How to Get Answers to 5 Key Questions Before Taking a Job

在接受一份工作前该怎样得到5大关键问题的答案

Three times during his career, Leslie G. Griffen has asked a prospective employer whether he can walk around the company and talk with employees about how they like their jobs. Twice the employers gave him the go-ahead, which told Griffen they were confident their employees were happy. One employer balked - a sign that this was not a good match.

在Leslie G. Griffen的职业生涯中，他曾经三次询问那些未来的雇主是否可以让他在公司里转一圈，问问里面的员工对自己的工作是否满意。有两次雇主同意了，并自信的告诉Griffen，他们很有自信公司的员工一定是对自己的工作满意的。而另一位雇主则不同意，这是表明这并非一个好主意的迹象。

"Most companies will talk the talk. They'll talk about how important employees are," says Griffen, who is now principal of The Griffen Group, which provides human resources and career coaching and consulting services. How an employer responds to this request is almost as telling as the answers employees give. "If they pull back in their chair and say, 'You want what?' it's probably an indication that they might not be being straight up with you."

Griffen公司是澳门一家提供人力资源、职业辅导以及咨询服务的公司，其现任负责人Griffen 说：“很多公司都只是说说而已，他们会说公司职员有多重要。” 雇主对于此要求的反应就相当于员工会给出的答案了。“如果他们听到后马上拉起椅子问你‘你想要干什么?’那就可能表明他们不会对你坦诚相对了。”

When you're considering taking a new job, it's important to find out how a potential employer treats employees. But getting the answer to that question, along with others that will help you determine if you'll be happy at the company, may take some sleuthing. Here are five questions that will help you decide if the company is a fit - and some unconventional ways to find the answers:

在你考虑接受一份新工作前，看看这位未来的雇主是如何对待其员工是很重要的。但是，想要得到这个问题的答案以及那些能够让你看出你在该公司工作是否会快乐的答案，需要一些侦探技巧。

1)What makes employees join this company and stay here? You can always ask your potential manager this question in an interview. But if you ask the employees you see while walking around the premises, as Griffen did, you'll get a wider variety of answers - and possibly more honest ones.

是什么让员工加入并留在贵公司的呢?在面试上你永远都可以问未来的经理这个问题。但是如果你问遇到的员工，或者像Griffen那样在公司走一圈的话，你将会得到更多的答案，并且还会是更加诚实的答案。

2)How are people treated here? You may not even need to ask anyone this - just observe carefully from the time you set foot in the building. When you arrive for your interview, are you kept waiting with no explanation? Does the interviewer interrupt your conversation to take phone calls? "Try to come at different times if you have multiple interviews," advises Gail Ginder, a leadership coach with the Claros Group in Healdsburg, Calif. That way you'll see if the mood around the building changes with the time of day.

贵公司的员工待遇如何?你可能不需要就该问题向任何人提问。只要从你开始踏入这家公司后就开始仔细观察。在你开始来面试的时候，是否没有任何说明就一直让你等着?在面试期间，雇主是否会打断你的谈话来接电话?Claros公司位于加利福尼亚州希尔兹堡，其首席教授Gail Ginder建议说：“如果你多次来该公司面试的话，那就试试分不同的时间段去。”这样的话你就会看到一天内随着时间的不同该公司的员工工作情绪是否有变化。

3)What are the unspoken rules? For this and other questions that are best asked of employees, you have two options. One is to use your network to find employees who work at the company but aren't involved in hiring you. The other is to ask your interviewer - but only when it's clear that the interviewer has decided you're the bestcandidate and is trying to get you to sign on. "When they've decided you're the one, you can ask pretty much anything as long as you ask it well," Ginder says.

贵公司的潜规则是什么?关于这个问题或与此相关的问题最好是问员工，并且有两种询问方法。第一就是通过你的关系网找到一位在该公司工作但并不会参与招聘的员工。另外一个方法就是问你的面试官，但是要等到明确了该面试官承认了你是否适合该职位的最佳人选并想让你签合同的时候再问。Ginder说：“当他们决定聘用你的时候，只要你问的方式恰当你就可以问很多问题。”

4)What happens when people make mistakes?The answer to this will give you insight into the company's management and culture. You can ask it of an interviewer late in the interview process, or ask employees who aren't involved in hiring. The key is to pose the question without sounding like someone who is planning to make a lot of mistakes. Use humor, Ginder advises. "Say, 'If I were lucky enough to be offered this job, I would never want to make a mistake. But what happens here when people make a mistake?'"

当人们犯错误的时候贵公司会怎么处理?这个问题的答案会让你明了该公司的管理和文化。如果一位面试官面试迟到的话你可以问他这个问题，或者像那些不参加该次面试的员工的询问。关键是要提出这个问题的时候不要让别人觉得你打算在以后的工作中犯很多错误。Ginder建议使用幽默的提问，他说：“这样提问：‘如果我非常幸运的得到了这份工作，我绝对不想犯错误。但是在人们犯错误时贵公司会怎么处理呢?’”

5)What is a typical week like?The answer to this question can give insight into everything from how long the workdays are to how many after-hours phone calls you can expect. Vic Snyder, senior career counselor at the University of Washington's Center for Career Services in Seattle, suggests that in informal conversations with employees, you pair this question with one about how often employees take their full vacations.

贵公司典型的一周工作生活是什么样的呢?他们对这个问题的回答能够让你了解该工作的工作日有多长，下班后会有多少电话等一切事情。Vic Snyder是华盛顿大学西雅图职业服务中心的高级职业顾问，他建议求职者在和员工随意的交谈中，可以在问他们多久有一次全休假时提出这个问题。