The Culture Connection
On the QT Newsletter, The Culture Connection
October 30, 2007
Find_Your_Fit.pdf (27 KB)
Did you know? A company’s culture is as important as the job. As a matter of fact, culture clash is one of the biggest reasons new hires fail. Less experienced job seekers pay little attention to their potential employer’s workplace culture, yet finding a corporate culture that fits their values and preferences is an important component to finding satisfying work. Job seekers are generally so focused on salary and/or benefits they fail to consider the workplace culture; yet every workplace has a culture, and no two are ever alike. A company’s culture is made up of the values, beliefs, underlying assumptions, attitudes, and behaviors shared by a group of people. Culture is the behavior that results when a group arrives at a set of – generally unspoken and unwritten – rules for working together. To help your students avoid a culture mismatch here are a few ideas and tools to help them gauge a workplace culture.
Do This:
- Ask students some questions about culture relating it to what they already know. What different kinds of culture are you experiencing in your classes? How does this college culture differ from your workplace culture? Why does workplace culture matter?
- Explain that workplace culture is important to finding comfortable and satisfying work.
- Distribute the attached worksheet, Find Your Fit, and have students read and complete the activity.
- Have students form small groups with 3 to 5 others and share the kind of workplace culture that would work best for them.
- Discuss ways this information could help them when they are looking for a job.
- If students want more tips on how to find a great cultural fit, assign the Best Place to Work on-line lesson.
Want More? That new job looks great–on the surface. Here’s how Fast Company suggests you delve deep into an employer’s culture to see if it’s really a good fit. Yahoo’s Hot Jobs has some ways to help detect a company’s culture.
