In the 2021 PwC Global Culture Survey, less than half of the respondents agreed that their leadership team “walked the talk” about purpose, value, and culture. That is why as a job seeker, you cannot rely on what is said on a website or in a press release to give you an accurate picture of an organization’s culture.

You must dig deeper.

The interview process is an important opportunity to gather additional information about an organization’s culture. You want to hear about the experience of the people you will be working with, your potential boss, peers, and even direct reports, to understand what they have experienced in terms of company culture. That way, you can judge whether this organization will be the right fit for you.

What Is Company Culture?

We throw around the word “culture” a lot, but it is essential to define what this is and why, as a job seeker, you should care about it.

In Erin Meyer’s book, The Culture Map, she delineates eight aspects of culture.

• Communication – Is the communication low-context (simple, direct) or high-context (deep meaning or complex interactions)?

• Evaluation – When one gives feedback, is it done directly, or is it indirect with an attempt to be discreet?

• Leading – Is there a preference for hierarchy and authority, or is it based on egalitarian principles?

• Decision Making– Are decisions made from the top-down or more from consensus?

• Trust – Is trust based on personal relationships or how people work with each other?

• Disagreement – Do people avoid confrontation or try to address them directly?

• Scheduling – Does it need to be precise with a specific date, or is there flexibility with a range of time?

• Persuading – Is there a preference for holistic explanations or specific examples?

Erin Meyer argues that different countries generally fall somewhere on this continuum regarding their overall population and country culture. Organizations will also fall somewhere on the continuum in all these cultural aspects. Once a culture is in place, either through specific decisions or evolution, employees know how they are expected to behave within an organization. These behaviors will be communicated directly or indirectly and reinforced throughout the workforce.

Why Should You Care About Company Culture?

When I was first in the work world, no one talked about a company’s culture. It was all about the work, the pay, and the benefits. You were expected to fit in, even if it meant you had to change your expectations of how people should be treated.

But we are not robots. As work became viewed as not something to be endured but a place to thrive, culture became a more significant part of the work happiness equation. In the 2021 Jobvite JobSeeker Nation report, company values and culture were the third top influence on whether to accept a job, behind company location and facilities and overall compensation. In the same report, 86% of job seekers said that company culture is somewhat or very important for their decision to apply for a job.

Job seekers have told me about a mismatch between the culture and their personal beliefs. Here are a few examples where the mismatch was highly problematic.

• A client of mine quit a job because of a lack of trust in the ethics of the people running the finance and accounting departments due to inaccurate financial reports.

• A client was told that she should provide honest feedback to her staff and believed this is important for manager credibility. Still, she was not allowed to address performance issues with an employee, because this employee’s father was friends with the CEO.

And then there was my personal experience of being an HR Manager in an organization where the owners had no issue skirting labor laws or outright violating them. That was contrary to every fiber of my being, and I refused to do anything illegal. This put me at odds with the senior leadership and how they approached business.

What we experienced was in contradiction to values and beliefs that are important to our identities. In each situation, it made for a work situation that could not continue. In my case, I lasted only one year.

So How Can You Better Understand A Company’s Culture Through The Interview Process?

If the alignment of a company’s culture to your values and beliefs is important for work happiness, then you have to use every opportunity through the hiring process to gather information to determine the true company culture. Relying solely on what you might see on a website or words you see on the walls of an organization is not enough. The company may have beautiful words, but if they do not live it, it means nothing.

I am going to focus this discussion on the interview process. Of course, I would encourage job seekers to read as much as they can about the company and talk to as many people who have first-hand knowledge of how the company operates. That can be former employees, present employees, clients, customers, vendors, investors, etc. Look at the commonalities between peoples’ views. That is likely where the truth lies.

Before the Interview

Employers are generally on their best behavior when interviewing candidates. They want to impress a would-be employee that this opportunity is a good one and better than any other the person might have. So, employers tend to be friendlier and nicer than they might be in the ordinary course of business. 

Therefore, during the interview process, you may be treated as well or even better than you usually can expect. So your first sign of company culture will be how you are treated and the process you go through.

You will want to think about the following and what it says about the culture:

What Was the Interview Scheduling Process Like?

Take note of the process you go through to get scheduled for interviews. 

• Did the process seem efficient? 

• Was it all automated, or was there a person you communicated with from the company?

• Were you given enough time to prepare for the interview?

• Was there flexibility with times and dates?

• Were you easily allowed to reschedule?

• Were you told how long you were expected to be in the interviews and who you would be meeting?

• If it is a video interview, are you given complete and instructions for accessing the technology?

Is it impersonal and focused solely on company convenience? Or were your needs taken into consideration? Your answers to these questions will tell you much about the culture. Write down your impressions and how you felt through the process. 

During the Interview

The three ways you can understand company culture during the interview are:

• The experience you have before the interview

• What you observe about the interviewer(s) and their interaction with you

• The answers to your questions

I will cover each.

Your Experience Before The Interview Starts

If the employer conducts in-person interviews, your experience will differ from if all the interviews happen via a video platform. If you have an interview conducted in person, you will be asked to come to the company office or a facility. How you are treated during this time, and your interactions will tell you a lot about the company culture.

You will want to note what you experienced and ask yourself these questions.

• Were you given direction and parking instructions, or were you expected to find this out on your own?

• Did anyone greet you? And if so, did they expect you?

• Were the people you interacted with friendly?

• Were you offered any hospitality, such as water or a snack?

• If your interviewer was running late, did anyone let you know this?

You will also want to take a good look around to see whether the facility is clean and organized or messy and unkempt. Also, what are your future colleagues doing? Is everyone behind a computer and the place quiet so you can hear a pin drop, or are people chatting, laughing, and seeming to enjoy themselves? These are all subtle signs of the company culture.

If the employer is conducting interviews via video, you can still get a sense of the company culture. How were you prepared for this type of interview (adequate directions or even hints for a better experience)? Does your interviewer start on time? Is the interviewer adequately prepared with proper lighting and sound for virtual interviews? 

Your Interaction with the Interviewer

The questions you are asked during the interview can tell about the company’s work conditions and culture. Interviewers check for three things: 

1) Can you do the job? 

2) Do you want to do the job?

3) What you would be like as a member of the team.

The answers they ask to ascertain this information can provide a clue as to the organization’s culture.

For example, if you are asked questions about meeting tight deadlines and working “above-and-beyond,” that could indicate that you will be expected to give 110% to this employer. That may mean work-life balance is not a priority.

Or, if you are asked about how you make decisions and especially whether you seek outside input, it may indicate the company is looking for people that will seek out and be inclusive of different thoughts and perspectives.

In addition to focusing on the types of questions asked, look at the interaction among interviewers during a panel interview. If you do not know what a panel interview is, it is an interview where multiple interviewers are conducting one interview. Each person usually will be allotted time to ask questions. If you find yourself in this type of interview, look at the dynamic that is happening. Are all people equally engaged in the process or is one person taking the lead and dominating the conversation? If one person is dominating, is it because of their position or personality? Is it relaxed, or do you feel people are being guarded about what they ask and say? Take heed of how people interact with each other.

The Answers to Questions You Ask

One of the best ways to learn about a culture is to ask someone working at the organization. While not every interviewer will be 100% truthful about what it is like to work there, you should still ask and listen to what is said and what is not.

Here are some questions to help you assess the general culture of a business. 

General culture

• How would you describe the workplace culture here?

• What would you say are the company values?

• How do employees grow with the company?

• What characteristics make someone successful in this organization?

• How is it expected that team members should work together?

You may also want to ask questions on specific areas of an organization’s culture.

Communication

• What were the most innovative or crazy ideas and opportunities shared with you by a direct report?

• Is it often that a peer or direct report shared difficult information or an unpopular opinion with you?

• What is your preferred form of communication with your direct reports - face-to-face, email, text, Slack, etc.?

• When something important is happening at the company, how is it communicated?

Evaluation

• How often are check-ins done with direct reports?

• How will I know whether I am meeting your performance expectations?

• How are performance issues handled within the company? Is there a specific company policy, or is it up to the manager?

• Is there a formal performance review process? Informal process?

• If a project, process, or change in direction does not work, what are the ramifications for the individual that suggested it?

Leading

• Is there anything the organization does to motivate people or are people expected to be self-motivated?

• How do you demonstrate leadership?

• How is the CEOs/President’s leadership different or the same as other leaders you have experienced?

• What have been some strategic changes or pivots made in the past few years? Were they successful?

Decision Making

• How are decisions made in the company? What is the approval process?

• How much latitude do employees have to make decisions about their work?

• When you last made a significant business decision, what factors did you take into consideration?

• What criteria have you developed to decide when a candidate will be the right fit?

Trust

• If you had a magic wand and could change anything about the organization, what would it be?

• How closely do you monitor the work of your staff?

• Have you ever had to make a work promise that you could not keep here? If yes, what did you do?

• How does the company treat a person who has engaged in unethical behavior? What is considered unethical behavior?

Disagreement

• Are employees encouraged to speak up, even if it is an unpopular stance?

• How have you handled it when two staff members do not get along?

• What do you do when you disagree with the direction of your boss?

• Are people in the organization encouraged to provide their peers and bosses feedback?

Scheduling

• Are people required to work a set schedule, or is there flexibility to start and end one’s day?

• Are due dates set in stone here, or is there often flexibility?

• If projects fall behind and it will be challenging to meet a due date, how does upper management look upon that?

• How do you define work/life balance, and how is it practiced here?

Persuading

• What does it take to convince you to try to do something different at work?

• When people need to be persuaded, when is it done with a carrot approach, and when a stick approach?

• What is the best way around here to sell a new idea?

These are just a few of the types of questions you should be asking throughout the interview process.

After the Interview

How you are treated after the interview is such an important indicator of the company culture. After you have given your time and attention to the organization, is that reciprocated in a kind and professional way?

Does the Company Communicate with You Frequently?

Do they keep to that timeline if the company told you what to expect for additional interviews or a final decision? Or, if there are any delays, do they communicate that with you? You will quickly see how much emphasis the company places on communication. And, if you are ghosted, that says a lot about the company and how it prioritizes honest and open communication.

If You Receive An Offer, Is the Organization Open to Questions or Negotiation?

You may think that your evaluation process is over when you receive an offer. It shouldn’t be. Before you agree to an offer, how you are communicated and treated through this process is very important. Are you treated like a partner, or is it one-sided, take-it or leave-it? Are you allowed to ask questions and, if desired, speak to others to better understand the organization and how it works? I had a client that was not allowed to talk with the person that would be her direct report. After starting in the role, she soon realized that they did not want her to speak to the person because they feared he would tell her about the issues in the department. She now realized that refusal to her request should have been a warning sign about the culture.

When it comes to negotiations about an offer, are you treated as valued and respected, or are you made to feel like you are doing something wrong? Are your requests listened to or refused out-of-hand? If the organization refuses to negotiate, do they explain why? How you feel through this process, when you are organization most wants you, is a tell about how you will be treated as an employee. 

You can also learn more about determining culture through the application process from the blog post, How to know if a prospective employer has a good culture?

Conclusion

Unless you are solely about the money, work schedule, and location, you need to understand what work cultures are best for you and whether an organization can meet your needs. While you can read about a company culture online, that should never be a substitute for what you feel, see, and hear through the interview process? Make sure you get a good sense of what it is like from the people who work there. Then you can decide whether it is right for you and if you accept an offer, then up your odds that you will enjoy and feel content working there.

Shelley Piedmont is a job search coach. She wants to help job seekers put their best foot forward by providing the tools for a successful job search. If you need career coaching, resume preparation, interview skills assessment, or LinkedIn profile assistance, she can help. Schedule a 15-minute no-obligation consultation.