Stop asking “What is company culture like?” » during job interviews: 3 best alternatives

Brianna Doe has plenty of experience on both sides of the hiring game.

She’s been working in marketing for about a decade, started leading job interviews seven years ago, and as the founder of her own agency, Verbatim, will soon be hiring her own full-time staff for the first time .

All of this is to say that she knows that not all job interview questions are good ones.

“When I was looking for a job on my own, I didn’t always ask the right questions for myself or for the employer to know me and what I’m looking for,” Doe told CNBC Make It .

One question that stands out that she hears all the time: “What’s the company culture like?” »

It’s an important assessment to make — company culture is a top priority for many workers — and “sometimes you’ll get a good answer,” Doe says.

But often, she continues, “What I found was that it was just too vague or generic. And so when I asked that question, I would get ready-made answers: ‘We We have a great culture” or “We really focus on collaboration.

Letting go of generic answers isn’t always a good idea.

“I had to learn it the hard way,” Doe says. She remembers once accepting an offer from a company that didn’t explain its culture. After joining the company, she wished she was better prepared for the workplace she was entering.

Looking back on that experience, she realized she needed to think a little harder: “What is important to me in the company culture? What does this mean for me? And what questions can I ask to specifically get those answers?

Here Doe shares three alternative questions to ask in a job interview to get a better sense of a company’s culture:

What are the common themes you find among your top performers?

It’s Doe’s No. 1 question to ask in job interviews and “kills two birds with one stone,” she says.

By asking this question, the interviewer will give you an idea of what it takes to thrive in the company.

Plus, Doe says, “I also get a sense of what’s important to the person I’m talking to, whether it’s the hiring manager or a team member, like a future colleague .”

You’ll want to evaluate whether their descriptions of high performance match yours, says Doe.

For example, some people will say that high performers “work as many hours as they need to” or “put their work before everything else,” she says.

But a more apt description might be that “the best performers are those who truly seek professional growth and who step up regardless of their job title,” she adds.

What would the first 30 days look like for the person in this role?

Doe says she also learned the importance of asking this specific question from a bad experience.

She spent the beginning of her career working for “lean start-ups” that didn’t have much of an onboarding process or onboarding experience to help her settle into her new roles.

“It was kind of expected that you would go out there and start getting results,” Doe says. This meant she didn’t get basic information about the company or how her work contributed to its top priorities.

Asking this question can help you understand what you’re getting into, the support you’ll have learning the ropes of your role and the company, and the expectations of your hiring manager and team, says Doe.

How will success be measured in the first 90 days? In first year ?

Asking this question will help you understand how prepared your team is for you to join, although the “best” answer is up for interpretation.

“Some teams will have a very clear understanding of the role, the impact of the role, and how they measure success,” says Doe. This, in turn, means you will have clearer expectations for the goals you will need to achieve, and you may feel better prepared for success from the start.

On the other hand, Doe says the hiring manager may not have a clear idea of the metrics for success in the role. This could be the case if it’s a new job or if the company’s priorities have changed since the position opened.

Whether this is an exciting opportunity or a game-changer depends on what you’re looking for.

“As job seekers, some people like to go into positions where they have to deal with the company, and others don’t,” says Doe. “Some want very clear indicators of success from the start.”

Keep in mind that in general, “the more prepared the team is for this new hire, the better off they are,” says Doe. “You can’t be successful if they haven’t defined success in the first place.”

Do you want to land the job of your dreams? Take CNBC’s new online course How to ace your job interview to learn what hiring managers are really looking for, body language techniques, what to say and what not to say, and the best way to talk about compensation. Use discount code NEWGRAD to get 50% off from 05/1/24 – 06/30/24.

Additionally, sign up for CNBC Make It’s newsletter for tips and tricks for success at work, with money and in life.