FYI Candidates – April 2008
The Importance of Corporate Culture in the Job Search Process
By Orrick Nepomuceno, CPC
Kristin has been out of college for about two years. She joined a company upon graduation that she knew had a good reputation, offered fair wages, and a flexible working schedule so that she could enjoy a healthy work/life balance. Despite what she enjoys about the company, she has never quite been able to feel a true “click” between her own personality and that which seems to be the “standard” within the organization. Does this sound familiar to you?
Whether you are just starting out in search of your first position in the “real world” or you have worked, like Kristin, for a few years only to find that the company does not appear to be an extension of yourself, it is important to understand that there is more that differentiates one company from the next than just business or industry practices. The corporate culture within an organization can determine a person’s success regardless of education, training and skill. It is for this reason that it’s crucial to one’s job search to find out as much about this aspect of any company under consideration before committing to a role.
Corporate Culture Defined
In short, corporate culture can be defined as the attitudes, beliefs, values, and experiences that comprise the “personality” of an organization. According to their book, Strategic Management, authors Hill and Jones say that corporate culture is “the specific collection of values and norms that are shared by people and groups in an organization and that control the way they interact with each other and with stakeholders outside the organization”í As you may already know, values and norms shape the way that people act, react and make decisions including the way that they approach goal achievement.
What it Means For You
As you can surmise, if you are working within an organization that is founded on values and norms that differ from your own, then actions and decisions are not going to align. This means that, especially for those who are strong in spirit, it will be a constant challenge, feeling as though you are, in essence, working against the grain.
Many individuals have found themselves in such a situation and felt as though they might be able to affect change within the organization. But before you accept a position with this thought in mind, you should know that the process is long and arduous. Corporate culture is engrained—not only in policy and procedures, but also in the people. Work groups have their own languages and interactions and as anyone will tell you, most people do not like change, especially when it comes to the way they think and act. The best bet is to do your homework up-front to identify the organization that most closely aligns with your own norms and values.
How to Find Your Fit
There are some very easy ways to uncover the true culture of a corporation during the consideration/interview process.
- Look to the website for information such as culture descriptions, core values, and employee benefits.
- Get to know other employees. LinkedIn is a great resource that allows individuals to contact others for networking purposes. Leveraging tools such as this will allow you to directly ask questions that may tell you more about the corporate culture by getting to know abit about the employees which they hire.
- Read about it in the press. You can tell a lot about the values and norms of a corporation by what they agree to have written about it in the press. This can include information on anything from the charities to which they donate to the corporations with which they choose to merge.
- Ask pointed questions to the interviewer.
- How would you describe the corporate culture?
- What is the mission, vision, core values?
- Is there a policy handbook I can review? What is the approval process?
- How would you describe the hierarchical structure/ reporting lines?
- Is there a lot of red tape?
- How many team meetings would you say there are on average during a week (this will allow you insight into organizational ritual/routine and processes
- If there are stories or myths that you have heard about the organization that may sway your decision in one way or another, now is the time to verify them. Ask whether or not it’s true that you can’t park in a particular zone or whether teams get to go to Hawaii for breaking the $1M sales mark in a quarter.
Orrick Nepomuceno, CPC is Vice President at Dick Wray Executive Search and author of Hitchhiker In the Corner Office: Avoiding The Top-10 Potholes So Your Emloyees Don’t Hit The Road. Orrick is also a contributing writer to the Nation’s Resaurant News’ NRNJobPlate.com where he writes about challenges facing job seekers and offers career advice for professionals in the restaurant industry.