As someone who has been a part of both sides of the recruiting process (employee and prospective applicant) I’ve participated in both sides of the recruiting and candidate selection process for advanced, full-time and internship hiring. Furthermore, having participated in informational interviews, career fairs, networking forums, and open houses (etc.) I’ve heard and been a part of a few common conversations which go a little something like this:
Question: What’s the best part about your company?
Answer: It has to be the culture. The culture here is fantastic.
Or:
Question: What do you like most about your job?
Answer: The people — They are what make this job worthwhile.
There are nothing wrong with either of these answers. There is no reason to believe the individual answering the question is lying. Nor, is there any reason to believe that asking the question is out of bounds. It’s an incredibly important question, after all, we all want to know that the companies we join, the organizations we represent, and the schools we eventually become Alumni/Alumna of are congruent and aligned with our own beliefs and personalities.
The challenge with the question and the answer is that what culture means to the employee and what culture means to the candidate might be two entirely different things. Furthermore, the kinds of people the employee might like and the kinds of people the candidate might like might also be different. By taking that answer at face value, there is no knowing of why the culture is so good, or what characteristics, or traits of the people make them so great to be around.
To help demystify the process of learning about a company and its people I’d like to share how I address this question as both a prospective candidate and an employee. As someone who has worked for what I’d consider to be companies that have great cultures and great people (Deloitte Consulting, a world class consulting firm, and Salesforce.com, one of the most innovative companies in the world) I’ve learned a few things about how to learn and provide information on culture and people.
Salesforce’s 1:1:1 model is a great example of its company culture
To combat this this challenge, I do two things. First, as a prospective candidate of a company, I ask a question like this:
Question: From talking to other employees I know that the company has a unique culture. Would you mind sharing with me why you appreciate the culture, and what it means to you? Furthermore, could you give an example or two of either events that have happened that exhibit what you think the culture stands for?
First, the question does make an assumption that the individual likes or at least feels positively about the culture. (If for some reason you don’t’ believe they do, definitely rephrase the question) What the question does is to have the employee define in their own terms of what they think about the culture and then provide specific examples of what it’s like. Instead of just hearing that the culture is great, you get an answer of why it’s so great and examples of why it’s so great.
On the opposite side, as an employee if I get asked a question about the people or the culture, I’ll try and respond like this:
Question: What are some reasons why you enjoy working here?
Answer: So, this is going to sound trite, but it’s true — it’s definitely the culture. But let me tell you what I mean by culture, and let me give you some brief examples of how this culture manifests itself on a daily basis.
Or:
Question: What do you like most about the company?
Answer: So, it has to be the people. And look, I know that every person probably says that about their company and they are probably telling you the truth, but let me give you a few examples of the characteristics I see in my colleagues and why I think they are so great.
A short conversation with someone on the culture and people, even with questions that are specific and ask for examples may not necessarily yield all the necessary answers. However, it should provide you with good context to understand the company and its people. By having the conversation with multiple individuals, you can probably start to see some trends and patterns, and hopefully determine if the culture and the people are right for you.
