4 Signs You've Found the Right IT Employer

So, you're an IT professional thinking about your next career move. Maybe you're actively looking for new opportunities, or maybe you're happy with your current position but you are keeping your eyes open for the next big thing. More money would be nice, but there are other aspects to consider before making a move. Here are four signs you've found the right IT company for your next career move.

Driven to Innovate

The number one reason people look for new jobs in 2018, according to a recent study from Korn Ferry Institute, isn't better pay — it's because they're bored. One in three job seekers listed boredom as the reason they were seeking new opportunities this year.

The best workplaces attract and retain talented employees through innovation. Innovation can come in many forms — designing cutting-edge products or services, adopting different work structures, improving quality of life for employees — and each of these helps ensure you're doing exciting work.

When you're interviewing with a company, ask what they're doing to innovate their products or services and their work environment. If they have a good answer, you may be in the right place.

Trustworthy

Nobody likes to be micromanaged. Good work deserves recognition, but you need the freedom to work without spending all of your time updating a progress spreadsheet or CCing your boss on every little thing.

By the same token, you need to trust your employer. How happy do you think Amazon warehouse employees were when they weren't allowed to take bathroom breaks during their shifts? Or when Wells Fargo employees were pressured to create fake customer accounts to inflate the company's numbers?

Do some research before going into an interview. Search Google's news results for recent articles about the company. Check sites like Glassdoor for employee reviews. If possible, ask someone who has actually worked with the company if they have any advice.

Set yourself up for success by finding a company you can trust, and that will trust you back.

Culture

A company's culture is an umbrella term for how you can expect to be treated as an employee. What are the company's priorities? Are they focused on expanding or on strengthening their existing services? What does an average day look like for its employees? How is the quality of life?

Companies with a strong emphasis on corporate culture also tend to be those whose employees are most proud of where they work. Google, Twitter, Facebook, Adobe, and REI are some examples of companies who focus on culture, and as a result, they score very highly on employee happiness ratings (and as a result, job openings at these companies are also extremely competitive).

But a strong corporate culture isn't just for the Googles of the world. Small- and mid-sized companies often have cultures that rival or surpass those of Fortune 500 companies.

When you're looking into a new company, check the local papers for "top places to work" lists. Most cities publish lists like this every year, and they're a good window into the corporate culture of businesses in the area.

Check out the top 100 companies to work for according to a 2017 study by Minnesota Business Magazine. You'll find some big-name companies that you'd expect to see on a list like this, but also some smaller companies that you may never have considered in your job hunt.

Strong Foundation of Core Values

Knowing what it's like to work at a company is important, but so is learning about a company's core values. What are the most important things a company considers when making decisions? A company's values can have a major impact on its employees, and they're a good way to tell if your personal values will be a good fit.

Many companies will list their core values on their corporate internet sites, and you'll probably see some obvious entries. Innovation, integrity, and diversity are three of the most common core values listed. It can be interesting, however, to look for unique values — something a company prioritizes that might surprise you

Apple, for example, lists "Saying No" among its core values. This might sound counter-intuitive, but Apple CEO Tim Cook says that by saying no to thousands of projects, Apple can focus on the things that are most important to them.

One of Google's unique values is "fun." Listed under the core value "You can be serious without a suit," Google says that "work should be challenging, and the challenge should be fun." As the old saying goes, if you do what you love, you'll never work a day in your life.

The good news is, you control your next career move, no matter what it is. Chances are if you find a company that's developed and driven by innovation, trust, culture, and its core values, you've found a great place to work.