Ask HN: Is Culture Fit Bullshit?

7 points·mgh2··5 comments

Cliques, nepotism, "fit". Humans are wired for tribes and therefore, bias and discrimination. What has been your experience?

1. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/your-culture-fit-bullshit-jeremy-turpen/

2. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17953578

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I’ve seen a startup get obliterated by bringing in an executive who was not only a poor culture fit, they absolutely despised the company culture and sought to build their own.

In the end it was like 2 companies in one. Completely different sets of values, behavior and even events planned.

Yes, culture fit is real and, despite the potential for nepotism, there is something to be said about hiring people who you feel like your team can probably work with.

In my recruiting office every time we hear a candidate is not a ‘culture fit’ the person is inevitably part of an under-represented minority. Culture fit is usually a code for a set of unwritten rules that maintain the status quo.

...don't know about that, but in my own experience it's up there with phrases like 'work hard, play hard' or 'multitask'. Red flags.

I've been at over a dozen different companies. They all had different cultures. I fit into some better than others. I even interviewed at a few and knew I wasn't a fit before the interview was done. It goes without saying that I didn't get those jobs.

Not at all, you want people who are prepared to fit in, prepared to work and are suitably good natured.

Culture fit doesn't necessary equal monoculture.

Think more "culturally compatible" or at least "we consider culture as part of the decision-making process" vs. purely assessing skills and salary cost alone.

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