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Comment by LanceH | Hacker News Reader

A big classifier I've seen that gets put under "cultural fit" is the "it's not my job" problem. A startup can't have people saying that, but big enterprise companies live by it. Some people just can't transition from one to the other.

I've found in interviews that some people expect to do exactly what their credentials have prepared them for. At least for the places I've worked, that's insufficient for programming and other tech.

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True, one of the few ways that I have seen "cultural fit" used meaningfully is in this context.

Hiring for a startup : "They seem like more of a big-company type"

Hiring for a big company: "They seem like more of a startup type"

It's not really company specific.

My first job involving any real technical work was as a PC repair technician in a small independent store. One day the owner told one of the other technicians to empty the garbage can because it was overflowing and everyone else was busy. The other tech refused and went on some bullshit rant about how he was a computer technician, not a garbageman. That made a real impression on me and since then I've tried to pitch in and do whatever needs doing regardless of whether it's in my explicit job description or not.

> I've tried to pitch in and do whatever needs doing regardless of whether it's in my explicit job description or not.

IME this is also how you have the most fun at work, provided that the "extra" tasks you take on aren't particularly unpleasant.

"Not my job" may be due to dysfunctional team dynamics, where team-members are not empowered enough to feel secure about their areas of responsibility.

Basically, a situation when the areas are guarded (via seniority, permissions, available info), yet the performance or interest is no longer there. This way the responsibilities are fuzzy on purpose. "A team-player doesn't say No... - if not you, then who?!"

Ideally, a collaboraive team should not restrict the information flow, yet that's how the hierarchy works. The Boss knows, the minions infer.

Do you mean that the candidate is too inclined to say "that's not my job" when they might be called upon to perform tasks that lie outside their narrow area of focus?

I'm not slamming someone for saying that. At a huge company they will be exactly right and may fit in great there. If they can't change that opinion when working at a startup, maybe they aren't the best employee #7.

"I like to work on a team with strictly defined roles."

"I like to know exactly what I'm working on from day to day."

"I prefer to have my worked planned out weeks/months/years in advance."

All three valid, but not necessarily great for a startup.

For what it's worth, I would enthusiastically agree with all three of those statements, and I have no desire to ever work at a startup. I did once, years ago, and I hated it. Never again.

I'd prefer to work for the most enterprisey company that ever enterprised. I'm pretty happy at the B2B telecom where I work now, even.

(And, yes, I'm agreeing with you and providing a data point in your favor.)

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