Assessing Fit

In a previous post, I argued that an organization should assess a candidate’s cultural fit with it. How can you do that? What specific questions can you ask the candidate to assess fit? What questions should you ask yourself? Below you can find some initial, not exhaustive, thoughts – specifically, two lists of questions to help you assess fit. More on these later too.

Five Questions to Ask the Candidate to Assess Cultural Fit

1. Why do you want to work in this field, and more specifically, at this company?
2. How would your colleagues and managers describe working with you?
3. What have you enjoyed most about your interactions with this company, and what have you enjoyed least?
4. Besides family, what are you most passionate about? How have you shown that passion throughout your career?
5. Describe your ideal manager.

Five Questions to Ask Yourself as You Interview a Candidate to Assess Cultural Fit

1. Does the candidate seem to genuinely enjoy this conversation?
2. Do I find myself drawn to this person? Would I want to spend a lot of time with him?
3. If I had to hire this person for the rest of his career, would I?
4. Our company values X, Y and Z in employees, above all other characteristics. Does this candidate possess these values? (X, Y and Z should be specific to the organization; they should not be generic, like ‘honesty’.)
5. If I were making this hiring decision by myself, would I hire him?