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4 Ways to Ask Cultural Interview Questions

Updated 29/11/2004

A candidate’s resume and cover letter can help hiring managers narrow down their list of prospective candidates. As you schedule your interviews, plan to ask questions about company culture to understand how this candidate might fit into yours. Cultural interview questions can help you assess that aspect of a candidate and determine if they’re the best fit.

  • Determining if a job candidate will fit into the company culture is an important part of the interview process
  • There are creative ways to ask cultural interview questions to help you gain insight into a candidate’s personality without being too personal
  • Preparing your cultural interview questions ahead of time by following our guide below can help you be better prepared to make the interview run smoothly

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What is company culture?

Every organization has a culture formed by its employees’ behaviours, attitudes and values at all levels. Company culture is reflected in how people interact with each other, make decisions and organize their daily schedules. The culture can shape company policies, employees’ role in designing projects, and how often workers take time off. In a healthy culture, employees feel they can be themselves and contribute to the culture positively.

Why ask cultural interview questions?

Assessing whether a candidate would be an excellent cultural add can significantly impact your organization’s success. Employees who feel kinship with their supervisors and coworkers may find more meaning in their work and feel like they belong. Hiring people who are good cultural additions helps with employee retention and recruitment. Workers who believe that their values and attitudes match up reasonably well with those around them tend to want to stay on the job longer. When current or former employees review a company, they often give input on how they feel about its culture.

Related: Creating a Speak-Up Culture: Empowering Employee Voices for a Transparent and Inclusive Workplace

Culture fit vs culture add

Hiring for “culture fit” can cause businesses to hire and retain candidates that look unintentionally, behave and think like everyone else. When you hire people with the same values, beliefs, and personality traits, your teams may not be as creative or innovative, nor may they experience any other benefits of a diverse workplace.

On the other hand, looking for “culture add” in candidates can help you hire people who share your business’s values and add something new that will positively contribute to your culture. This “cultural add” can be communication styles, experience in different industries, nontraditional education or training, and various life experiences.

Related: What is Employee Connection?

Cultural interview questions

Figuring out if a candidate is a good cultural add can be challenging. The most effective way is to come up with cultural interview questions that help you learn about a candidate’s behaviours, values and attitudes. These questions are best left open-ended but with a focus.

For example, if you want to know if a candidate brings a sense of humour to work, you could ask, “Describe a time when you found humour to help navigate a tricky situation.” When you get to the culture part of the interview, explain that you will ask some questions to help you get to know the person better, and there are no right or wrong answers.

Here are four areas to explore (with sample questions for each) to determine whether a prospective employee will add to your company culture.

Related: 7 Techniques To Conduct an Effective Interview

1. Previous employment

You can learn a great deal about whether candidates will be a great addition to your culture by asking questions about their perceptions of cultures they have been a part of.

Pinpointing what a candidate liked and disliked about past companies can reveal what’s valuable to them. Understanding these preferences can help you determine if they align with your company culture and values. For example, candidates who say they didn’t like how slowly their previous company moved may enjoy a fast-paced culture where projects get done quickly. Consider asking these sample questions:

  • How would you describe the company culture at your last job?
  • Were you comfortable working in that environment? Why or why not?
  • If you could have changed one thing to improve the culture, what would it be?
  • Describe an instance when you and another employee worked well together. What do you think helped make that experience a positive one?
  • Can you describe a time you took a risk in making a decision? What was the outcome?

Related: Report — Breaking Down Barriers: For a Bright and Fair Future of Work

2. Opinions about company culture

Theoretical or general opinion questions put candidates at ease because they don’t have to prove anything about past performance. Answering these questions can reveal a person’s values, attitudes, and beliefs. They can also help you understand how candidates maintain work/life balance, set personal boundaries and manage their time.

  • What do you think are three things companies should do to boost morale?
  • How would you describe the ideal corporate culture?
  • What can managers do to allow employees to feel more trusted?
  • Should employees have unlimited vacation time, or should such a policy be more structured?

Related: Cultural Awareness: A Key to Employee Satisfaction and Retention in Canada

3. Personality

Specific cultural interview questions can help paint a picture of the candidate without prying into their private life. A glimpse into a candidate’s personality can provide insight into how easy they are to work with, what they’ll bring to the team and what kind of environment they thrive in.

For example, if your company has a casual culture with frequent collaboration, a casual dress code and an open office plan, it may not be a good match for someone who prefers a quiet, formal and strictly professional environment. At the same time, avoid excluding anyone based on personality traits like introversion or extroversion.

  • Talk about one of your great qualities that others don’t always appreciate.
  • What makes you a great team player?
  • Describe your ideal work day.
  • What kind of situation can create stress for you, and how do you cope?
  • Do you prefer to delegate tasks or have them delegated to you? Or do you prefer a mix of both?
  • What is one of your worst pet peeves?

Related: Behavioural Interview Questions To Ask Candidates

4. Hypothetical scenarios

Hypothetical or “what if” questions are fairly low-stress for the candidate but also challenge the individual to demonstrate creativity and confidence.

  • Your team is giving a presentation in two hours, and one member just called in sick. What do you do?
  • If you had to choose between a work environment that was always in chaos versus one in which nothing ever changed, which would you choose?
  • How would you spend your time if you inherited so much money that you never had to work again?
  • If you could create a fictional company to make the world a better place, what would that company do?

Being creative when asking cultural interview questions can help determine if a candidate is likely to fit in and enjoy your company’s culture. When asking these questions, look for answers that align with your company values and work environment.

Related Articles:

Frequently asked questions about cultural interview questions

Why is culture add so important?

Candidates with values similar to your company’s will likely be happier and more productive. Cultural add is an important hiring criterion for a team that connects, respects, and works well together. Cultural add also helps create a more diverse workplace and brings more creativity to the mix.

How is culture add determined?

Company culture is the collection of formal and informal systems, behaviours, and values that create an experience for the employee. Company culture comes from various areas, such as how employees communicate, make decisions, and recognize employees. When you are familiar with your own company culture, you can determine the type of criteria to look for in candidates.

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