How to investigate workplace culture in job, school searches: Opinion

"Ensuring that you know the type of environment where and the colleagues with whom you'll do your best work is an often-overlooked part of the job search process," writes Natalie Lundsteen. In this piece, the author makes a case for starting a workplace culture investigation early in a job or graduate school search. According to Lundsteen, such investigations will not only help one determine if a workplace culture align with one's skills and preferences, but will also help put together strong cover letters and query emails. The author then provides a list of questions one might ask current and future employees or students toward understanding an institution's culture. For example, one might ask: "What makes you excited to come to work every day?" or "If you could change anything about this organization, what would it be?" The author concludes by stressing that, "no matter the amount of preparation you undertake [...], once you physically step into the workplace, you will have your greatest opportunity to assess that culture by seeing real-time interactions."  Inside Higher Ed  (International)