Finding a corporate culture where you can be yourself and feel comfortable in the work environment will help you feel more committed, enjoy your work, and want to stay at the company for a longer period. Determining whether the fit will be good for you starts during the interview. How can you do this more effectively during either an in-person interview or when meeting your potential employers through a video screen?

When most candidates interview for a new role, they pay attention to the office itself. They examine the energy in the building, whether people are encouraged to decorate their workspaces, how employees interact with each other throughout the day, and what kind of amenities are available. However, this is not always feasible when the interview is conducted remotely.

Additionally, culture is taken for granted. A fish doesn't know it's in water until it isn't. An easy way to identify and describe an organisation's culture is in contrast to another one. This becomes more apparent when changing jobs, something that happens often lately.

Job descriptions show the organisation's best intentions for what the job will be like, how it will evolve, and what role you can play in it if the organisation and team were all operating according to these expectations, which does not always happen.

What defines the appearance and feel of a job isn't the title or the job description but the culture of the organisation.

• Research the organisation

• Look for employee reviews

• Ask about corporate culture during the interview

• Observe how you were treated during the process

• Pay attention to the environment

• Instead of asking about the values that govern a corporate culture, ask about the behaviours that would embody these values.

For example, if you want to work in a collaborative culture, instead of asking if the organisation values collaboration (which hiring manager would say no?), specify how you want collaboration to look and ask if it exists. For example, "What cross-functional or interdepartmental teams exist and who can participate in them?"

• Instead of asking if the organisation values something that seems to have universal value, ask about behaviours that embody a competitive value.

If you want to work in an organisation that is innovative and creative, something every organisation might aspire to be, ask them how they feel about using tried and true best practices or how they mitigate risk. This may give a more honest picture of how they feel about creativity and experimentation.

The first step is to articulate for yourself what attracts you. Before the interview, ask yourself, "What features of corporate culture are most important to me?"

Think about your values and the types of environments that have suited you in the past. Going to your interviews with these factors already in mind will help you keep them important to you.

Consider the factors that will have the most impact on you. It could be anything from how family-friendly it is, how well teams collaborate, how open communication channels are, or how the company's values are expressed through the decisions leaders make.

• "With three words, how would you describe the work environment?"

• "Why did you choose to stay here?"

• "How do employees learn about the decisions made by senior leaders?"

• "What are some things people need to do to 'fit in' here?"

• "Where do you see the company's values in action?"

Organisational culture is difficult to define and describe. Instead of asking about this amorphous thing called "culture," ask about the behaviours, rules, and decisions that reveal the culture. This presupposes that candidates have a good understanding of what they value and what kind of work experience they desire.

See also how to answer the question: "Is this job right for me?"