What are cultural interview questions?

Cultural interview questions are inquiries that can help hiring managers and recruiters assess the cultural add of candidates who apply to their organizations. However, cultural questions focus on more than just candidates’ personalities and how they contribute to the office environment. These types of questions focus on the diverse talents, unique perspectives, and varying backgrounds of professionals seeking employment with your company.

The aim of cultural questions in an interview is to ascertain whether a candidate can add to the existing environment with new approaches and diverse perspectives. These types of questions are important for creating an inclusive work environment where cultural diversity, background, and experience have value for all employees.

Why ask cultural interview questions?

Asking cultural interview questions allows you to assess whether a candidate can contribute to your company’s culture. Questions that evaluate how candidates’ unique talents, diverse backgrounds, and individual qualities can add to the work environment can give you insight into the contributions employees can bring to your organization. Additionally, employees who feel a connection with their employers, supervisors, and teammates may get more enjoyment and value from their work.

Understanding how candidates can add to your company’s culture can also help ensure successful employee recruitment and retention, as employees who feel their values and personalities match well with the organization’s culture are often more engaged and motivated to stay with the company for a longer time. Cultural questions can also help you ensure candidates your organization hires can bring strength, diversity, and inclusion to the workplace culture.

What should I consider when choosing cultural questions?

When forming interview questions that centre on cultural addition and diversity, it’s important to consider several themes that assess how candidates align with your company’s requirements and goals. These themes can help you outline your interview questions so that you’re addressing candidates’ diversity, contributions, and unique abilities. Consider the following aspects when creating appropriate cultural interview questions:

• Refer to your organization’s core values and mission for evaluating candidates’ add.
• Use both behavioural and situational questions for insight into candidates’ personalities, strengths, and weaknesses.
• Hire diverse individuals of different backgrounds, cultures, regions, and languages to support inclusivity

How can you ask cultural interview questions?

When planning your interview structure, consider the following ways to ask cultural questions, along with 19 examples of what to ask, designated by category:

1. Discuss previous work experience

Interview questions about candidates’ previous experience and perceptions of company culture can help you assess whether they’ll be a good addition to your organization. Understanding the aspects of a candidate’s past roles that they liked and disliked can give you an idea of their core values. Evaluating candidates’ values based on their prior work performance and experience can also help you determine if they align with your organization’s values and company culture. Consider the following example cultural questions that can help you assess candidates’ culture add:

• What did you like best about your previous role?
• How would you describe the culture at your last company?
• What is one thing you would change to improve the culture of your past workplace?
• Describe a situation in which you and a coworker worked well together. What factors do you think contributed to your positive experience?
• Describe a time when you made a tough decision. What was the result?

2. Assess personality

Certain interview questions about cultural add and inclusion can give you insight into the job candidate’s personality. Understanding a potential employee’s personality can help you determine how they get along with others, how easy they are to work with, and how effectively they perform in diverse environments. For instance, understanding a candidate’s introversion can help you determine the most suitable environment within your organization for them, especially if their qualifications and skills are the right match for the job. When you ask cultural interview questions about personality traits and unique talents, keep the following example questions in mind:

• What is one quality that you feel others don’t always recognize?
• What traits do you feel make you a successful team player?
• What do you consider to be stressful situations? How do you cope when overcoming stressful situations?
• What is your ideal work environment?
• Do you prefer to help others delegate tasks or take assignments from others?
• What is one of your strategies for improving your profession?
• Is there anything at work that you find frustrating?

3. Ask about company culture

Questions about candidates’ opinions of company culture, both past and current, can help you review candidates’ values, beliefs, and attitudes. Cultural opinion questions are also beneficial for gaining an understanding of how candidates maintain healthy work-life balances, set professional and personal boundaries, and manage their workflow and time. The following questions are examples of opinion questions you can use when outlining your interview:

• What approaches do you feel would be effective to help companies increase employee morale?
• What do you feel makes a positive work culture?
• How can managers and supervisors support employees and build trust and rapport with their teams?
• What are your views on personal time off, vacation time, and sick leave? Do you feel employees should have unlimited personal time off?

4. Prompt hypothetical situations

Hypothetical scenarios present a “what-if” situation that can give you an idea of candidates’ creativity, confidence, and ability to problem-solve by developing creative solutions. These cultural questions can also help you evaluate how a candidate’s values align with your company’s work environment, mission, and business goals. For example, if your company values initiative and resourcefulness, you might consider a candidate who responds with how they would problem-solve to achieve positive outcomes when there are limitations with resources or personnel. Here are several examples of hypothetical questions that you can ask during an interview:

• You and a team member are giving a presentation with company stakeholders, but your team member calls in sick. What would you do?
• If you had to choose between a fast-paced work environment going through constant changes versus a work environment with little to no change, which would you choose and why?
• If you had to coach a new employee who did not speak your language, how would you ensure they receive the support, training, and mentorship they need in their new role?

Cultural Interview Questions Templates for PDF & Word

Download these interview templates to ensure you hire a candidate who’s a good cultural fit.

*Indeed provides these examples as a courtesy to users of this site. Please note that we are not your HR or legal adviser, and none of these documents reflect current labor or employment regulations.