Ace the culture_fit_interview_webinar_-_brad_agry

Ace the Culture Fit Interview
Presenter: Bradford Agry, CareerTeam Partners

Want more info? Go to www.ivyexec.com 1

The Hiring Hurdle

•
You have the skills to do the job demonstrated by proven previous
experience

•
You are motivated to do the job

•
You are a good cultural “fit” with the hiring organization


The third item:

•
most subjective

•
hardest to determine

•
important for both interviewer and interviewee to gauge


The Big Questions

•
“Does the candidate’s personality, values, attitudes, energy
and work style closely match that of the organization?”

•
Does the organization know exactly what constitutes a good
“match”?

•
difference between stated corporate culture and
what is needed for one particular position?


Importance of Fit

•
U.S. Department of Labor statistics across multiple industries
indicate that people leave jobs 81% of the time because of
lack of fit whereas only 11% of the time because they can’t do
the job

•
High cost of replacing employees and re-initiating recruiting
process indicates need for fit to be correct from both sides of
the table


Personal Factors to Consider

Before interview process have solid grasp of ME:

•
“What is my amalgam of identity, personality, values,
motivations, emotions and style?”


•
When researching the potential firm, get a solid grasp of the
THEY:

“How do I perceive this firm’s culture—both formal and informal?”

“What is their history, reputation in the market, structure, style
and way of doing work?”


Based on this assess the WE:

•
“Are enough of my needs met to make this a value
proposition?”

•
“Will I bring real value to this organization and be able to
make a difference for them?”


It’s a Balancing Act:

•
Too much ME: I will feel like a maverick, an outsider,
someone who goes against the grain

•
Too much THEY: I will feel swallowed up, undifferentiated,
not making a difference

•
Only you know the optimal level of tolerance


Work-Life Balance

•
Have a solid sense of priorities both at home and work

•
Recognize that these may shift over time

•
Know your boundaries---both time and psychic


Definition of work-life balance:

“a healthy overlap between our identities and those of our organizations.”

Too much overlap = work encroaches on personal life

Not enough overlap = work feels empty, boring, rote


The “sweet spot”:

•
Overlap between who I am and what I do are in harmony

•
In reality this most often involves compromise; look for both

moving in same direction versus perfect fit


Congruence/Fit

Congruence: “the quality or state of agreeing or coinciding”

Fit: “degrees of closeness between two surfaces”

•
Similar implication: congruence tends to be more macro whereas

fit can actually be viewed on other smaller dimensions


Types of Fit

(P-J) : fit between individual’s skills and job requirements

(P-B): fit between boss style/expectations and those of individual

(P-S): fit between individual and staff

(P-G): fit between individual and groups/departments/clients they
interact with

(P-O): fit between individual and demands of the occupation


•
Biggest and best predictor of success is fit between person
and environment

•
Other fit dimensions may be less than ideal (temporary bad
boss; difficult client ) but if this one is not strong there is
danger of unhappiness, lack of productivity absenteeism,
stress, burn-out and possible termination


Other Types of Fit

Employers will also look at candidates through two different sets
of lenses:

–
Subjective Fit: Most agree on a series of qualitative
interviews as best ways of gauging items like integrity,
loyalty, business literacy, flexibility, ability to forge
relationships

–
(Actual Fit): Some use standardized testing to get at
same information; costly and long lag time


Many times employers will set out to staff in different ways to
add variety to the mix of human capital:

–
Complementary Fit: The individual brings new skill
set/fresh prospective to share with others and “round
out” the organization

–
Supplementary Fit: The individual brings redundant skills
that reinforces corporate ethos and allows some room for
safe experimentation


Discovering the Culture

•
The Old Model: hiring companies would spend most upfront recruiting

interviewing time filtering candidates on ability to do job and

motivation; looking at fit closely was only reserved for finalists

•
The New Model: they are looking at all dimensions to be proven by all

candidates from the very beginning of the evaluation process


Sources of Information

•
Public information

•
Personal contacts within company of department

•
Opinions of knowledgeable executive recruiters


Your Mission:

1. Uncover early on information about their culture

1. Weave into conversations how you fit these profiles

1. Don’t neglect also simultaneously finding out more about the
job specs and proving you can and want to do the job


Sample Questions

•
”How would you best define the corporate culture here?”

•
”What type of people have you seen thriving here?”

•
”When you personally came here was it the same or different
than you expected? how?”

•
”What is the pace like here; how does work get done day to
day?”

•
”Tell me about the reward system.”

•
”In a typical week what is your work schedule like?”


Use consultative selling approach:

3. Bring up issue/ask for more information

5. Actively listen for needs

7. Prove fit


An Example

Q: You had mentioned earlier that part of your culture was the expectation
that people serve on cross-functional teams? Could you tell me more about
that?
A: Yes, we want a marketing person like yourself to be risk-takers in
serving on teams where they may not be content experts.
Q: I was charged with doing the same at x where I basically had to rely
upon my team building skills to get up to speed through the help of
technical experts—it stretched and challenged me immensely


Other Cultural Cues

Watch and pay attention to:

•
demographics of workforce

•
energy/layout of the space

•
methods of employee interaction

•
type of dress


The Rules

Your message needs to be:

•
authentic

•
well-thought out

•
provable

•
repeated consistently to each interviewer

•
reinforced verbally and in written form continuously


A Warning

•
Do not try to dramatically change your personality or
approach to please the recruiter

•
”Canned scripts” will come across as artificial and
rehearsed

•
Stretch towards their culture without abandoning values
and your established sense of identity

•
Recognize the value of knowing upfront a mismatch from
either side may actually be a good thing


The Bid

At end of interview process be sure to

3. Ask for the job

5. Express sincere interest in doing it (showing why)

7. Check for need for any additional “proof”

“Is there anything else you need from my end to further demonstrate that
I am the right fit for X?”


The Congruence Checklist

Helpful in gauging if there is a match:

3. Are my personal values aligned with where I am interviewing?
4. Would my skills/abilities/gifts be used to their best at X?
5. Is the vision of what I would do at this job in sync with what the
organization would support and encourage?
6. Would I feel connected and comfortable with co-workers?


Putting Metrics on Fit

Fit hard to quantify yet one method is to sort out all types of fit from
candidate’s point of view:
•
Rate perceived degree of fit on various dimensions (P-J,P-B etc)
between you and potential employer
•
Assign value of how important each attribute is to you comparing each
to the all-important person-environment dimension
•
Review high and low scores, making strategic decisions


A Summary

•
Corporate culture is often hard to define and quantify
•
Companies want to know beyond proven success and motivation to
do the work that new hires will easily integrate into their firms
•
Candidates need to early on uncover and get sense of culture and
tailor their message accordingly
•
Fit between person/job; person/boss important but best predictor of
happiness and good performance is person-environment
•
Candidates should be equally mindful if the company is a place they
would find themselves happy potentially working at


Brad’s Services

Career Transition Services
Executive Coaching
Group Leadership Training and Development
Team Building Workshops
Group Work/Life Balance Retreats
****
For more information contact:
Bradford Agry, Principal
CareerTeam Partners
www.careerteampartners.org


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