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When Choosing An Employer, Culture Matters

When determining whether an employer is the right fit for you, it is important to find out about its culture. Companies are as different as the people who work there and run the business. For better and worse, culture and leadership are inextricably linked. Founders and influential leaders often set the initial culture of their organizations. Over time an organization’s leaders can also shape culture, through both conscious and unconscious actions.

We all, no doubt click with certain people when we meet them and don't click well when we meet others. Likewise there are companies that we will find ourselves comfortable working for and others where we will not. You don't want to join a company only to discover later that the organization belongs in the latter category.

Culture may not be a major factor when choosing an employer as what kind of work you'll be doing, the amount you'll be paid, and the benefits you'll be receiving. But your happiness and job satisfaction over the years will hinge on whether you’ve been comfortable in your employer’s culture. Comfort makes you more productive, and productivity always lies behind success, no matter the career. That’s why considering culture, a company’s living and breathing personality, is so critical when you’re looking for a job.

Defining Culture

Culture is the tacit social order of an organization: It shapes attitudes and behaviors in wide-ranging and durable ways. Cultural norms define what is encouraged, discouraged, accepted, or rejected within a group. When properly aligned with personal values, drives, and needs, culture can unleash tremendous amounts of energy toward a shared purpose and foster an organization’s capacity to thrive.

Culture is a group phenomenon. It cannot exist solely within a single person, nor is it simply the average of individual characteristics. It resides in shared behaviors, values, and assumptions and is most commonly experienced through the norms and expectations of a group—that is, the unwritten rules.

Culture permeates multiple levels and applies very broadly in an organization; sometimes it is even conflated with the organization itself. It is manifest in collective behaviors, physical environments, group rituals, visible symbols, stories, and legends. Other aspects of culture are unseen, such as mindsets, motivations and unspoken assumptions.

Find The Right Fit For You

When you first begin your job-search and begin to interview, you might be tempted to accept the first offer from an organization that will hire you. But it would be a mistake to ignore the culture of the organization!

You might be a Type A workaholic; your new employer a laid back, quiet place that locks up its doors at exactly fifteen minutes past 5:00 p.m. If you are used to working late into the night, you can see where there would be a problem. Don't find yourself in that situation. Don't be so quick to accept a job offer. Getting an offer is a great thing, but for your long-term success, you need to at least consider culture fit.

If you’re an early-career job seeker, you may not quite know what sort of culture you’re looking for yet. But it will start to become clear as you go to interviews and listen to your gut feelings about whether you feel comfortable there.

In the meantime, you can ask your networking contacts about their views on the subject. Everyone has different priorities and preferences, of course. Some people will tell you they made their job decision based on the pace of the work or the company’s attitudes about work-life balance. Others may tell you about more unusual considerations. For my friend, a hedge-fund manager for a large investment company, the fresh juice bar in the employee lounge, and the culture of managers using that resource to build morale and have fun, helped make it a good fit. But regardless of the specifics, most, if not all, of the successful people you talk to will agree that culture is a crucial factor for any job seeker to consider.

Culture Indicators

So, how do you find out about a company’s culture before you work there? Sometimes a company’s advertising will aim to communicate something about its personality. But be careful of putting too much stock in these branding campaigns. They’re nowhere near as reliable a barometer of culture as your own intuition on interview day.

Notice people, not the ones you are interviewing with, but others you see in hallways and work-spaces. Do they seem happy? How much stress do you see in their faces? How are they dressed? Office space says something about the culture. Do people have pictures and personal items on display at their work-station or desk, or is the scene stark and cold? What are the facilities like? Is there an employee workout room or a really nice break area? What about other resources that are important to you? You can learn a lot from the company break room. Are there notices about the company softball team, a bowling league, yoga classes, or other activities that appeal to you? Does the company have family-friendly policies, such as in-house day care and good maternity and paternal leave (sometimes called family leave)? Does anyone even talk about subjects like these?

Some companies offer perks such as snack bars and gym memberships, which seem great—but can come with tradeoffs. Is the employer using these benefits as incentives to keep workers on the job from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.?

There aren’t strictly “good” cultures or “bad” cultures. It’s all about what works for you. Companies with a range of personalities can be equally successful. At one company I know well it seems to be “casual day” every day, and people meet in nooks and crannies off hallways or in the large, open library. Another company has a formal, buttoned-up look, with meetings held only in swanky executive offices. It’s like the difference between Birkenstock sandals and a Brooks Brothers suit. Each company is great at what they do. But depending on your personality, you’d probably be more comfortable at one or the other. The crucial thing is to figure out what your prospective employer’s culture is and consider whether it will be a good fit for you. Never ignore visible signs that you may not be happy there.

Remember, if you find an employer with a culture that you can fit into, its a great thing. Don't delude yourself into thinking that you can overcome the obstacles posted by some glaring culture issue. If it smells funny and it looks funny, try to avoid stepping in it.

Some people wake up and dread their way to work..thinking about how much they are unsatisfied with their job and all the reasons why they do what they do. While others wake up everyday wishing they have a job to go thru. Kept trying but keep failing. Why is it the ones that want work can’t work? And the ones that work hated work??

Used to work both night and day shifts. I definitely enjoyed night ones cuz our team worked together really well and we set our own goals to accomplish for the shift and nearly always exceeded them. Day shift was a bit different as we had management constantly involved so it went a lot slower. Overall though i really enjoyed spending time with my coworkers and getting things done. Happy to have been there and definitely recommend it for people looking for a job to build a good work ethic and teamwork skills.

I am a manager now at papa johns but I started off making pizzas and it could get pretty busy, but we were a hard-working crew and we usually got through it. Though there was this one day when it was pouring out and the orders just kept coming in and in. We were seriously killing ourselves trying to get pizzas out the door and our manager was right there with us slapping dough and helping us through by making jokes while he did it. I didn’t know him that well at that point but I really respected him after seeing that. I regularly do the same now that I'm in his shoes. Managers take note and always roll up your sleeves and help out when your staff needs an extra set of hands!

Every Job I've had I either got let go or didn't fit in or the businesses going out or its temporary... I'm a single hearing impaired mother raising a Child that's doesn't have a father in his life since he was born... I don't get child support and any help like peach state and food stamp... All I got is my very tired mother helping us out while I'm trying to find a good job but no luck... I am very educated hard worker and determine woman... Please help me find a good job So I can continue to support my Son and ease my mother's mind...

You have the skills, experience and credentials. But what about that "something else" the interviewers are seeking? Will you be a good fit for the company? And -- as important -- is the company a good fit for you? Here's what to expect in a "cultural interview": https://www.thebalancecareers.com/assess-cultural-fit-when-interviewing-candidates-1918087

I was working for a roofing company and felt like I wasn't getting no where and started to not feel comfortable at work no more. So I had to make a decision to either stay until I got another job or quit. I decided to quit cause I couldn't take it no more and went back to my old warehouse job I was at for 3yrs and after two weeks being back got let go because a manager from a whole other shift didn't want me in the building because he didn't like me and made up some things about me. So then my corporate manager of the company I was working for got me a job at another warehouse and I'm currently there now. So it just to say never give up, keep your head above clouds and pray and trust in God things will eventually get better. Sometimes I have doubts but in my life I've learned theirs up and downs and my mistakes factor into that. So just do the right thing and live life as pure as you can and think before you react. Never give up and always shoot for the stars. Stay Blessed!!!

I have worked for this fastener company for last 2 years. I did work hard and worked 3 peoples jobs. I took care of my own accounts, 2 OEM accounts, I worked as an office manager and also my VP’s secretary. With no rewards coming, I was being used just to do these manual jobs and I was so done with it. People started to look down on me and finally I got a new job offer in banking as a Market Segment Specialist, put 2 weeks. Current employer wants to make a counter offer and my VP did not even talked to anyone to his boss until the last minutes and he came up with a counter offer completely nothing to do with the sales jobs that I wanted. And everyone hates me because I am leaving of course now they have to fulfill my duties as well. This is complete waste of my time and emotions. I just want another week to be fly by so I can start fresh. I am not going to even consider the counter offer.