“Culture Fit” Questions You Can Expect During an Interview

Summary: Companies want new employees that will be a good fit so that they don’t find themselves having to fill your position within a short amount of time.

We’ve hinted at it before, but being a good fit for a company’s culture is important. Companies put a lot of effort into making their company feel like a community. When they hire new employees, they will want to make sure they are a good fit so that the community feeling can continue.

During your interview for a new job, be expected to get some questions from the hiring manager attempting to find out if you are a good fit.

“What’s your ideal company culture?”

This question does not beat around the bush. They are getting down to the point immediately to find what kind of work environment you desire. To pass this question, do some serious research into the company and its culture beforehand. While you don’t want to lie and say you want the opposite kind of environment that works for you just to get the job, it is good to know what you are getting into beforehand.

“Tell me about the first thing you were paid for.”

The type of job doesn’t matter as much as what you learned from that first experience. Your thoughts and reflection back on that first job are a good explanation of who you are as a person.

“What’s important to you?”

A variation of this question from the hiring manager may include listing several values like money, stability, environment, recognition, and challenge, and listing them in order of what is most important. While there is no right or wrong way to answer the question, there is for the way you explain your answer. The way you answer the question will help determine if the position and company you are applying to is a good fit. For example, if you answer that stability is important but the position requires lots of travel and irregular hours, it may not be a good fit for you. However, if you explain that you get stability from more than just hours and surroundings, then you may be fine. This is why researching the job, company, etc. before an interview is so important.

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