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Home * Jobs Reviews Network Resources Sign In | For Employers about careers FAQs privacy policy terms & conditions for employers 112k 20k © 2022 Fairygodboss. All rights reserved. My Profile My Messages My Network My Settings Groups Events My Posts Log Out Mystery Woman Tell us more for better jobs, advice and connections YOUR GROUPS Discover and join groups with like-minded women who share your interests, profession, and lifestyle. COMPANIES YOU FOLLOW Get alerted when there are new employee reviews. YOUR JOB ALERTS Get notified when new jobs are posted. Protect Yourself IF YOUR EMPLOYER ASKS YOU THESE 2 QUESTIONS IN A CULTURE FIT INTERVIEW, THAT'S A MAJOR RED FLAG Canva / Fairygodboss Staff Laura Berlinsky-Schine 2.3k AddThis Sharing Buttons Share to LinkedInLinkedInShare to FacebookFacebookShare to Copy LinkCopy Link Just as important as an employee’s qualifications and skills is their fit with the employer. Will they mesh with their colleagues? Do they hold the same values as the employer? That’s why culture fit interviews have become so popular. These questions are meant to give the interviewer insight into the candidate’s personality, values, work ethic and more. On the surface, this might seem like a great way of identifying those who are ideal employees for your organization. And sometimes they can be. But other times, interviewers ask questions that not only don’t actually reveal anything meaningful about the candidate but can also make you feel uncomfortable. Here are two that are major red flags. TELL US A FUNNY ANECDOTE. Sure, this sounds harmless. But in practice, this only serves to put the applicant on the spot. When’s the last time you were asked to tell a joke? Even if you’re Jon Stewart, it’s probably awkward to be asked to “be funny” while someone is staring at you from across the table. There’s also the fact that this probably isn’t relevant to the job. A sense of humor is nice, and it’s something the interviewer probably wants to see in a potential fit, but that should come through during your conversation — without explicit prompting. TELL ME ABOUT YOUR BACKGROUND OUTSIDE OF YOUR WORK HISTORY. This one is a little more dangerous because instead of helping the employer get to know the candidate, this can actually tap into the interviewer’s unconscious biases. Everything from where someone grew up to what their parents do for a living to their favorite foods can affect how another person perceives you. The interviewee will likely reveal some of this information on their own, but outright asking about their background can even lead to discrimination. Cultural fit is an important quality or set of qualities to assess, of course, but interviewers need to be cognizant of how, exactly, they are determining this fit. It’s also important to remember that hiring “cookie-cutter” employees is not the best course — employers should seek out a diverse range of views and perspectives. -- This article reflects the views of the author and not necessarily those of Fairygodboss. Laura Berlinsky-Schine is a freelance writer and editor based in Brooklyn with her demigod/lab mix Hercules. She specializes in education, technology and career development. She also writes satire and humor, which has appeared in Slackjaw, Points in Case, Little Old Lady Comedy, Jane Austen’s Wastebasket, and Funny-ish. View her work and get in touch at: www.lauraberlinskyschine.com. WHAT'S YOUR NO. 1 PIECE OF ADVICE FOR CULTURE FIT INTERVIEWS? SHARE YOUR ANSWER IN THE COMMENTS TO HELP OTHER FAIRYGODBOSS MEMBERS! 8 likes 24 comments Share Join the conversation... Ruth Sathre 140 04/05/22 at 12:25PM GMT The questions sound like ways to ask illegal questions in a round about manner. Hobbies and interests sound like spouse and family questions. And jokes are hard at work. Upvote Reply Joan Williams, Senior Talent Acquisition Consultant 5.47k Employer of Choice? I can help you become one 04/05/22 at 7:47AM GMT "Culture fit" is outdated. Culture add - not culture fit. 1 upvote Reply Anonymous 04/05/22 at 12:57AM GMT (Edited) Just be yourself. It's like dating. Just be yourself. You wouldn't marry someone unless you were a good match, and the same goes for a work marriage. Be honest about what you do in your spare time. If you hit it off great. If not then you aren't a good fit there and dodged a bullet. 1 upvote Reply Arlene Frances Gottardo (Bryak) 159 Columnist, babysitter, housewife, driver 04/04/22 at 11:46PM GMT Well, I suppose all of us have funny stories to tell, but during an interview-for a job you really want), you may not exactly be in that frame of mind to do so. But, now that I’ve read this query, I will be prepared. Tricky, tricky, tricky… Upvote 1 reply Anonymous 04/05/22 at 1:07AM GMT Think of a funny story about something that happened at a job. Rehearse how you would tell the story. For a joke, think of something non offensive, but funny. Could be a pun, a knock knock joke, or a riddle related to your line of work. Upvote Reply Dana 120 Proj. Mgr. for Software Development Organization 04/04/22 at 8:55PM GMT Culture fit questions, if used at all, should be objective, third party type questions that have nothing to do with the specifics of your life. For instance, one company is was in had a group interview and the questions came up of: Which is better, Star Trek or Star Wars? Which is better, having a dog or a cat? What these questions did was start a light conversation where the interviewee could enter into the discussion and become a part of the team so to speak in a way that was not pointing specifically to the interviewee. It was a way to see how we all acted and reacted together. A good way to get a feel for how well the person would fit in. 4 upvotes Reply User deleted comment on 04/04/22 at 4:04PM GMT Anonymous 04/04/22 at 4:04PM GMT I was recently asked, "what do you like to do for fun?" in a job interview. I thought it was a strange question and now I see why. They were trying to see if I "fit" their culture. 2 upvotes Reply Heather Bingham 245 Organisational Psychologist and Coach 04/04/22 at 4:02PM GMT Culture fit sessions should not be about ruling people out; it should be about ruling them in. If you capture and promote your culture carefully, it is all about enabling and actually encouraging diversity around a flexible cultural framework. As an organisational psychologist, I test for cultural fit and one of my favourite questions is "What makes you interesting?" All the strongest candidates tell me what they enjoy doing outside work. Whether it's a dedicated hobby, an area of study, a religion, a way of life or a busy family, it doesn't matter; I want to hear that people have something important, besides work, that enables them to maintain balance. Everyone can then work under a lot of pressure, knowing that they each have their own safety valve. This is the most diverse group I have ever worked with, on multiple dimensions, and I think it proves that culture fit interviews do not have to be discriminatory on any level. 3 upvotes Reply Elle Siva 408 I am energized to bring the change! 04/04/22 at 3:45PM GMT We get asked cultural fit interview questions all the time. It’s the questions they ask about decisions their team has made in the past, and even when the post says they are looking for an ethical person, doesn’t mean it’s true. I’ll give examples. First though, there are things I couldn’t do for my employer directly because they directly conflicted with the Code of Ethics for my Certified Government Financial Manager license. My department’s Chief Financial and Procurement Officers had not a CPA, CGFM, or any top industry credential with an active code of ethics. When I was out of the picture, I saw they posted a position equal to mine, formatted differently, and under desirable qualifications the CGFM was listed. They know actively licensed CGFM holders aren’t a cultural fit, so that was a fake out. Sneaky cultural fit questions I’ve been asked: -If you found instances of fraud or abuse in the running of public programs, would you report it and how? -How would you work within the team to let of steam about frustrating requests across City departments by Project Managers who don’t care about procurement requirements. -It’s too hard to remember the exact wording from a government university a couple months ago, but it was like, if you had these improper charging issues to public funds, and the financial system also wasn’t working, what would you do? The right answers to all of these questions is what makes for a toxic workplace. The right answer is to confer with the first person in your chain of advice, or your assigned mentor, and leverage their experience and wisdom given their time on the team. That perpetuates the status quo even if the hire fits a DEI or RSJ hiring goal, because it shows “we know our place.” i’m a decorated, elite educated, professionally certified disruptor for the public trust and to actively help employees (or former employees) with discrimination, harassment, retaliation for seeking accommodations or making a protected class complaint, retaliation for participating in an employee interest group or union to improve the workplace, reporting waste, fraud and abuse and even being ignored by Kaiser Permenante to get care after diagnostic testing showed a clear need for escalation, yet no follow-up. ”Fit” questions not about your passion to learn the team and manager’s style, value that, contribute your KSA’s to do the work well and asking about the most important task accomplishments for the first 3 to 6 months is a dog whistle for some kind of badly intentioned “culture fit”. 2 upvotes Reply Sarah Stadtherr 543 04/04/22 at 3:45PM GMT So this MIGHT be a useful heads up to some but it would be WAY more helpful to provide specific ways to back away from a tricky question. 10 upvotes Reply See more comments 30 WAYS TO SHOW YOUR FAVORITE COWORKER SOME LOVE ON THEIR WORK-IVERSARY (PLUS 17 WAYS TO CELEBRATE) 3 WAYS SMART PEOPLE APOLOGIZE WHEN THEY FORGET AN EMAIL 9 PERFECTLY ACCEPTABLE EXCUSES TO GET OUT OF WORK Personalize your jobs Get recommendations for recent and relevant jobs. 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