Job Seeker Manual

“Cultural Fit”

Companies hire according to two criteria. First, they evaluate if a job applicant is competent to do the job; does he or she have the requisite skills, knowledge and experience? And second, they want to know if the applicant’s values and style match the company’s ways of doing things. Will the applicant fit the company’s culture?

Both criteria are equally important. Corporate hiring officers want to ensure that an applicant will find the position’s responsibilities meaningful. They want to feel confident that any new hire’s on-the-job behavior will align with the firm’s expectations of its employees. How well you fit a company’s culture often means the difference between being hired or not – and being happy in your job or not. New hires who fit in get off to a faster start, do better work and remain longer with their companies than people who turn out to be culturally misaligned.

Cultural fit affects more than simply getting hired. It also shapes whether you’ll flourish in your new job and feel good about it. You’ll be unhappy if you go to work for a company whose values differ from your own. That’s why it’s crucial to evaluate the company’s values...