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Best Practices for Cultural Fit Interview Questions - Executive Recruiters - Cowen Partners

Cultural Fit Interview Questions: Examples of Best Practices

Cultural fit interview questions are all about finding candidates who will be a good fit for your company’s corporate culture. It’s important to remember that hiring for cultural fit is different from hiring for a skillset. You may want to consider this when designing interviews and deciding what questions to ask.

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A good hiring manager will ask candidates about their background, interests, and values. The goal is to determine whether the candidate will fit in with the company’s culture.

In this guide, we will take a look at some best practices you can follow when crafting your cultural fit interview questions to help you streamline your process and find the best candidates for your organization.

Ask Behavioral Questions

Behavioral questions are effective because they help you get past the resume and into the real person behind it. They help you determine how someone behaves in real life without forcing them to talk about something they may have learned in school or on the job — which might not be relevant in your organization.

Examples include:

What would you do if your boss asked you to violate company policy?
How would you handle a customer upset with your service?
What are some challenges in your old job, and how did you deal with them?

By asking behavioral questions, you can learn more about how someone has handled challenges or responded to difficult situations in the past. You can also determine whether they have the personality traits to make them a good fit for your company culture.

Ask Open-Ended Questions

Rather than asking yes or no questions that can be answered with one word, ask open-ended questions that give candidates room to talk about their experiences and how they handled them.

Ask how they would handle a situation if they were working for you instead of what they would do in a given situation (e.g., “How would you handle a difficult client?”) This approach allows candidates to demonstrate their thought process and problem-solving skills — two important qualities of high performers.

You may consider questions like the following:

Can you tell me about an important goal you recently achieved at work?
Tell me about an instruction your boss gave that you disagreed with.
What was the most difficult decision you ever made?

The goal of a cultural fit interview is to determine whether an applicant will be able to contribute effectively to your company. You must ask questions that allow you to evaluate the candidate’s values, work ethic, and personality traits.

How to Make Your Interviews More Effective

Ask About Non-Work Experiences

Ask candidates about non-work experiences they’ve had that relate to your company or the role they’re interviewing for. This tactic will give you a better idea of who they are as people and how they handle situations outside of work.

For example, if you’re hiring someone to manage customer service calls, asking them about their experience volunteering at a local animal shelter could help determine whether they have patience with customers who have issues.

Another great way to determine whether someone has a strong cultural fit with your company is by asking about their hobbies and interests outside of work.

People with similar interests tend to form rapport better than those who don’t have anything in common, so it could be valuable for new hires to enjoy activities that align with your company culture.

Consider questions like:

What hobbies do you enjoy?
What activities do you participate in outside of work?
What social activities do you participate in?
What volunteer opportunities have you taken advantage of?
Do you belong to any professional or industry associations?

The key is asking questions about things that aren’t work-related so that you can get a better picture of who they are as people and how they spend their time outside of work.

Attributes & Styles of Corporate Culture

Ask Hypothetical Questions

Hypothetical questions are a great way to find out how a candidate thinks and reacts in hypothetical situations. You can also use them to gauge the level of experience and knowledge someone has on a particular subject.

For example, if you’re interviewing someone for a customer service position, ask them how they would handle an angry customer in a hypothetical situation like this: “If a customer was irate and yelling at you, what would you do?”

Here are some additional examples of hypothetical questions that can help you determine cultural fit:

What would you do if your manager asked you to work on a project outside of normal business hours?
How would you handle it if your coworker asked you for help with something but wasn’t willing to reciprocate?
Tell me about a time when you had to work with someone who wasn’t very motivated.

If you’re interviewing candidates for an entry-level position, asking hypothetical questions will enable you to gauge how well they’ll perform in the role.

Ask About the Candidate’s Workplace Preferences

You should always ask about the candidate’s workplace preferences during an interview. You want to know if they like working in a team or solo, prefer being in an office environment or working remotely, etc.

Another great question is asking what their favorite things are at work. For example, do they like doing administrative tasks or more creative work? Do they like talking on the phone or communicating via email? These questions will help you figure out if they’ll fit into your team and office culture well.

These types of questions may include:

How do you work best with others?
Do you prefer working alone or in groups?
What motivates you in the workplace? Is it money, recognition, or something else entirely?
How do you prefer to communicate?
What do you consider important in a job and workplace culture?

You can learn a lot about how a candidate will fit into your workplace by asking these questions, helping you determine whether your organization will meet the candidate’s cultural expectations.

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Asking the Best Questions During Cultural Fit Interviews

Cultural fit is the most important factor when hiring new employees. Proper culture fit means that the candidate will be able to work in harmony with other team members, share the same values and goals, and add value to the existing team.

These cultural fit interview questions are designed to assess whether a candidate will fit your company’s culture. By asking the right questions, you can get a good idea of what a candidate expects from being a part of your organization and whether they are the right person for the role.

Best 25 Interview Questions to Evaluate Culture Fit

What gets you excited about coming to work?
What surprises people about you?
What’s the biggest problem in most offices today?
What did you like most/least about your last company?
Where/when/how do you do your best work?
How could a manager best support you?
Describe the best/worst team-building exercise you have ever participated in.
What three things do you need to succeed in this position?
What motivates you to do your best work?
How do you prefer to communicate with coworkers?
Describe your dream job.
What does a successful company culture look like to you?
Who inspires you and why?
How would you describe our company culture?
How do you give/respond to critique?
Which of our company’s core values do you most/least identify with?
What does work-life balance mean to you?
What role does kindness/empathy/humour play at work?
What does your decision-making process look like?
Would you rather work alone or with a team?
What would be your ideal work schedule?
Would you describe yourself as an introvert or extrovert? Why?
What type of learner are you? (visual, kinesthetic, etc.)
Do you prefer to be looped-in for every step of the decision making process or only once a decision is made?
What management style motivates you to do your best work?

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Is One Personality Test Enough?

When you want to find the best candidates for the C-suite down, you want to screen for more than just skills and knowledge. You also want to evaluate:

Personality and behavior
Company objectives
Cultural fit

Coupled with our ability to source qualified candidates, Cowen Partners uses scientifically proven methods to test for personality, behavior, company objectives, and culture in order to find the best candidates for our clients. No more wasted time on subjective screening and inherent bias’, our screening process lets you focus on the best people for the job.

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As leaders among the nation’s best executive recruiters, we have experience working with private, public, pre-IPO, and non-profit organizations. Clients are typically $50 million in revenue to Fortune 1000 companies or have assets between $500 million to $15 billion.

Successful placements span the entire C-Suite – CEO, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Financial Officer, CHRO, CMO, and include vice president sales and marketing, general counsel, and other director-level leadership roles.

Check out our industry-leading resources to see why Cowen Partners is a leader among the best executive search firms in St. Louis, Milwaukee, Anchorage, New York City, Chicago, Seattle, Atlanta, Dallas, Los Angeles, and beyond:

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Best Practices for Cultural Fit Interview Questions - Executive Recruiters