How do you find the truth behind the mask?

So how do you check on your new employer? You might be cynical but there is no centre of knowledge, no “Good Employers” database. No Trip Advisor for careers. So you need to ask.  To speak to people who live and work in the local area. What sort of reputation do they have?  Would others work for them?  Do they know anyone who works there? Sometimes the job you have been offered is highly confidential for good commercial reasons. But you can still do some homework.  Walk into the dealership and look around.  See how people are operating. You need to ask more difficult questions of the employer -  Why the confidentiality? What happened to the last person there, and how long were they in the job for?  And if that was only a short time, then what of the person before and so on?  Ask your future colleagues what they genuinely think about the company. And even if everything is rosy in the garden now, it might soon will change.  Why?  Because takeovers are a fact of life.  Many is the candidate who was just left ABC Plc because they couldn't stand it anymore, only to find that XYZ Ltd gets taken over by them a month later. Whilst you cannot have a crystal ball, you can at least find out if they've changed ownership relatively recently or whether major changes are likely to take place.  The Internet is a great place for looking for this information, especially the pages of people like the FT. It is not all doom and gloom out there, and despite headlines claiming that management is inept, that staff are demoralised, uneducated and lack skills, the majority of people in the motor industry enjoy a good career. But don''t leave your future to chance.