Related Posts
How do you balance work and fun?
Rising Star
More Posts
Good to see movement in LINK 🐢🐢
Does Coforge pays the Variable full?
Additional Posts in Advertising
Food/bar recos in CHS?
Don’t email me (with questions!) on Saturday 😡
New to Fishbowl?
Download the Fishbowl app to
unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
I've been actively interviewing and I straight up ask. Most hiring managers/recruiters/interviewer has either been understanding or has remarked about how often it's come up in the last year or so.
You’ll never get a true answer from a recruiter or HR on this. Best to talk to someone who’s left the agency (on good terms).
Chief
As P1 said above, don’t beat around the bush. Just ask.
Recruiters aren’t idiots. They know what the current zeitgeist is and that candidates are sick of not having a legitimate W/L balance. The agencies who don’t acknowledge this are losing bodies left and right. Good luck with your hunt!
Honestly, most recruiters just don’t know. They can only speak to their own experience. With my last gig, I straight-up asked and got answers that have proven to be true.
Instead of asking “how’s the work life balance?”, ask the hiring manager “how do you facilitate work life balance on your team?”, ask the recruiter “has work-life balance been a reason that some people have left the agency recently?” and ask other people you interview with “do you feel the agency facilitates healthy work-life balance at the company level, or is it up to the individual to make that happen for him or herself?” Specific questions (have a higher likelihood to) yield specific answers.
Straight up ask but also request to speak to someone on the team/account you are interviewing for at your level if possible.
Recruiters, hiring managers/senior people are desperate so they will be extremely positive. To get a better sense of the day to day and hence the day to day work life balance and how the client really is, speak to someone on the level you are interviewing for.
The question won’t reflect poorly on you but it also won’t get you good answers because (even if they answer honestly) people’s assessment of work life balance is subjective. I would instead ask specifically about things like:
- what deadlines are typically like
- how the workload varies throughout the year and how they plan/staff for that variation
- billability expectations
- clients’ current feedback on the work
- typical amount of the day you’d be in meetings
- time zones involved among your immediate team and clients
- travel expectations
I'm a fan of people who straight up ask, but if you get vague answers, it isn't helpful. In my experience, there are three phrases that are work-life balance red flags:
1.) "We're like family." No thanks. I already have one of those, and I don't need another.
2.) "It's not for everyone." [Insert Nick Cage You Don't Say Meme here.] If it was for everyone, it would be a popular hobby, not a job. How many people have you scared off, huh?
3.) "We wear many hats." Look, I get that smaller companies do this, but they often have a plan for when it's time to hire another team member, and they don't have the Ops person in charge of both HR and HVAC. Ask for their plans for the company, how they know when it's time to expand the team, and when the last time they expanded it was. No answer? Chances are they have no plan.
Listen to P1 OP. A few more I’ve heard:
“We work hard, we play hard.”
IE we’ll pay you back for those 80 hour weeks in free well drinks at the local pub.
“We’re always pitching like crazy.”
Either they’re desperate for business or the owner is greedy and will pitch any business that asks for an RFP. Either way, avoid.
“We require you to put Outlook/Teams on your phone.”
You’ll be on call 24/7. Prepare for 11pm fire drill chats.
This question is exactly the problem with our industry.
You should be able to care about your life and your work without fear of being judged.
Ask to meet with your potential new colleagues and ask. You’re interviewing them as much as they are interviewing you.
@DBA1 I accepted a weekend interview early in my career. Big mistake. They were as inconsiderate once the job started as they were in scheduling the interview on a Saturday.
Long story short, only take interviews during normal operating hours. Anything outside of that is likely to have baggage.
Everytime I ask that question I get “it’s 6pm and you can hear a pin drop” but really we all know people are continuing to work at home. (This was pre-panny)