How to Show Hiring Managers You’re a Culture Fit

When going through the hiring process, you always want to make your best impression to hopefully be offered a job when it’s all said and done. While 82% of companies say they think measuring cultural fit is important, though, it can be difficult to convey you are, indeed, the right cultural for the organization to which you’re applying. It can be especially difficult to not come off as too eager or willing to fit in, as well. How do you find the right balance? Check out these tips:

Do Your Research

It’s the age-old advice everyone gives; do your research on the company you’re interviewing with. We’re not just talking about recent press releases and scanning their website right before the interview, though. Take the time to really delve into what it’s like to work for that company like Glassdoor reviews and perusing their social media accounts. A study found 70% of candidates use social during the consideration phase of their job search process. You can learn a lot from an organization’s Instagram account. Take the knowledge you gain and add it into your cover letter to show how your past experience aligns with what they’re all about. Refer to what you saw during your research in your interview, as well. For example, if you saw your potential new team volunteered for Habitat for Humanity together this summer which happens to be your favorite non-profit organization, let the hiring manager know! It’ll let them know you took the time to do your research and have a passion for the work they do outside of the office as a team.

Use caution, though, when referring to your findings to not sound overly obsessed. We all have our dream company to work for and if this one happens to be yours, it may be easy to spook them with a reference from social media creeping that shows how obsessed you really are about being part of the team there. It’s completely fine to have a dream job but play it cool and reference the things that stand out the most like team bonding activities once a month and their apparent work ethic. Try to refrain from mentioning the VP’s sister’s husband’s cute puppy that came into the office 3 months ago, though.

Read: How to Use the Force in Your Job Hunt: Finding Your Dream Job

Convey Your Values

While doing your research on the company, you’ll likely run into their core values whether promptly displayed on the website or just conveyed through the work they do and the way the organization is ran. These could be teamwork, leadership, social responsibility, product durability, etc. Make an effort to show the hiring manager your values align with the organizations within your cover letter and during the interview.

For example, do they constantly talk about the value of teamwork and what it means to work together? Be sure to use we instead of I and me when talking about past projects you’ve done. Is it a customer-oriented organization? Use your past examples to demonstrate you know the importance of customer service and how you strive to always put them first. Some organizations assess values through an assessment taken beforehand, so it’s important to be honest with yourself for each question.

Read: Building a Values Based Organization: 6 Tips

Show Your Passion for the Industry

If your passions truly align with the industry to which you’re applying, it’ll surely shine through on your resume and the way you talk about your work in the interview. Getting nervous throughout a one-on-one interview happens to all of us, though, and can hinder your ability to accurately convey your passions to the hiring manager. If you can’t rely on your nerves to keep it cool, preparing is the next best thing. Make sure to rehearse responses or key phrases to commonly asked questions that help depict your passion for the work the company is doing. Do you love your potential employer’s product? Let them know but make sure to mention why and how it seems to perfectly align with your passions. The feelings you have toward a company in terms of career-love don’t let the hiring manager know why you’d do well in their work environment, you have to go a bit farther in your explanations.

What are some ways you show cultural fit throughout the hiring process? Let us know! @RedBranch

The Branchers

We build the best damn marketing campaigns on the planet. And we do it for industries and companies you might not identify as easy to market (right away). Working here takes a very special kind of person.