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Most companies insist on a resume during an interview. This resume showcases our skills and achievements. However, shouldn't there be an equivalent document from the company we're planning to join? Something which showcases whether the company is the right one to join or not?

For example, can we request a fact sheet which shows the company's growth and expansion plans, team goals and strategies, vision after 5 years, revenue last quarter, overall revenue?

The reason I'm asking this question is that I've joined a few companies in the past which turned out to be real bad for my career. They ran out of projects despite projecting growth etc. etc.

Should there be any form of metrics which companies should be mandated to provide to candidates?

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    Adding a country tag should help here.
    – Nimesh Neema
    Oct 31, 2019 at 6:16
  • Note that candidates are not mandated to provide information to companies.
    – Gregory Currie
    Oct 31, 2019 at 6:23
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    Is this a call for opinions? Or is it a question asking if you can request your prospective employer?
    – Ignatius
    Oct 31, 2019 at 6:33
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    @NimeshNeema I was speaking in the context for India, but also in the general context.
    – srini
    Oct 31, 2019 at 13:22

3 Answers 3

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Angel's list provides information on funding when you browse for jobs. Here is an example for Patreon (unfortunately, not all the company profiles on Angel's list are filled out). Crunchbase also has funding information. Most of this information is self-reported or comes from the industry press, so I don't know how true it is.

Public companies share such information, but that's because they're legally required to. On the other hand, very few private companies (or startups) share real revenue figures.

For one thing, if you're just ramping up, you may have very little revenue to begin with, or if you do have a lot of revenue, you don't want to risk attracting the attention of bigger companies that could just try to copy your business model and enter your market.

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Can we ask a fact-sheet from an organization we're about to join ?

You certainly can ask, but in most countries you won't get one. A big part of the job hunting process is to do this work yourself.

If it's a public company, they are required to provide quarterly financial reports which are available to the public. It's more difficult for a private company. You can certainly google them, look at customer and/or media reviews, research employee feedback sites like glassdoor or just ask around. That's where a good network comes in handy: typically you can find people that work or used to work there on LinkedIn and if you know some of them you can get their opinion.

Most importantly: ask good questions during the interview process. It's perfectly fine and acceptable to ask business and culture related question. These questions should be based on the research you do beforehand and specific to the company and job.

However, shouldn't there be an equivalent document from the company we're planning to join?

Maybe there should, but there isn't. However, if you do your homework properly you can still get most of the relevant information. It's more work and not as convenient as having a one-page fact sheet but it certainly can be done.

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Should there be any form of metrics which companies should be mandated to provide to candidates?

There is, it's called a business licence. Theoretically you don't get and retain one unless you know what you're doing.

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    Not in my area. In my area, a business license is a registration mechanism and a way for a city to raise revenue. For instance, restaurants get business licenses, they're required to, but that doesn't mean they won't go out of business a year or two from now.
    – Stephan Branczyk
    Oct 31, 2019 at 6:56
  • @StephanBranczyk I said 'theoretically.... much as a resume theoretically accurately describes a person.
    – Kilisi ♦
    Oct 31, 2019 at 6:58
  • In my city this is just a confirmation that this type of business is allowed to operated on property based on zoning regulations.
    – Myles
    Oct 31, 2019 at 16:50

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