It can be. Some companies (famous example:google) use "culture fit" and "share our values" to discriminate based on political views or other criteria which if

It can be. Some companies (famous example:google) use "culture fit" and "share our values" to discriminate based on political views or other criteria which if they were to be specific about it,then they would break multiple employment laws. But some have that for a good reason. I applied at a tech company recently whose product I am a fan of. Did well on the phone and in person technical interview. But after that, they kept asking how I like to work and how I felt about open office spaces(told them I can deal with it so long as I can put headphones on while doing technical work that needs concentration and that I felt some tasks are best dealt as a team while some should be developed and matured before involving others). Needless to say, I haven't heard back from them. But my point is that even I felt a bit of a cultural incompatibility( I was willing to make it work but they saw it as unworkable I guess). Frankly, I don't see how a 50 year old person (not myself,I'm in my 20s) can be culturally compatible with people young enough to be his/her grand child. Or how a coder from asia can have the same work culture as west cost americans. There is this view that the culture and values made all these tech unicorns what they are. Maybe that's true but I keep wondering whether or not the same group of smart people but culturally diverse could have acheived the same goal so long as they all agree to use rationality,communicate openly(in an inclusive way) and agree on what the goal and their role in the organization is. I like to think silicon valley startups to be more or less as culturally exclusive as 80s era IBM,bell labs or Xerox. Which is why I keep doubting the culture narrative. Smart people make smart companies and smart enough people should be smart enough to make cultural diversity work (my humble opinion).