Here’s a common scenario: the ad looked great. You’ve secured an interview. You’re excited because the position sounds just right, more responsibility, your values align with the firm and you could be joining an experienced team with a good pipeline of great projects. But how do you know whether you can progress with the company – can you move up in the role, will there be opportunity for you to advance your career with this particular firm?

Jobseekers put career progression in the top 10 most important factors in choosing whether to move to a new employer, and knowing that you can advance your career with a firm is an important consideration for a lot of candidates.

The ability to move up in a role is crucial when evaluating job offers. So what can you do to assess a firm before and be prepared at the interview:-

1. Research the company’s employees:
   Check the Leadership and the Department you are moving to. Use the firm’s ‘Meet the Team’ page on their website or LinkedIn to establish who works for the company and look at their experience and histories. In particular, the leaders and the employees in the section you are moving to. What do their BIO’s reveal. Some things to look for:-
2. Have they been employed at the firm for a long time?
3. Did they move up from more junior positions?
4. Are they typically more recent joiners?
5. Do they have more than one role within the company (if no, this could be a sign that they don’t promote from within).
6. Check with your connections:-
7. Ask your trusted connections about any insights they may have into the company;
8. Check your social network connections and if there is a connection who previously worked at the company, ask them about the company culture and whether career progression is promoted and realistic in their experience;
9. Check information available online:
10. Does the firm have an employment page online where they state they have an active policy to promote people from within the organisation;
11. Are there any Annual Company reports available to review to examine whether the business is in a solid financial position, with potential for growth and likely to expand and add new roles, or share their employment policy in the document.
12. Preparing Questions About Career Progression for the Interview:
13. Ask the interviewer how long they have been at the company, and what their career path looked like leading up to their position;
14. Ask what the plans for growth for the company are, how they believe the business is evolving over the next few years;
15. Ask directly what career progression opportunities there are for the position they have advertised. Not only will this make you appear engaged and interested in the firm and the role, it also will give them the opportunity to either ease your mind for your future, or alternatively, be clear that career progression is not an option.

That puts the ball in your court, and you can make an informed decision about whether you want to progress with the job application or whether you want to invest your time and skills with another organisation more responsive to your career goals.

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