Why You Should Value Culture When Looking For a Job

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Culture is a funny, nebulous term that is difficult to define.  Yet, is an incredibly important characteristic for companies that actually drives business, growth and performance.  Some companies aren't sure what they are doing to create or define their culture.  Other companies are very purposeful to ensure they are driving their culture through their leadership and HR programs.

 When looking for a job, people overlook the importance of understanding a company's culture and whether that is the right culture for them.  In fact, people tend to focus solely on the job and ignore culture completely.  

 But what happens when you ignore the elephant in the room?  You get stomped on.

 When companies ignore their culture - or worse - create a divisive, aggressive, competitive culture - their business suffers, they lose important people and they lose market share/sales, etc.  Check out Nike.  Nike is taking a HUGE hit lately as key executives leave and stories of their culture permeate the internet:

Another Nike executive departs

Nike confirmed on Monday that its Head of Diversity and Inclusion left the company, but did not provide further details, according to Bloomberg. Antoine Andrews had been at the sportswear company since 2015. The announcement follows an evaluation of Nike’s culture amid internal complaints of workplace misconduct that resulted in the departure of two executives last month.

When the Head of Diversity leaves during culture review and reform efforts - that's a huge red flag and enough to impact the stock price negatively.  At Nike: 
Last month, two top executives, including one of the favorites to succeed Chief Executive Officer Mark Parker, were pushed out after Nike learned of inappropriate behavior at the company.
In other words, sexual misconduct, harassment, favortism or blatant discrimination is running rampant at Nike.
Of course, not every company's culture is as "in your face" as Nike.  It is YOUR job as the job seeker to learn about the company's culture and ensure it is a good fit.  Because no matter how great the pay is or how good the job is or how great it is on your resume, if the culture is toxic, you will be miserable and looking for a new job within months.
These are extremes.  Not all cultures are toxic and not all sugar and honey.  There are a myriad of cultures in between.  Harvard Business Review posted a video on the 8 types of company cultures.  The video starts by explaining that "culture eats strategy for breakfast".  In other words, if company's don't purposely value their cultures, their strategies won't succeed.  This video is worth watching to understand the importance of culture and help you understand which one is best for you.  The 8 types are:
1. Caring
2. Purpose
3. Learning
4. Enjoyment
5. Results
6. Order
7. Safety
8. Authority
When interviewing at a company, remember to Google things about the culture and read online articles that give hints about how the company values its people or how its people work with each other.  You can also ask culture-related questions during the interview to learn more about the company:

1. How do people communicate - text,email, face-to-face, etc.
2. How long have the top executives been in their roles (i.e., is there a lot of turnover)
3. Can you walk me through how a project is resourced or how the project is defined  and how the team members typically work together - do they meet daily, once a week, or just via email, etc?
4. How would you describe the culture at this company?  Is there anything you would change or wish there was more of?

These questions will lead to more questions and help you decide if this is the right place for you.  Don't ignore the culture.  Culture can - and will - be the key to your success.


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