If you are truly focused on finding a job with a company that has right culture for you, the questions you ask the hiring manager will be key.

The hiring manager is the person who would be your boss. And as I mentioned in a recent article, the best time to ask questions about culture is during the interview.

What you ask matters. Those answers will give you your best insight because they are being provided by someone with whom you’ve had time to build up a rapport.

The questions you ask your hiring manager are key because you need to know not only whether you’d be happy at this company, but also: Would you be happy working for this person at this company?

The thing is, the company might be the right fit… but if you get stuck with the wrong manager, you could still not do well.

Before we identify exactly which questions to ask, we need to go back to the definition of company culture, which refers to beliefs and demonstrated behaviors. The values of the organization need to permeate throughout and align with what it is and how it is demonstrated.

The key words in the definition above are demonstrated behaviors.

In other words, your questions need to be focused on how the hiring manager behaves, not just what they believe or say about themself.

What does a behavior-focused question sound like? Here are some examples of questions you can ask the hiring manager:

What you want to know: How does the manager recognize and reward their staff members?
Ask: Can you provide me with a recent example of how you recognized one of your employees for a job well done?

What you want to know: How does the manager deal with mistakes?
Ask: Can you give me an example of when one of your employees made a mistake and how you handled the situation?

What you want to know: How do they respond to feedback?
Ask: Can you tell me about a time when one of your employees gave you feedback? How did you react to it?

I hope this gives you a sense of what questions you might ask, and how to ask them in a way that gives you specific examples. After all, you want to work for the right company! By asking these types of questions, they will help you make a better career decision.