How can you identify whether the company you are interviewing with has the right culture for you?

This is the question that most of my coaching clients come to me for help with.

They are tired of working for companies whose cultures don’t support them doing their best work.

Ok – wait. Let’s be clear about what they (and maybe you) actually want.

My coaching clients WANT to work for a company where they will:

• Be able to do their best work
• Feel proud because they work there
• Enjoy the work they do
• Feel like they fit in with the people
• Anticipate staying for a long time

They want to work for a company where they can be their authentic selves, their best selves, do work that they enjoy, and can see themselves staying at for the long term.

In short: They want to be happy.

The question then becomes: During the interview process, how can I tell whether or not this is a company where I’ll be happy?

This is a two-part answer.

Part 1: Go into the interview with a clear sense of what you’re looking for.

If you aren’t sure, download my free guide, What is the Right Corporate Culture for you? It walks you through a series of key questions to help you identify what is important to you that needs to be matched by the company you work for.

Part 2: Ask specific questions about the culture at the company you are interviewing for.

You benefit in asking these questions because:

• They will help you stand out because they aren’t the usual questions that others ask.
• It will be clear through the questions that you ask that where you work matters to you.
• The answers will help you gain a clearer understanding of the organizational culture.

So… what are some good questions to ask?

That will depend largely on what you are looking for, so here are some great questions to get you started:

• How would you describe the culture of this company?
• What do you value most in your employees?
• What is the predominant leadership style in your company?
• How do you reward people for exemplary work?
• What type of people thrive in your company culture?

These are great opening questions specifically because they are open-ended. They enable the respondent to answer freely. Answers to these questions and others like them will give you some nice insights into the company and the perspective that your interviewer holds about that company.

If you hesitate to ask questions like this, I encourage you to dare to ask them anyways.

Remember: you aren’t the only one being interviewed. What you think of the company matters just as much as what the company thinks of you.