As a candidate who wants to secure a new job, chances are you want to make sure the company is the right fit for you not only career-wise, but also personally. That means you’ll want to get as much information as possible during the interview process to ensure the organization is a culture fit for you.

The importance and impact of capturing this information was revealed in the 2019 MRINetwork Recruitment Trends Study. Ninety-five percent of surveyed candidates said their experiences during the interview process will somewhat or strongly influence whether they will accept a position. Additionally, 74 percent of candidates feel the interview process is somewhat or very revealing about the company’s work culture. 

As critical as it to assess company culture, it can feel daunting to take control of the interview process and still impress as a job candidate. That’s likely also the case if you’re interviewing at a dream company and you happen to be a little nervous. 

To help, here are three strategies you can follow to learn as much about company culture as possible and impress in those crucial interviews: 

1. Make the interviews as conversational as possible. After all, you never want to feel like you’re playing a game of 20 questions when speaking with a future employer. Plus, by having a strong conversation and easy back-and-forth, you’ll be at ease and get a more distinct sense of the company’s culture. When speaking with the hiring manager, this is especially key as you want to ensure that you’ll fit in well with the team and that your personalities don’t clash. 

By checking for personality fit, you’ll gain key insights into how your manager functions as a leader, as well as the atmosphere in which you’ll potentially work if given an offer.

2. Ask the right type of questions. “It’s easy to find brochures on company culture but significantly harder to distinguish rhetoric from reality to identify what it’s actually like to work within the organization day to day,” according to an article published by The Muse: “3 Ways to Find Out What a Company’s Culture is Really Like.”

By doing your homework and thinking ahead about the types of questions you’d like to be answered, you can gain in-depth knowledge on the type of culture being fostered at the company. Some questions you may want to ask include: – What education and training programs are there for recent hires?

• How is success measured at your company, and how will success be measured for this role?
• What sorts of onboarding opportunities are there for new employees?
• How are performance reviews conducted?
• What sorts of volunteer opportunities are there?
• Does the company have Employee Resource Groups? If so, how are those run?

A final piece of advice to get the most out of the interview: ask for concrete examples. “A company’s policy on pretty much anything is only as good as the extent to which employees are allowed to partake in the benefit, so instead of asking generic questions, get really specific with your questions,” advises The Muse.

By following these three strategies, you’re more likely to ace your interview, impress your potential future employer and, most importantly, find the company that’s the best cultural fit for you.