Organizational culture, whether it even exists or plays a crucial role in guiding and influencing employee engagement and performance, has sparked debate in the last few years. However, according to a study in 2014 done by Millennial Branding, 43% of hiring managers see “cultural fit” as the most important characteristic influencing potential hires. This shows that hiring managers struggle with finding the right individuals to fit not only the required role but also the work environment.

Hiring is a tough process. Not only do you have limited time and hundreds (or even thousands) of applicants to sort through, you also need to make a decision on who to hire based on at best an hour-long conversation. Therefore, it is crucial to use the limited time to ask the right questions. So how can you assess an applicant’s cultural fit in an interview?

What aspects do you like the most about your current job? What is lacking in your current position for you to succeed?

Instead of giving candidates a space to complain about everything that’s wrong about their current job, shake things up by having them pick out what they enjoy. This question might bring out surprising answers!

What kind of work environment makes you the best, most effective version of yourself?

Pay attention to a candidate’s self-awareness and ask them how they prefer to work. An ideal candidate will be able to refer to specific cases or environments that led to an ideal work outcome in their past. This not only shows that the candidate could reproduce these outcomes for your company but also speaks to the self-awareness and data drivenness of potential hires.

What was the best team experience you’ve had? What factors make an effective team working environment?

Are you looking for a specific team player to complete an already existing team? In that case, it is crucial to assess what role your potential hire could fill in the existing team. Use this question to assess which role the potential hire could fill in an existing team or what kind of innovation they could bring to the team.

Curious about how AIESEC can help you in the hiring process and source compatible young talent for your vacant roles? Learn more at partners.aiesec.org