Over the past few months, I’ve worked with a number of clients who accepted a role that turned out to be very different to what they were promised in the interview. In a couple of cases, the company itself was on a downward spiral and as a result the role was made redundant only a few months later, or the company wound up altogether.

It’s a really horrible position to be in. You’ve resigned from your old job, you’ve told your network the exciting news and then a few months later you’re back on the job market wondering where things went wrong.

So is there anything you can actually do to prevent this? 🤔

The answer is ‘sometimes’.

There are certainly some steps you can take to minimise this happening, but of course, there is no guarantee. 

Here are my 6 tips for checking a company’s viability before you sign on the dotted line:

1. Ask the hard questions in the interview
   The interview process is just as much about the candidate interviewing the company as the other way round. Having spent 12+ years in recruitment before moving into coaching, I’ve seen this from both sides of the table, and I promise you, a good employer will never be put off by a candidate asking sensible questions to confirm the viability of the business. If they take offence, I would see this as a red flag. Some questions you could ask include:

    

   👉 Is this a newly created role or a replacement?
   👉 What has turnover been like in the team?
   👉 How has the company performed over the past 12–24 months?
   👉 What are the organisation’s key priorities over the next few years?
   👉 What are the biggest challenges facing the business?

   If you get vague answers, pressure to accept quickly, or a sense that something’s being glossed over then trust your instinct. It’s far easier to ask questions now than to be back on the job market in three months’ time.

2. Check the company registration
   Search the company on the ASIC register. It only takes a few minutes and will tell you how long the business has been operating, any previous company names, and who the directors are.
3. Review the financials and market position
   If it’s publicly listed, have a look at the annual report and recent results including revenue trends, profitability, cash flow. If it’s private, look for media coverage, key customer or supplier relationships, and general market reputation.
4. Search for red flags
   Google the company name alongside terms like “liquidation,” “administration,” “lawsuit,” “Fair Work” or “court.” One result isn’t necessarily a dealbreaker, but a pattern of issues is worth taking seriously.
5. Read the employee reviews
   Glassdoor, SEEK, Indeed and LinkedIn are all useful here. Ignore the odd one-off negative review and instead look for patterns such as repeated comments about high turnover, poor leadership or a toxic culture.
6. Check staff tenure and hiring activity on LinkedIn
   If you have LinkedIn Premium (or know someone who does), you can look for useful information on the Company Page under the ‘insights tab’ including; hiring trends, average employee tenure, headcount by function and more. Look at current and former employees. How long do people tend to stay? Has the leadership team been stable? Are there a lot of recent departures? Do people typically get promoted internally?

   Is the company hiring because it’s growing, or is it constantly re-advertising the same role? The latter is often a sign of a retention or management problem.

To make this easier, I’ve created a ‘Company Viability Checklist’ that walks through all of these steps, with space to jot down your notes as you go. Just send me an email if you would like a copy.

Doing your homework on a company isn’t about being difficult or distrustful, it’s simply about having all the information to make an informed decision. 

Let me know if you have any questions about the above.