sort of company they are and if they stretch the truth at all. If they haven’t been nominated or won anything, they may have a different way of measuring being the best.

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Today’s job market consists of some companies desperate for more staff, and some may try anything to win you over. Don’t just take their word for it. Ensure you do your own research, so that if you accept the offer, you feel confident that they follow through on their promises.