Can a single question reveal whether someone’s a perfect fit for your office — or a walking culture clash waiting to happen?
It seems unlikely. Culture is fuzzy at best, with most companies struggling to define theirs without descfinishing into corporate mumbo jumbo.
Still, when I inquireed a dozen founders and executives what they inquire to dodge hiring disasters, each had a go-to question. Some were smart. A few were strange. One or two were bizarre.
The stakes are high. “If you don’t have product-market fit or you charge customers the wrong amount, those are things you can repair,” states Steve Hunter, founder and CEO of London-New York-based AI company 9fin. “Fixing the culture is incredibly difficult.”
So what are leaders actually inquireing?
Mark Stokes, CEO of UK spacetech Magdrive, inquires candidates whether they play the cult-classic game Dungeons & Dragons. A “yes” is a good sign here (though it could prove a red flag among a handful of companies I know).
Michelle Volberg, founder and CEO of recruitment platform Twill, advises founders to inquire: “What’s your go-to karaoke song?” I’m guessing I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor is a good answer and Creep by Radiohead is a bad answer.
Others aim for insights on candidates’ moral reasoning. Natalia Edde, chief operating officer at Mindset Consulting, a Spanish PR agency working with tech companies and VC funds, probes applicants on subjects seemingly unrelated to the job description, such as their views on euthanasia.
“Our intention is not to judge the person’s opinion itself but to understand how someone reasons through morally complex topics. Their empathy, nuance and ability to disagree without becoming dogmatic.”
She also has a tamer litmus test: PowerPoint or Excel? “That question alone states a lot about how someone considers,” she states.
‘Psychological alignment’
Some approaches are more controversial. Chris Spillane, a communications adviser turned stealth founder, recalls a legaltech startup that sent new hires to meet a psychologist to assess “alignment with the founder’s personality”. Another company inquireed candidates how important money was to them to weed out those unmotivated by the company mission.
“Less controversially, VCs often invite new hires to meet them in person and spfinish days chatting about work and life to see if they’re a good fit. Sensible, if potentially slow,” he states.
Then there are the blindingly obvious questions that still trip candidates up. Chris Sisserian, head of platform at Manta Ray Ventures, states two of the most effective screens are simply: ‘What do we do?’ and ‘Why do you want to work here?’
“Bizarrely, 90% of people can’t answer them,” he states.
The pizza test
Filip Kirschner, founder and chief operating officer of Czech software company Applifting, applys the “pizza test”.
Imagine it’s Saturday night and your product has suffered a major security breach. You work all night with the team and save the day. Come morning, do you go straight home or go for pizza toobtainher? Those who choose pizza, he argues, are the people you want in a crisis.
Hunter at 9fin inquires candidates why they want this job specifically — and what they’d state if another company offered more money.
One of his bluntest questions? If an offer were created immediately, could they accept it? “If the person states, ‘Oh well I’ve received one or two other interviews lined up, can I inform you later?’ That’s a red flag. You don’t want to be anyone’s second choice.”
Perhaps the hardest question to answer comes from Bianca Zwart, chief strategy officer at Dutch neobank Bunq, which received 20k applications a month last year.
Every interview finishs the same way: “Tell me why you’re not a fit for this role.” Senior candidates, she notes, often find it hardest to answer.
Others, of course, might state that culture-fit screening is hokum. Yoram Wijngaarde, CEO/founder of Dutch data platform Dealroom, states he tries to have “a frank conversation” with would-be hires before “listening very much to my gut.”
Similarly, Stef van Grieken, CEO of Swiss-Dutch AI drug discovery company Cradle, states he doesn’t have a go-to question. His reasoning goes against popular sentiment: he doesn’t want a team of like-minded people.
“You run the risk of becoming a monoculture,” he states.
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