Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Ask HN: How do companies go about getting cultural fit with a candidate?

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

11–20 of 58 posts

Re: Ask HN: How do companies go about getting cultural fit with a candidate?

#11

Post by jbernardo95 »

sawmurai wrote: post #4
sokoloff wrote: post #2

Assuming you're asking about assessing cultural fit, we do a couple of semi-overt things. First, we make sure that every interviewer, including initial contacts and phone screens, offers the candidate a chance to ask their own questions and I make it a point to state that "you're picking us just as much as we're picking you". From the questions the candidate asks, we get some insight into what's on their mind and the…

I also had such a lunch on an on-site interview day and must say that I really liked it. Not only can the company assess your fit but you can also assess whether you like the company and your future colleagues.

Indeed, I've gone through a similar process and it was really nice for both sides. Although I believe that this should be done carefully, because when people get close and personal, they tend to "judge" others based on the personality, which is important, but not really what they are doing, instead they should focus on the cultural fit having in account the candidate's personality and other factors.

Re: Ask HN: How do companies go about getting cultural fit with a candidate?

#12

Post by sillysaurus3 »

sokoloff wrote: post #10
sillysaurus3 wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is explicitly meant to be informal and similar-level peers, but you can't help sharing data about who we are, how we interact with each other and the candidate, and learning/teaching whether there's likely a good fit. A formalized process of informality. Interesting.

You can't take all the context away; we just try to make it as low-pressure and "normal" a lunch as is possible, given the obvious context. (And yes, we've had candidates "fail" the lunch slot. I'm sure we've "failed" the lunch slot for some of the candidates who ended up turning us down. Those are usually beneficial "fails" IMO.)

It was just amusing to see such a formal engagement labeled as the opposite. It can be a good idea, beneficial for both parties, etc. But if a candidate can fail it, it's certainly not normal or informal.

Re: Ask HN: How do companies go about getting cultural fit with a candidate?

#13

Post by TurboHaskal »

Here's how to pass most startup cultural fit tests:

Avoid strong opinions even if you're asked. The interviewers themselves may be crapping on emacs, PHP, design patterns or whatever so you may be tempted to voice your own, but it doesn't go both ways. Don't get too comfortable.

You'll be offered coffee. Drink it. Don't refuse beer either. Fake a liking if need be. After work drinks are mission critical.

Make sure you're not too fat nor too old nor too Indian. If you're a woman, look your best and practice your natural makeup skills.

"What are your hobbies? / What do you like to do on your free time?" don't mean what you think they mean. "Spending time with my family" or "reading" are not valid answers. The only valid answers are the ones that imply you like working for free (Github, OSS, and the like.) Bonus points for consecutive green squares.

Don't talk badly about former colleagues. This is the biggest red flag.

Re: Ask HN: How do companies go about getting cultural fit with a candidate?

#14

Post by TurboHaskal »

s_kilk wrote: post #9
awinter-py wrote: post #7

Ask questions that go to socioeconomic background. 5 decades of sociology research have shown that skin color is a fair proxy for this. College rankings work too. Newsworthy culture fit problems at e.g. uber could have been solved out of the gate by not hiring those pesky women. They bring the majority of culture-fit litigation. Sometimes you can't tell if someone is not biologically male just by looking, so consider…

/s, I presume?

You presume wrong.

Re: Ask HN: How do companies go about getting cultural fit with a candidate?

#15

Post by prchaudhari_007 »

TurboHaskal wrote: post #13

Here's how to pass most startup cultural fit tests: Avoid strong opinions even if you're asked. The interviewers themselves may be crapping on emacs, PHP, design patterns or whatever so you may be tempted to voice your own, but it doesn't go both ways. Don't get too comfortable. You'll be offered coffee. Drink it. Don't refuse beer either. Fake a liking if need be. After work drinks are mission critical. Make sure yo…

What do you mean by not too Indian?

Re: Ask HN: How do companies go about getting cultural fit with a candidate?

#16

Post by dsgriffin »

'Cultural fit' is quite hard to define - sadly the phrase has a lot of negative connotations as too many people have used it to filter for people who 'look/act/think like me' or to make sure the person will regularly attend company drinks otherwise be ostracised (one example).

A more positive way to think of it could be to search for people who work well as a team, treat others fairly regardless of their role, like/employ transparency and so on.

Re: Ask HN: How do companies go about getting cultural fit with a candidate?

#17

Post by zwischenzug »

I had a friend who was present in interviews at a hedge fund in London where the standard first question was 'where do you ski?'

When she quit, they asked her what it would take for her to stay. She asked for an equality policy and BOOM! A big cheque fell in her lap and they thanked her for her contribution.

Re: Ask HN: How do companies go about getting cultural fit with a candidate?

#18

Post by rawTruthHurts »

prchaudhari_007 wrote: post #15
TurboHaskal wrote: post #13

Here's how to pass most startup cultural fit tests: Avoid strong opinions even if you're asked. The interviewers themselves may be crapping on emacs, PHP, design patterns or whatever so you may be tempted to voice your own, but it doesn't go both ways. Don't get too comfortable. You'll be offered coffee. Drink it. Don't refuse beer either. Fake a liking if need be. After work drinks are mission critical. Make sure yo…

What do you mean by not too Indian?

Don't look too much of a native from wherever you are if your average peer does not share your traits.

Re: Ask HN: How do companies go about getting cultural fit with a candidate?

#19

Post by sokoloff »

sillysaurus3 wrote: post #12
sokoloff wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can't take all the context away; we just try to make it as low-pressure and "normal" a lunch as is possible, given the obvious context. (And yes, we've had candidates "fail" the lunch slot. I'm sure we've "failed" the lunch slot for some of the candidates who ended up turning us down. Those are usually beneficial "fails" IMO.)

It was just amusing to see such a formal engagement labeled as the opposite. It can be a good idea, beneficial for both parties, etc. But if a candidate can fail it, it's certainly not normal or informal.

For clarity, candidates fail the lunch slot not by chewing with their mouth open, keeping their pinky on their cup, or putting elbows on the table, but rather by being overtly bigoted, racist/sexist, or otherwise extraordinarily A-hole-ish. (I can only recall two instances in 14 years; perhaps I should have not mentioned it, but I'm an engineer at heart... :) )

Re: Ask HN: How do companies go about getting cultural fit with a candidate?

#20

Post by bryanlarsen »

prchaudhari_007 wrote: post #15
TurboHaskal wrote: post #13

Here's how to pass most startup cultural fit tests: Avoid strong opinions even if you're asked. The interviewers themselves may be crapping on emacs, PHP, design patterns or whatever so you may be tempted to voice your own, but it doesn't go both ways. Don't get too comfortable. You'll be offered coffee. Drink it. Don't refuse beer either. Fake a liking if need be. After work drinks are mission critical. Make sure yo…

What do you mean by not too Indian?

"Cultural fit" is sometimes a code word for outright racism.

And even when it isn't, it means they're looking for somebody who they can get along with easily. Which means they're looking for somebody who could easily become friends with them.

And making friends with white guys is a lot easier if you're a "banana": yellow on the outside but white on the inside: if you like the same things the white guys do, if you have the same opinions that the white guys have, if you behave the same way they do, et cetera.

One thing I've noticed about tech companies is that they like to brag about how diverse they are.

"John over there is a ballroom dancer, Jack doesn't drink beer, Talia is a black girl, Jim dresses funny, ..."

So if you have one thing that distinguishes you from the other guys at work, that's actually a good thing. If the group is a bunch of hard drinkers that talk about sports all the time, it's possible to not drink or not care about sports as long as you don't make a big deal about it.

But if you have two things different, then you don't fit in. You're an Indian, you've already used your "difference card", so to fit in you have to be a hard-drinking sports lover or whatever the company culture is.

Post reply on HN