How to Uncover if a Company’s Culture Fit is Right for You

With jobseekers reporting that 3 out of 5 the top reasons Australians leave their jobs is due to culture-fit issues, understanding how to assess if a prospective company’s culture is right for you should be a top priority for any candidate looking to change roles.

Researching a company’s website is easy enough, but it can be difficult to know if their environment is one that will leave you feeling positive, enlivened and fulfilled at the end of an average work-day.

No-one wants to land in the wrong job or to feel like they need to walk away from a situation that isn’t a good fit – and with 80% of Australian workers looking to change jobs, chances are a portion of the search is because of mis-aligned culture fit.

The thought of determining whether the job you’re interviewing for is a good fit can be nerve-wracking, but the process of it is empowering and will leave you with the peace of mind that if you are offered the role, you know for certain whether or not it’s the right choice.

Make the most of your time with the Hiring Manager

The final portion of an interview is your time to ask questions of the hiring manager and essentially interview the company to assess if they are right for you. Any good hiring manager will welcome some time for you to ask thought-out key questions about how you will fit into the company, and so we’ve provided a few for you to think about and use as appropriate:

• What is the history of this role? Perhaps its newly created due to growth, or maybe you’re taking over from a star performer who was promoted, or perhaps someone left – finding out why can be a key to knowing what you’re walking in to
• What would be expected of me in the 1st three months? This will allow you to see what you’re working towards and how success is measured
• How does this position support the wider team? Here you will see how your role fits and who your key stakeholders will be
• What do you love about working here? Seeing the hiring managers passion (or potential lack of passion) will speak volumes
• If there was anything you could change about the company, what would that be? This may highlight potential negativity or clunky processes or could highlight the manager’s big vision for the future

Conduct your own research

A great place to start is online – companies have largely moved digital and there is a plethora of information that can be found. Google reviews provide an opportunity to see how customers or company clients have rated their experience. For example, MAYDAY is a small boutique firm with 40 reviews at an average of 4.6 stars, giving a reliable look at the kind of service people can expect from us.

Another place to look is Glassdoor, which offers the perspective of employees from around the globe who have worked for the company, and also includes things like salary ranges for particular roles, creating transparency around pay.

It’s also worth checking out their social media sites, such as Linked In, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram – the style they use in their posts can help determine the kind of company they are, where it be formal, relaxed, funky and hip or somewhere in between.

Another way to figure out if a particular company culture is right for you is to interview your prospective co-workers. While this won’t be a formal affair, you can ask them questions about what they are currently working on, what the desired end result is and whether there are any important factors that get in the way of achieving goals. Think of it as an opportunity to chat and learn what types of things they feel are important.

Pay attention to who you meet. Are they motivated and talented? Have they been working for the company for a long time? These are good signs that the employer is seeking forward-thinking people who will do a great job and will probably stay for the duration. In this case, you are fortunate to be counted among them, especially during a time when the unemployment rate in Australia is at 5.0 per cent as reported by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Ask about a test run

Find out if it would be possible to spend a little time with your prospective team to meet or brainstorm. This will give you an idea of how the members interact with one another, what a day at the office would be like and how you may fit in with what they’re doing and how they’re doing it.

Get to know your Supervisor

Getting along with the person who will supervise you is critical to how well you perform. If you can develop an idea of who this person is and what it might be like to work under them, you’ll have a much better chance of starting out on the right foot.

Don’t be afraid to talk to your prospective manager about their vision for the company and how you will be expected to fit into it. Ask for forward projections and what role you will be expected to play in the overall success of the company.

Speak to people on the outside

Lastly, talk to people with unbiased knowledge of the company who can provide an honest perspective of its culture. They can include former employees, consultants who know the company and others who have worked with the company in the past and possess a solid understanding of who they are and how they operate. This information will be very helpful when deciding if the company culture is a good fit for you.

If you’re looking for a great new job, chat to a MAYDAY consultant today, who can help you understand the kind of culture that’s right for you and match you up to a wonderful new company.