Culture Fit Matchmaking - Minto Roy and Alanna Fero
ATTRACTION, COMMITMENT & MATCHMAKING AREN’T JUST FOR DATING ANYMORE: WORKPLACE FIT
Top employers now have “Attractions” specialists in their HR divisions. “Engagement” specialists, too. And quality professionals know career advancement comes with “building relationships,” and “catching the eye” of a company on the upswing. It’s not about job descriptions and curricula vitae exhaustively documenting qualifications. The best people on both sides of any hiring equation are looking for that most elusive thing, the professional equivalent of love at first sight: CULTURAL FIT.
Minto Roy Says:
A good plan for choosing an employer match is to select companies whose products and services sincerely interest you. By that I mean, regardless of where you work, you would be using their products or services and interested in business news about their organization. Think about activities you enjoy and subjects you love to talk about. Most of them probably have a few companies behind them – in research and development, manufacturing or production, sales, marketing, distribution, service… And the leaders of those companies covet employees who share their interests and values and sincerely believe in their products and services.
For instance, if you love sports, invest time in learning about sports and fitness-related companies. With a little research, you can develop a list of 20-30 companies that directly match your interest. Personal identity linked to your professional identity provides the perfect foundation for an exciting career. Your career shouldn't be about what you do for your job; it should be a reflection of who you are as a person.
It's also critical to feel you have a match with the people who populate these companies. Remember you will be spending 8-10 hours of day with them. A popular metaphor asserts that we become the average of the 5 people with whom we spend the most time. If that’s even partly true, you need to be very careful about who those people are as they will directly influence who you become. If you don't know people at the company, do some research. Check news articles about their community activity. Pick-up the phone and call a department manager and ask him/her for 15 minutes of their time based on your interest in their products and services.
Invest in research and relationships and the right match for you is out there.
Alanna Says:
Making a good match also means making yourself attractive to the employer. You want the company you choose to choose you – and in the best case scenario, they should feel like it’s their idea. I’m not suggesting that you be manipulative – on the contrary, I think the most attractive qualities are virtually always the most genuine. But sometimes we have to take time to reflect and reconnect with what is genuine in ourselves, and also to do a bit of a polish to make sure we are seen by others in the best possible light.
Minto nailed the most attractive quality when he suggested you focus on employers in which you are genuinely interested. Companies are run by people, and people are subject to human nature. And we humans like nothing better than to know someone likes us. Don’t flatter or gush. Just take care to display the knowledge, experience, passions and values you have in common with decision-makers in the organizations to which you are drawn.
Another attractive quality is generosity, even selflessness. That doesn’t mean you have no needs or interests, but it does mean that you are willing to first consider the company’s interests before communicating your own. In the employment dance as much as on a blind date, there is nothing appealing about, “What’s in it for me?” and everything appealing about “What can I do for you?” Take time to learn what the company’s needs are and to communicate how you will add value to meet those needs.
Also pay attention to the finer details of appearance and speech: understand the culture and etiquette of the organization and present yourself in how you dress, act and speak as one of them. Don’t tell them you are a fit or even “act” like who you think they want you to be. A connection which will bring you career satisfaction for years to come requires authenticity. BE the fit. Make it real or don’t play.