Questions to Ask During an Interview About Corporate Culture

25 July 2022

Picture this: it’s interview day, the day you’ve been preparing weeks for. If you ace this interview, you’ll land a lucrative job in I.T. staffing. All the time you’ve put into researching and preparing has led to this. You nail your responses to the questions the interviewer has asked. Then they say, “Do you have any questions for me?” and your mind goes blank.

Don’t let this moment define your interview. Offering both responses and questions is essential. When an interview becomes a discussion rather than merely a probing session, it allows the hiring manager to become acquainted with you, and it also allows you to get a feel for your potential future workplace. One way you can demonstrate you are a good candidate during your interview is to be curious about what a job at a technology talent firm would look like for you.

One common point of interest for interviewees for I.T. firms is their culture. Asking questions about this during your interview shows the interviewer you’re curious about who the company is, what they stand for, and their purpose. It is also a way to get a glimpse at how the company treats its employees and who you will be working with.

Here are examples of questions about corporate culture that you can incorporate during your interview:

Can you share a time when the company’s culture motivated you to work or helped you through a situation?

 This is a way to get a glimpse of the company’s culture without simply asking, “What is your culture like?” Questions like this open the door to a variety of responses, but it is a way to hear a personal anecdote from the hiring manager. If the interviewer shares how their company rewards the hardest-working employees with a free trip each year, for example, it demonstrates that their culture is appreciative and challenging. No matter what type of response you receive, it is a way for the interviewer to show rather than tell what an employee’s life is like at their company.

What are the company’s plans for growth and development?

Successful people have a desire to learn and grow, especially in the workplace. During your interview, you should explore the company’s plans for the future to ensure you’ll be happy there for the long term. If you can see yourself fitting into the objectives the organization is working towards, then it is likely they are a good match for your career path. The way a company grows and develops will in turn influence how you grow and develop professionally. This question ensures that your goals align with theirs and that you set yourself up for success.

How do employees re-motivate each other when objectives are not reached?

An element of company culture is the relationships of its employees. Asking questions about how employees build each other up during difficult times is vital to understanding the foundation of culture. In an organization, it is important that employees are able to celebrate each other’s successes but also receive encouragement when they fail. Meaningful connections make employees feel more fulfilled in the workplace which therefore motivates them to be successful both individually and collectively. If you get an understanding of how your relationships with your coworkers will be, then you’ll know how you would be supported at the company.

When interviewing for a job, it is important to ask questions about all factors that represent your potential workplace. One of those factors, culture, is what your day-to-day life, career path, and relationships will look like. Culture is the core of your enjoyment and overall satisfaction with an organization; make sure you can see yourself embodying the firm’s values and everything it stands for.