What Rolls-Royce Wishes You Knew Before You Apply | EVPeasy #08

How much of what you know about an employer came from someone who worked there years ago? Steven Brand, Head of Employer Brand and Attraction at Rolls-Royce, points out that reviews and reputations describe companies as they were, not as they are.

Speaking on episode 8 of EVPeasy, he made an argument you rarely hear from an employer: he wants fewer people applying to Rolls-Royce, not more. Not because the company is fussy, but because the alternative wastes tens of thousands of candidates' time on roles they were never suited to, in an environment they might not have enjoyed.

His view is that employers owe you enough honest information to decide for yourself. If a company is not going to make you happy, it should tell you so before you apply, rather than after you have started.

Three things worth taking from that as a job seeker:

Fit is not the same as qualification. You can be a genuinely strong engineer, marketer or finance professional and still be wrong for a particular culture. That is not a judgment on your CV.

Reputation goes stale. Steven points out that much of what people believe about Rolls-Royce is years out of date, including the assumption that it still makes cars. Reviews and second-hand impressions describe the company as it was, not as it is. Check the date on what you are reading.

Look for consistency. It is the first thing Steven says candidates should test when deciding whether an employer's stated values are real. He unpacks what that looks like in practice near the end of the episode.

Watch the full conversation above.