By Kenneth Bredemeier
Special to washingtonpost.com
Friday, December 5, 2008 12:00 AM

You get the new job and all might seem well for a while, but then you have a variety of experiences that give you a distinct pause for thought. And you wonder: Just how much did I know about this company before I took this job?

So how do you prevent this from happening again?

I've had such a horrible experience at my current organization and I'm trying not to repeat the same mistakes again when looking for a new job. I was straight out of college when I was hired and just so happy to get a job so quickly that I didn't think.

I'm curious what signs I should look for or ask a prospective employer during an interview to see if the organization is a good place to work that provides a career ladder, growth and mentorship. I'd also like to know what tell-tale signs I should look for to run screaming in the opposite direction. This isn't specifically about the position, but about the organization.

For example, I know to ask if there's high turnover for a prospective position and why did the last person leave. But I'm wondering if I can learn things from noticing that an organization's Web site hasn't been updated since 2006, no one ever picks up their phone or when asking the hiring manager if they have a new employee handbook the person looks at me stupefied. With my current job I didn't find out until I'd been employed for nearly a year that I could check my email and voicemail remotely and other vital tidbits. What type of indicators are these?

I want to avoid organizations that lack a clear structure. How can I get such insider information, especially for small- to medium-sized nonprofits in the Washington area?

Jim Gray, who runs his own human resources company in Charleston, S.C., says all job seekers, while legitimately seeking information about potential employers, ought to think through the types of questions they ask job interviewers.

"Choose your questions wisely. If you're not careful about the kinds of questions you ask," he says, "you might be thought of as a troublemaker. Don't be accusatory."

For example, he says, rather asking an interviewer, "What's your turnover rate?" the job seeker might ask, "Why do workers tend to stay and for how long?" He says that question might elicit information about someone who has done well and why they succeeded.

He suggests that another useful interview tactic for applicants would be to say, "I'd be curious how you think someone might move up the career ladder here." He says that soliciting information in the third person, rather than directly for themselves, the job seeker might gain a sense of the career culture of the organization rather than self-centeredly trying to zero in on what's in it for them alone.

He says that if the applicant notices a slew of negative traits about a company, he would "immediately move on to the next interview." But he says that it is possible if the job seeker "wants to be a change agent," such as by resuscitating the company's dormant Internet site, "you've got an opportunity to be a hero in a matter of days" after being hired.

As for learning about Washington area non-profits, Gray says that if they are part of the United Way network, the applicant should search for the percentage of their charitable donations, as opposed to administrative overhead, as well as talk to board members of the non-profits to determine how they operate.

On the Job also notes it is often worthwhile for an applicant to talk to people in the same professional field about any organization they might be considering joining. Their insights often can confirm or rebut the initial thoughts you had formed yourself.

Kenneth Bredemeier has six years of experience writing about the workplace. On the Job, a column addressing real worker questions about office relationships, corporate policies and workplace law, is written exclusively for washingtonpost.com.

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