

Guess Who Doesn’t Fit in at Work - 001sky
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/31/opinion/sunday/guess-who-doesnt-fit-in-at-work.html 

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fsk
Hiring for "cultural fit" means "let our bias roam free".

It makes me wonder why I bothered learning how to write software, if employers
are going to reject me for being a "bad cultural fit". If you're different in
any way, that means you don't get a job?

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pauleastlund
Everywhere I've worked and to my knowledge everywhere I've interviewed has
considered culture fit. I don't think it's always as pernicious as you're
describing. When done right, hiring for culture fit means some combination of
"don't hire people who aren't excited to work here" and "don't hire assholes,
no matter how well they code." Both of those are important filters, and I
don't think either of them is unfair to the applicant.

Unfortunately I've also seen teams where it meant "don't hire anyone who isn't
a workaholic," and teams where it meant something like "don't hire anyone who
is going to wreck the hard-partying vibe of the workplace." (I've never seen
anything nearly as crazy as "don't hire Yankees fans.") It sucks to get
rejected for a job because the current team all hangs out and they don't think
you'd dig the vibe. It would also probably suck to get hired into a team
that's also a close-knit social group that you aren't particularly interested
in joining. I think the takeaway is that if you get rejected for a team for
being a bad cultural fit you've probably dodged a bullet anyway. Go find a job
with a team that knows how to make people of all ages and stripes feel
welcome.

EDIT: I just remembered my favorite "culture fit" interview question of all
time. I was head of engineering at a startup that was interviewing around with
potential acquirers. I was talking to a senior engineer at one of the
companies. He ran me through a couple simple warm-up questions and then hit me
with the big one: "If we acquire you, are you likely to up and quit in two
months?" I stuttered for about two minutes.

It was a great question! In hindsight, I almost certainly would have. We both
dodged a bullet there!

~~~
EliRivers
_don 't hire people who aren't excited to work here_

That sounds to me like what they actually want are people who will put a lot
into their work and strive hard to do well.

Sounds to me like their interview process and interviewers suck so badly that
the only way they can tell if that's the case is if the candidate is excited,
and they will be rejecting every candidate who would do want they want
because, for example, they're a conscientious professional. Because
ultimately, who gives a damn if someone is "excited" to work there? Surely
what should matter most to the company is how good a job they're going to do.

