With exception, there are no job descriptions that don’t make some reference to the ‘cultural fit’, which has become a focus of career alignment and candidate selection today. In many cases, it’s even more important to the hiring community than the skill set.
The hiring community, by doing its job properly should dig deep into a candidate’s head as we represent a client because it’s the right thing to do. We earn their trust by finding the best suitable applicant, but the ‘cultural fit’ has become such a high priority, it sometimes diffuses the real objective, which is getting the best skill sets in front of the client. Culture is ambiguous. It’s almost a ‘buzz word’ and it’s difficult to truly define. It sometimes overshadows the skill sets and the abilities necessary to ‘do the job’. What exactly does ‘culture’ mean?
I know from the requests I get and the people I discuss search with, it follows a personality path more than anything else. I think it’s a bit short sighted to focus on the cultural needs before we consider the ‘skills’ that are required to getting the job done.
Without question, we want to surround ourselves with people that are like-minded and ‘fit’ into the work environment and the philosophy we have in place. Isn’t that obvious? We don’t want to hire a disruptive energy. That would be counterproductive to getting things done. However, that seems to be a primary concern today.
I don’t want to minimize the significance of the cultural fit – it is important and it is definitely relevant to creating a successful relationship and team. However, at the end of the day – can this person meet the requirements necessary to ‘do the job’? Are they prepared, equipped and do they just have the skills essential to meet the demands and get things done? We don’t all need to be best friends. Yes, we need to get along, but more than that, we need to get things accomplished and achieve the end goal…. RESULTS.
I would choose awareness and common sense as the definition of ‘cultural fit’ qualities. I think it’s simple and shouldn’t be so thick in the consideration of making a good choice for hiring. I want someone with talent, skills that completely align with the job, someone that can process things quickly and someone that can communicate well. That in of itself should be enough. Clearly, if they can do all that – they will be a ‘good fit’.
What I want is someone that is passionate and more than anything else, someone that is deeply committed. Being my friend, being culturally appropriate does not offer insurance that you will do a good job. I want you to come in, evaluate your responsibilities and the task at hand and take ownership. I want you to step up and deliver.
I want someone that recognizes, as a team, we need to work together. Are they fully engaged in the job description and can they read between the lines and understand the true essence of the job that I want them to do. Did they prepare properly for the interview and can they make me feel confident that if I choose to bring them in – they will, in fact, be able to do this job and do it really well. In a perfect world, I want what I call the LLC – Low, Learning, Curve. Will this new hire show me that they will get their head around things quickly and find a rhythm and hook into the system? That’s a good cultural fit – someone determined and committed to figuring it out and makes the job easy for all of the people they work with.
That’s the culture I want them to be a part of.