亲爱的安妮：我不喜欢现在的工作，原因有不少，而且看起来短期内也不会有好转，所以过去几个月我一直在寻觅新的工作。所有我听说（和读到）的职场建议都提到良好的“匹配”至关重要。但没人告诉我，如何确定是否“匹配”。最近我参加了几次面试，在我看来，双方都展现了自己最好的一面，说出对方想听到的话，这很正常，但我觉得还是不清楚为这些公司工作的真实感受将会如何。他们都说自己的公司重视员工，褒奖个人努力，提供晋职的机会，凡此种种，但我怎么知道这不过是一套说词，还是说他们真的会言出必行？您有什么建议吗？——西雅图心有疑

    亲爱的“心有疑”：你说得对，了解公司文化并不是件容易的事。任何组织的文化都包含那些无法言喻的传统、习惯、假设和不成文的规矩，加起来就是“我们这里都这么干”。这样的混合物既复杂又微妙，难以用几个简单的词就总结出来（如果你认为这可能实现）。所以即使出发点很好，很多面试官也常常会退回到那些你所听到的陈词滥调中去。

    但与此同时，本着对自己和公司负责的态度，你是应该努力探究愉悦的谈话背后隐藏的真相。特别是由于你现在有工作，“你并不只是为了换工作而换工作，”吉姆•辛索恩说。“你想找一个让你如鱼得水的工作，而那意味着需要尽可能地寻觅最佳‘匹配’。”

    辛索恩是老资格的人力资源高管，目前在全国职业咨询网络五点钟俱乐部（Five O'Clock Club）担任培训师。他花费数十年的功夫从面试双方的角度研究了“匹配”的问题。在他看来，要想获得准确的答案，在面试之前，必须狠下一番功夫，尽可能多地去了解潜在的东家。

    除了每个求职者都会去做的标准作业，比如研究公司的网站和年报、研读行业新闻中的相关消息，还可以利用网络资源，例如职场网站Vault.com和Glassdoor.com。“可以从公司雇员和前雇员在网上张贴的评论中得到极为宝贵的真知灼见，”辛索恩指出。“也可以在商务社交网站LinkedIn上搜索现任员工，问问在该公司工作的感受。”

    问题越明确，答案就越有可能对你有所帮助。辛索恩说：“如果你确切地知道你想要什么，你更有可能找到适合自己的工作。”好好想一想你在下一个工作中想要什么，确定什么是你最看重的，什么只是可选项而已，可以牺牲掉的，还有什么是完全无所谓的。五点钟俱乐部开发了帮助人们进行评估的工具，该组织的创始人和总裁凯特•温德尔顿甚至出版了一本书《职业道路你做主》（Targeting a Great Career）来解释这些工具。但只要做一点自省，就可以自己做到这一点。

    辛索恩说：“人们在工作中追寻的价值包括独立、创造、权力、金钱、冒险、事业，还有人想要忙里偷闲，过过个人生活。”一旦列出自己最看重的价值的清单，你在向现任员工提问时就可以有的放矢了。“在某种程度上，每个人都会去适应公司的主流文化，比如休闲装还是更正式的着装要求，但总有一些东西是不容讨价还价的。”辛索恩指出，“而唯一知道你要什么的人就是你自己。”

    比方说，你认定工作之外还有个人生活的时间是你最珍视的价值。参加面试之前，你可以设计一些问题，试探一下你的想法是否和公司文化合拍。辛索恩建议：“比如你可以问问面试官，他/她的典型工作日程是怎样的，特别是如果他/她可能是你未来老板的话。”

    Dear Annie:I'm unhappy in my current position for a number of reasons, none of which seems likely to change anytime soon, so I've been looking around for a new job for the past couple of months. All the career advice I've heard (and read) mentions that a good "fit" is essential. But nobody ever tells you how to determine whether the "fit" is there or not. I've had a couple of interviews lately where it seemed to me that both the interviewer and I were putting our best feet forward and saying what the other side wanted to hear, which is natural enough, but I haven't felt I've gotten a clear idea of what it would really be like to work for these companies. They all say they value their people, reward individual initiative, offer opportunities for advancement, blah, blah, blah, but how can I tell if it's all just part of the script or if they really walk the talk? Any suggestions? — Seattle Skeptic

    Dear Skeptic:You're right, this is tricky. The culture of any organization -- that ineffable mix of traditions, habits, assumptions, and unwritten rules that add up to "how we do things around here" -- is so complex, and so subtle, that it's hard (if not impossible) to sum up in a few simple phrases. So, even with the best of intentions, many job interviewers tend to fall back on the clichés you've been hearing.

    At the same time, though, you owe it to both yourself and the company to peer past the happy talk. Especially since you're already working, "you don't want to end up in just any new job," says Jim Hinthorn. "You want one where you're going to thrive -- and that means finding the best 'fit' possible."

    As a veteran human resources executive who is now a coach for the national career-counseling network Five O'Clock Club, Hinthorne has spent decades pondering the "fit" question from both sides of the interviewer's desk. In his view, getting it right requires you to do a fair amount of sleuthing to learn as much as you can about a prospective employer before you meet with anyone there.

    Beyond the standard homework every job seeker should be doing -- like studying the company's website and annual report, and reading up on it in the trade press -- take advantage of resources like Vault.com and Glassdoor.com. "You can get invaluable insights from the comments employees and ex-employees post on these sites," Hinthorn notes. "You might also seek out current employees on LinkedIn and ask them what it's like to work there."

    The more specific your questions, the more useful the answers are likely to be. "You're far more likely to find the right fit if you know exactly what you're looking for," Hinthorn says. So think hard about what you want in your next job, pinpointing what's really important to you, what's optional or negotiable, and what doesn't matter at all. The Five O'Clock Club has developed assessment tools to help with this, spelled out in a book called Targeting a Great Career by Kate Wendleton, the organization's founder and president. But with a little introspection, you can do the same thing on your own.

    "Some of the values people want in a job are, for instance, independence, creativity, power, money, adventure, working for a cause, or having time for a personal life," Hinthorn says. Once you've come up with a short list of what matters most to you, you can focus on those areas when you pose questions to people who are already there.

    "To some extent everyone adapts to the prevailing culture in a company -- casual versus more formal dress codes, for example -- but certain things are non-negotiable," Hinthorn points out. "And you are the only one who knows what those things are."

    Let's say you decide that one of your non-negotiable items is time for a life outside of work. Before going to an interview, come up with questions that will give you a glimpse of whether that will jibe with the company's culture. "Ask, for instance, what the interviewer's typical day is like, especially if he or she is your prospective boss," Hinthorn suggests.