Know a Company's Narrative Before Applying for a Job

A job itself is a broad idea. Being a developer or a chef or an engineer can mean different things at different companies. As a result, trying to figure out how you'd do a particular job well isn't specific enough. Willy Franzen, founder of job-finding site, believes that you need to understand what doing that job well entails at a specific company. That involves knowing the company's narrative, its opinions, and its place in the industry:

People lead with the job and I think that's totally wrong. You go to the job board and you find a job. It's medieval. If you don't understand what the company is and what they do, the job doesn't have meaning. It's just a piece of a puzzle. You have this little piece but you don't understand the context on how it fits in.

Instead of looking at a job posting and applying for it, take apart the details inside. Look at the company. Look at the name of the person who posted it. Is it a hiring manager or recruiter? Look at the news. What's happening with the company? What about the industry? There's so many plot and sub-plots here that you need to understand to be successful in that job.

If you're in the market for a new job, keep this in mind. It's not enough to simply consider how the job can be done well because positions will often be treated with relevant differences at different companies.

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