E is for… What is your ideal working ENVIRONMENT ?
This may not be the specific question you get, but usually an interview will include a workplace environment or work culture question to allow the interviewer to get a feel for whether you would fit in to the team, the workplace environment or culture. When answering a question like this you need to be careful to show that you are a good match for their working environment.
When researching a company and preparing for an interview try to include some research into their workplace environment or culture by speaking to people who work there or have worked there, using their website and social media feeds for insights and drawing parallels to previous experience to add some weight to what you are saying.
If you have been unable to do specific research in advance of your interview you will need to keep to general statements highlighting what you expect the workplace environment to be and focus on the positives.
Using your career journal will help you find inspiration for Interview Questions and help you prepare, practice and review your answers. This can be a great technique which is why I have chosen to use the A to Z of Interview Questions Posts as Journal Prompts. If you don’t already have a career journal this is the perfect excuse to get started.
We just went through interviews at work to hire a new aide. Only a few candidates asked us “why do you enjoy working here?” which gave us an opportunity to describe the collaborative and team environment we foster. That is the main thing we look for in a candidate– how will they “fit” with the team and the culture we have carefully cultivated. Nice topic.
Do you enjoy working here is a fantastic question – I love asking that question as a candidate, usually gives me a real feel for a place.
I agree, a lot of companies are just as interested in a corporate fit as they are in having the best qualified candidate. Now that does not mean they will hire anyone off the street who fits the culture but more when it comes down to a handful of qualified candidates, the one who fits the culture is more likely to get he offer than the one who is ‘the best’ qualified.
*~MAJK~*
A-to-Z Challenge 2014
Mighty Minion of Co-Host Nicole Ayers
@Safireblade on Twitter
http://www.safireblade.com/
Absolutely – it can be the difference between getting the job and being down to the final few.
Thanks for stopping by.