What is culture fit interview questions?
Hiring, as you might know, is a tedious, time and resource-intensive process that companies want to get right in the first instance.
Therefore, most companies have a thorough screening and interview process to ensure that the candidate they hire is the right fit.
While skills can be taught and experience can be gained, if a candidate is not a good cultural fit for the company, there’s not much anyone can do about it.
And when an employee’s work culture doesn’t align with the company culture, it can lead to decreased job satisfaction (hence quitting), poor productivity, nurturing an unhealthy work environment.
Hence, recruiters ask culture interview questions during interviews to assess if the candidate is a good match.
Read on to learn more about culture interview questions and related FAQs like the following:
- What is a culture interview?
- What should I prepare for a cultural interview?
- How can you find information about the company culture to prepare for culture interview questions and answers?
- What are some of the most common cultural fit interview questions?
What is a Cultural Interview?
A cultural interview is a type of interview that assesses the candidates on whether or not their values, working style, and attitudes match with the company's work culture.
Most of the questions that recruiters ask in these interviews are culture-fit interview questions that are often open-ended and not technical.
However, due to the nature of culture interview questions, there are no right or wrong answers.
Plus, cultural interviews can be trickier than technical interviews as more ground needs to be covered to probe the candidate’s fit.
Also read: What are some great tips to ace any job interview in 2022?
How to Prepare for a Cultural Fit Interview?
Like any other job interview, preparing well for a cultural fit interview is crucial.
Since the interview questions are going to be based on the company’s culture, mission, and values, if you don’t have enough information about the same, your chances of getting hired are slim.
Given below are some tips that you can follow to prepare for culture interview questions:
Research the Company Thoroughly
The first thing you should do while performing your research about the company is to learn about the following aspects of the company culture:
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Mission & Values - A corporate’s mission statement reflects the core principles and long-term goals. Analyze the same to see how your personal values and goals align with the company you’re interviewing with.
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Evaluation & Appraisal - Check company websites and pages to gather information on the company’s evaluation and appraisal processes. If you are someone who enjoys having clear-cut goals and is more productive when there is a reward awaiting you at the end of a project/task, companies that offer comprehensive reward and recognition programs are a good match. You can leverage such points to answer culture interview questions.
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Community Involvement - Many organizations and corporates believe in giving back to the community and often take part in community outreach programs, including fundraising events and volunteer work. Some companies also have set goals to reduce their carbon footprint, etc. You can google the company to find information about the same.
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Work Setup - Research the type of work setup the company follows. Is it shift-based? Or do they have a remote work setup? Do they have separate cubicles or an open work area? These factors can help you understand how the company operates and supports productivity.
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Management Style - Another aspect that contributes to a company’s culture is the type of management style they follow. While some companies believe in micromanaging their employees, others believe in a more independent approach to supervising employees.
When you are armed with all this information about the company, framing impactful answers for culture interview questions becomes a piece of cake.
This will also give you clarity on how your preferences, values, and working style aligns with the company you’re interviewing with.
Also read: How to research a company before going in for an interview?
Know Where to Find Information
As much as it is important to gather information and research the company, you need to know where to look for reliable information.
Given below are some ways you can source information about the company culture:
- Through the company’s official website
- Company LinkedIn page and other social media accounts
- Linked groups of employees working for the company you’re interviewing with
- Media prints like newspaper & magazine articles, and blogs
By simply going through the social media posts of the company, you can get a feel of whether the company has a more relaxed work atmosphere or a formal one.
And aside from basing your research on online sources, you can also network and get in touch with current employees of the company to get a more insightful understanding of the company’s culture.
You can connect with employees through LinkedIn groups or even by simply calling your friends and acquaintances to see if they know someone who is working for the company you’re targeting.
Practice Culture Interview Questions and Answers
Once you have gathered all the information you need about the company’s culture, look up some common culture interview questions relevant to your role and practice delivering your answers.
You can frame your interview answers by leveraging the information you’ve collected.
And instead of creating a scripted answer, outline or create bullet points on how you’d like to frame your answer and practice delivering them out loud to gain confidence.
Also Read: What are some of the most common interview questions of 2022?
Common Culture Fit Interview Questions
Listed below are some of the most common culture interview questions that can practice:
- Describe the work environment that you feel suits you the best.
- What is your ideal management style?
- Do you prefer getting feedback about your performance through formal reviews or informal meetings?
- Why do you want to work for us?
- Do you prefer working alone or in a team?
- How would your coworkers or manager describe you?
- How do you handle a stressful work situation?
- What keeps you motivated?
- Which of our company values resonates most with you?
- What’s your ideal work schedule?
- How important is community involvement for you?
- How do you deal with a situation where a colleague disagrees with your opinion or idea?
- Do you become friends with your coworkers?
- How do you handle conflict at work? Have you encountered such situations in the past?
Also read: What are the most commonly asked phone interview questions of all time?
Key Points from the Blog
- A cultural interview is a type of interview that assesses the candidates on whether or not their values, working style, and attitudes match with the company's work culture.
- To prepare your answers for culture interview questions, you must research the company thoroughly and frame your answers based on your research.
- You must learn about the company’s mission & values, management style, evaluation processes, work setup, and community involvement while preparing for culture interview questions.
- Culture fit interview questions are often open-ended, behavioral questions that are not technical.
- Aside from online research, you can also network and get in touch with current employees of the company to get a more insightful understanding of the company’s culture.
- Instead of creating a scripted answer, outline or create bullet points on how you’d like to frame your culture interview answers and practice delivering them out loud to gain confidence.
If you need expert guidance to help you prepare your answers for culture interview questions, visit Hiartion’s Career Activator Platform with round-the-clock chat support. You can also write to us at support@hiartion.com if you have any queries.
