What’s a culture fit interview and why does it matter

Recruiting is not always a walk in the park, especially for start-ups like sunday.

We set the bar very high to hire only the best. Our talent must be equal to our ambition: revolutionising restaurant payments.

At sunday, recruitment is based on three pillars: the applicant’s technical skills, their human qualities and the famous culture fit interview.

Behind this weird name lies something that is very important to us: hiring people who share our values (simple, trust, beyond).

The culture fit interview in a nutshell

This is it: we’re convinced we’ve got the right person for the position we’ve been trying to fill. Their CV is rock solid, their technical skills are top notch and their motivation is palpable.

But… do they share sunday’s values? Will they be happy with us? Do they share our way of doing things?

We can rely on the culture fit interview to help us make that call. For about thirty minutes, we’ll try to better understand the applicant. Their values, their vision, what drives them and what they’re looking for… everything. Because we want to make sure we’re hiring the right person.

Why does it matter?

Corporate culture is what makes us who we are. It’s only strong if it’s shared. Employees need to see themselves in sunday.

The problem? When you’re dealing with a great applicant, talent can quickly overshadow values. This is what we want to avoid.

The “culture fit” allows us not to lose our focus and to choose people who share sunday’s vision.

This is a security net for us, but it’s much more than that. Nobody wants to work in a company that doesn’t look like them. Even if it pays well and is as cool as sunday.

Why do some employees decide to leave us? Because they find it hard to adapt and don’t really fit in with us.

It’s too bad. We could probably have avoided it with a more rigorous “culture fit” interview. The tool is not 100% reliable. But when used properly, it prevents too many candidates from falling through the cracks. Powerful, isn’t it?

How to go about it?

When to have the “culture fit”

• After the usual recruitment process.

A call to evaluate their technical skills and motivation

– A case study

– A call with another sunday employee

–  The “culture fit” interview

Of course, there are other ways to do this. But that’s the way that fits us the most.

• For how long?

It only takes about 30 minutes with us. Come with a list of questions so you don’t waste time and everything should go smoothly.

These are the qualities we want to assess:
– Ambition
– Autonomy
– Proactivity
– Friendliness

• Who runs the culture fit interview?

Never the lead recruiter. Never someone from their team. Otherwise, the culture fit interview can be run by any trusted colleague.

• Some addition tips to rock the culture fit interview

We have another article about just that (lien) In two words: come prepared and don’t forget to get someone to brief you.

– Set the tone and tell the applicant what’s expected of him.
– Introduce yourself in 2 minutes, start the discussion and ask all your questions
– At the end, it’s their turn to ask questions

What questions to ask?

Our favorite questions

To help youn out, we’ve compiled a non-exhaustive list of our favorite questions. Feel free to use them and adapt them.

• Why are you looking for another job? What motivated you to do so?
• Why sunday? What do you think sunday could do for you? Do you have any particular concerns or doubts about joining us?
• If your current coworkers had to describe you in a few words, what would they say?
• Can you name a few areas where you could still improve?
• Can you share some values that are important to you, both at work and in your personal life?
• Professionally, is there an area where you know you are not very good? Why or why not?
• What makes you get out of bed in the morning? What are you passionate about?
• If you had to give me one tip to be more productive, what would it be? A tip for getting organized?
• Bonus : What are your 3 favourite restaurants? Your favourite meal?😋

There you have it, the culture fit interview ! It’s the perfect tool to determine which candidates should be able to fit in well with you. Feel free to use it when you’re finding your next talent!