5 ms·

I think this can be true in some cases; however, it's also nice to look for things like: * Does this person think they're above grunt work / taking out the tras

I think this can be true in some cases; however, it's also nice to look for things like: * Does this person think they're above grunt work / taking out the trash? * Does this person work better in a position where they take on responsibilities as they see fit or would they rather have work given to them? Neither one of those are captured in the "data-driven" hiring process; however, they are key in our particular company's culture. And yes... years of experience can be dismissed simply if the candidate thinks they're above everyone else.

vonmoltke 10y ago
I think those are more about professionalism and work style than culture.
- mc32 10y ago
  That's a distinction without much difference. but that said, yes, a culture fit focused hiring practice has dangers in it. Hiring form the same class and background, etc. (which happens in tech, finance, as well as your ethnic grocery store).
  - mdorazio 10y ago
    I have to disagree. Professionalism is not the same as culture. Every employee should strive to be professional and every company should strive to hire only people who demonstrate professionalism in their demeanor, communications, interpersonal relationships, etc. That's very different from "culture" as many HR departments see it, where fuzzy criteria cover everything from humor style to hobbies to age and gender.
- dragonwriter 10y ago
  > I think those are more about professionalism and work style than culture. "professionalism" is one particular set of features of culture (and different people use the term to describe slightly different feature sets, but each definition is a set of culture features), and "work style" is a synonym for workplace culture.
  - vonmoltke 10y ago
    > "work style" is a synonym for workplace culture Only if a workplace chooses to enforce a particular style. Otherwise, it is an individual variation that a good organization tries to work with. On professionalism, I think it comes down to how you use the word "culture". Yes, professionalism is an aspect of culture in the larger sense, but one which I think should transcend the cultures of individual organizations. Most of the surface variation in professionalism are the little things that vary by geographic location and industry and should not vary by company.
    - dragonwriter 10y ago
      > Only if a workplace chooses to enforce a particular style. No, the actual work style practiced in the workplace is an element of workplace culture whether or not a uniform style is enforced (whether or not a uniform style is enforced is, itself, an element of the workplace culture.)
mdorazio 10y ago
I agree with vonmoltke - those are not "culture fit" criteria, but rather basic professionalism and "not an asshole" criteria. There's a big difference between that and the Airbnb-type stories where tech companies are turning down candidates who don't demonstrate a love of the company's product and people to the point of wanting to give up everything else in life for them.

vonmoltke 10y ago

I think those are more about professionalism and work style than culture.

mc32 10y ago
That's a distinction without much difference. but that said, yes, a culture fit focused hiring practice has dangers in it. Hiring form the same class and background, etc. (which happens in tech, finance, as well as your ethnic grocery store).
- mdorazio 10y ago
  I have to disagree. Professionalism is not the same as culture. Every employee should strive to be professional and every company should strive to hire only people who demonstrate professionalism in their demeanor, communications, interpersonal relationships, etc. That's very different from "culture" as many HR departments see it, where fuzzy criteria cover everything from humor style to hobbies to age and gender.
dragonwriter 10y ago
> I think those are more about professionalism and work style than culture. "professionalism" is one particular set of features of culture (and different people use the term to describe slightly different feature sets, but each definition is a set of culture features), and "work style" is a synonym for workplace culture.
- vonmoltke 10y ago
  > "work style" is a synonym for workplace culture Only if a workplace chooses to enforce a particular style. Otherwise, it is an individual variation that a good organization tries to work with. On professionalism, I think it comes down to how you use the word "culture". Yes, professionalism is an aspect of culture in the larger sense, but one which I think should transcend the cultures of individual organizations. Most of the surface variation in professionalism are the little things that vary by geographic location and industry and should not vary by company.
  - dragonwriter 10y ago
    > Only if a workplace chooses to enforce a particular style. No, the actual work style practiced in the workplace is an element of workplace culture whether or not a uniform style is enforced (whether or not a uniform style is enforced is, itself, an element of the workplace culture.)

mdorazio 10y ago

I agree with vonmoltke - those are not "culture fit" criteria, but rather basic professionalism and "not an asshole" criteria. There's a big difference between that and the Airbnb-type stories where tech companies are turning down candidates who don't demonstrate a love of the company's product and people to the point of wanting to give up everything else in life for them.