Show me the money

May 31, 2018 10:53 AM

I am applying and interviewing for other positions in my field. My question is pretty straightforward, however the answer (or your answer) could be anything but. How can an applicant for a job suss out what kind of financial situation, good or bad, that the potential employer is in?

So I currently work for a non-profit that is affiliated with state government. When I first started working at my current job, the finances were in good shape, meaning we were able to purchase the supplies/services we needed and we received reasonable increases in pay. Fast forward to today. The organization is in poor financial condition, and now we can hardly buy what we need to do our job and there are no raises anymore. I don't want to work for another organization that can hardly keep itself afloat. It's too stressful and not worth it.

Are there questions that can be reasonably asked in upcoming interviews to gauge the financial condition of a prospective employer? If so, what script would you use?

Any other ideas for approaching this are welcome.

posted by strelitzia to Work & Money (5 answers total)

Best answer: What sort of employer?

If it's the sort that has to file publically-available financial disclosure statements, you should look at them and read them.

If not (and, actually, even if so!), you should ask directly. My experience is with startups, but there, this is a totally fair, reasonable, and expected question. Maybe not in your very first interaction with them, but definitely down the line, and definitely definitely in between offer & acceptance of offer. I don't know enough about the non-profit world to know, but I can't imagine it would be a problem there either (though again non-profits should have financial statements available).

As far as scripts, at interviews with very small, new non-profits, I've asked (literally in these words) "what's your runway and your plans for funding?", at interviews with larger, later-stage (but still pre-IPO companies) I've asked "can you tell me about your funding status."

That said, none of this would help you if what happened at your former company happens to your new one - things change, downturns happen, etc., so it's an ongoing thing that you have to keep an eye on.
posted by brainmouse at 10:59 AM on May 31, 2018 [2 favorites]

Almost certainly you will be asked "why are you looking for a change?" You can answer this, and then turn it around: you're leaving because of your current company's financial situation, how is the financial situation of the interviewing company? This is a totally reasonable question to be asking.
posted by ubiquity at 11:09 AM on May 31, 2018 [1 favorite]

I asked "how would you describe the financial health of the organization" in second-round interviews for my current job at a non-profit (and, obviously, got the job.)
posted by misskaz at 11:20 AM on May 31, 2018

Best answer: For non-profits you can look through their tax forms before the interview. It should give you a good idea of both their financial situation and also their top salaries. ProPublica has a great explorer for this purpose.
posted by matrixclown at 11:20 AM on May 31, 2018 [3 favorites]

When I was looking at jobs with startups, you go in knowing they’re not profitable — but most will tell you what their burn rate is, usually expressed in months or quarters of operations with cash on hand, plus plans for additional capital infusions (investments, IPO, etc). If they won’t, run away.

If it’s a private, for-profit firm, ask about profitability. If they’re cagey about it, run.
posted by uberchet at 12:05 PM on May 31, 2018