Culture-Add Interview Diligence
Interview the company back with adjective and endemic-problem questions to judge culture before you accept.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 85%
An interview is two-way: you are also assessing whether the culture is one you can live in and add to. Conley prescribes specific diligence questions - ask multiple people for the three-to-five adjectives that define the culture and what the biggest baked-in problem is - and cross-check the answers for alignment. He reframes 'culture fit' as 'culture add' so diversity is treated as additive rather than as pressure to conform.
Origin
Chip Conley's hiring/interview philosophy, informed by building culture at Joie de Vivre and Airbnb; introduces his 'culture add vs culture fit' distinction.
Core principles
- 01When you're interviewing, you're also interviewing them - it's not only about proving yourself
- 02Culture is what happens around here when the boss is not around
- 03Ask the same culture questions to several people and check whether answers converge
- 04Divergent answers signal either misalignment or department-specific subcultures
- 05'Culture add' beats 'culture fit' - fit can be coded pressure to conform, especially against people who differ
How to run it
- 1
Reframe the interview as mutual
Enter assuming the company must also prove itself and its alignment to you.
- 2
Ask for defining adjectives
Ask: what are three to five adjectives that define this culture?
Pro tip Ask this of multiple interviewers - convergence is a strong signal, divergence a red flag.
- 3
Probe the endemic problem
Ask: what's the biggest problem baked in across the organization, is it ever going to get fixed, and how could I help?
Pro tip At a junior level you likely can't fix it; at a senior level this doubles as showing your value.
- 4
Interpret divergence
If answers differ, decide whether it's misalignment or legitimate departmental subcultures.
Pro tip A great team culture can exist inside a poor corporate culture - but an oppressive corporate culture eventually forces it to evolve or bleed people.
- 5
Decide fit-to-live-with and add
Judge whether you can get along in this culture and genuinely add to it, not just conform.
In the wild
Conley observed that people from Apple's culture tended to resonate at Airbnb while people from Amazon's culture did so less, illustrating that a strong performer in the wrong culture struggles.
→ He argues understanding a culture before taking the job is one of the most important decisions a candidate makes.
Common mistakes
Treating the interview as one-way
Only trying to prove yourself forfeits your chance to diagnose whether the culture is livable and additive for you.
Optimizing for 'fit'
Culture fit can quietly penalize the person who differs; 'culture add' reframes difference as value while still requiring you can operate there.
Is it for you?
Best for
Candidates evaluating a role, especially senior hires who can influence culture and anyone whose difference makes 'fit' a risk.
Not ideal for
Situations where you have no leverage or choice and must take the role regardless of cultural read.
From the transcript
“what are three to five adjectives that define this culture”
“What's the biggest problem in this culture in terms of something that's just endemic or like baked in across the organization and is it ever…”
“I like to say culture ad because culture fit to me means can actually be quite negative toward somebody who is the aberration”
“Culture is what happens around here when the boss is not around”
From the episode
Brian Chesky's secret mentor who died 9 times, started the Burning Man board, and built the world's first midlife wisdom school
Chip Conley (founder of MEA)