
Ask HN: Define “Cultural Fit” - jerf
In the &quot;How Can We Achieve Age Diversity in Silicon Valley?&quot; [1] thread, the term &quot;cultural fit&quot; ended up coming up as one potential source of age discrimination, and the thought occured to me: What do we mean exactly when we say &quot;cultural fit&quot;?<p>If I asked you out of the blue to define as carefully as you can what you mean by &quot;cultural fit&quot;, in the context of hiring, what would you say?<p>[1]:https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=10412284 , for posterity
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shostack
The short answer from the standpoint of someone who has "culture" near the top
of their list when considering whether I want to accept an opportunity:

"Are these people sufficiently like me in terms of beliefs, personality, past
experiences, goals, etc. such that I'm likely to have minimal conflicts based
on these things, and maximize the likelihood of enjoying going to work every
day."

Notice not once did I mention age in there. However age could obviously be a
factor. The reality is, I'm at a different point in my life than someone fresh
out of school.

\- I have a wife who gets upset and eats without me if I'm not home for dinner
by a certain time, so I don't often go out for dinner with colleagues on
Thursdays.

\- I have a mortgage, so no, I'm not willing to work for free/peanuts and
options that are claimed to be worth millions (oh, and 4 year vesting + 1 year
cliff).

\- I value my free time because I want to work to live, not live to work.
"Work/life balance" vies for the top spot on my consideration list along with
"culture" for this reason. I have no interest in killing myself for a fixed
income. I will do my job, do it exceptionally well, and put in the hours when
necessary, but I want to work with people who know how to shut work off and
have a life.

Age is a variable that correlates with a propensity for being in a certain
"life stage." That is why it is near impossible to separate from this
discussion. When more companies are willing to pay the senior compensation
that such experience justifies, and make work/life balance a core part of
their company, that will help. But I don't think it will ever disappear
because if you want to work with others "like you," you have a more likely
chance of finding those people if they are the same age.

