Many of us are cautious before applying for a job, especially in an office.

When I was fresh out of University, my only experience of a workplace had been the Coffee House where I’d worked as a waitress serving people their afternoon tea. I wasn’t the only one to worry that I would now find myself working in a place much like Ricky Gervais’ Office that we’d seen on television, and was therefore unsurprised when it happened to me a couple of times before I came to Red Gate, three months ago.

Before I applied to Red Gate, I decided to do my own research, so I found this Red@Work blog, and was able to see what sort of thing I could get involved in, if I joined Red Gate. I was able to hear the experiences from the people themselves, rather than seeing it on a company website, especially written to entice you click the ‘apply’ button. It gave me some insight into the people that work at Red Gate, and some of the activities that happen both in and out of the office. I liked Red Gate’s ‘transparency’.

Yesterday evening, just three months after I’d had to use forensic skills to make sure I was applying to a company that was good to work for, Red Gate opened their doors to 108 potential employees who wanted to come and have a look around the office.

It was remarkable to walk into the servery and witness a change from the usual scene of ravenous Red Gaters indulging in their daily lunch, to a somewhat more civilised picture of people chatting over a buffet. Albeit with a huge picture of James Moore, our General Manager for our DBA Tools Division in the corner of the room…

It was great to walk around and hear other Red Gate employees talking about how much they enjoy working here, and for other people to be interested in hearing about these experiences. Away from the servery, I walked past a visitor being guided into a packed meeting room, where demonstrations of Red Gate products were taking place.

I have not had any experience of a company doing this before. Sure, I have been to gyms on a free pass, and trawled the length and breadth of England trying to decide where I would best be suited for my last three years of formal education, but to be able to sample a workplace, before you apply for a job there, is something I would have relished.

I hope that for the people who took the time to visit the office, they found the experience worthwhile. We have already had some feedback from people who looked around yesterday, but it would be great to hear from more. Also I’d like to know if any of your companies have tried anything similar. Or if indeed, you have ever been to an event like this? As I have said, for me, it was a unique experience, so I wonder how many other people have actually had an opportunity like the people visiting Red Gate did last night.

Post by Alice Smith