“Birds of a feather, flock together” as the saying goes is also very well and alive in today’s workplace. If you are considering a change in your job, career, or company, be sure to shop around carefully to determine if the organizations culture is a good fit for you. Much like shopping for a new home, you scrutinize numerous factors to ensure you will be happy in the environment. Shopping for a new position is similar. After all you will be spending minimally 40 hour a week working alongside individuals who are perfect strangers.
For many folks considering employment changes, the all-too-common mindset is, “I hope the company likes me” or “I really want to work as XYZ because I’ve heard that they offer [insert whatever you heard”]. While these are certainly things to consider, putting your self in an inferior role does not always set yourself up for the best outcome.
By flipping your mindset to determining what is best for you and your needs will not only make you more attractive to the employer, but it will also help you make the best decision for your next move.
On the inside of the organization, recruiters, hiring leaders, and human resources folks are busy assessing candidates. They are not only looking for skill sets but even more importantly, looking for candidates with similar behavioral qualities.
While the ideal scenario is to balance out team members with diversified characteristics, behavioral attributes, and skills, many leaders continue to hire the same type of person, over and over and over. This is not necessarily the best for the department but it does explain why an outsider might make the statement, “ever notice that everyone working at XYZ is similar?”
With that said, there will always be some similarities from a bird’s eye view of the organization as recruiters are screening for culture fit.
To be part of a culture in an organization goes far beyond your level of education, skills set, or experience. Culture fit is a way of thinking, behaving, and working.
Tips to help you assess culture include:
1) Studying the website and take into consideration the branding, logo, colors used, and overall look/feel that you get through both images and verbiage. The branding of an organization is telling. Lots of red means, high powered, confident, and passionate. Blue translates into trust, loyalty, and intelligence. Green tells a story of newness, fresh ideas, and growth.
2) Read the company mission statement, various job descriptions, and examine the philanthropic organizations that the company supports.
3) Does the company have real employees on their websites with testimonials? If yes, don’t be afraid to ask during your interview to tell you more about the employees pictured; “I noticed the employees on the website. How are they selected? Can you tell me more about the engagement of the organization.”
The responses that you receive by asking these questions sends a message that you have thoroughly researched the company and you are seriously considering the culture of the organization as being a right fit for you.
These are just a few clues to start your process in identifying culture fit and flocking birds. For more information on brand identification, personal branding, or assessing the “right-fit” employer or position for you, please visit my website.
