cultural fit & career success
DESCRIPTION
A short presentation I delivered to DePaul University communications students about the significance of cultural fit for career success.TRANSCRIPT
CULTURE Breean Miller
[email protected] breeanmiller.com
HEALTH BRAND GROUP Family-Owned 10-20 Employees Consulting / Agency Flat & Collaborative Room for Growth
TEENY IMC FIRM Female-Owned 3 Employees Agency w/ Multiple Clients Hierarchy w/o Leadership No Growth Potential
NEW NON PROFIT Non-Profit 3 Employees Competing Priorities No Leadership No Growth Potential
SOCIAL MEDIA CONSULTANT Female-Owned 3 Employees PR Firm Dictator-Style Leadership
B2B STARTUP 150 Employees Frat Party Atmosphere Shifting Priorities Little Direction
SMALL BUSINESS 3 Employees Customer-Centric Competing Priorities Relationship Building
VARIOUS LARGE COMPANIES Top Down Communications Training over Learning Management over Leadership Hierarchy over Collaboration Distinct Job Roles & Functions
My work experience…
CAREER PATH?
choose your path
go to school
pay your dues
climb the ladder
receive what’s
promised
53% of young college graduates are unemployed or underemployed
- Associated Press
67% of companies are having a hard time filling skilled labor positions
- Payscale
EVOLVING CAREER DYNAMICS
Evolving Economy
Entry Level Opportunities?
New Career Fields
Evolving Employer Dynamics
Evolving Need for Specific Skillsets
Technology Disruption
Freelance Workforce
College ≠ Career
Job Tenure
Perpetual Intern
Knowledge Revolution
Lack of Qualified Candidates
Evolving Education
System
Autonomy
Work-Life Integration
EVOLVING CAREER DYNAMICS
Focus on Culture
Evolving Employee Needs
Purpose
Mastery
Flexibility
CULTURAL FIT OVER QUALIFICATIONS
Soft skills and shared values are
driving differentiation for
job seekers.
What’s your favorite movie? What’s your favorite website? What’s the last book you read for fun? What makes you uncomfortable? These are the top 4
interview questions asked in 2012.
CULT URAL FIT
Over 50% of U.S. employers rank “cultural fit” as the most important factor in an interview.
#2 job seekers rank company culture as their second-highest
priority, after salary
- Glassdoor
“There is nothing more important for a business than hiring the right team. If you get the perfect mix of people working for your company, you have a far greater chance of success. The first thing to look for when searching for a great employee is somebody with a personality that fits with your company culture. Most skills can be learned, but it is difficult to train people on their personality.”
- Richard Branson
1 2OUT OF
people won’t last more than 18 months at their job, mainly due to a mismatched cultural fit
- Good.co
70% This percentage of the workforce simply shows up and does enough to get by.
- Gallup
of employees are not engaged at work
EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT Engagement is caused not by goodwill, but by the architecture of the underlying system of management used to run the business.
FRONTIER SETTLERS
Flexible, yet extremely competitive.
Goo
d.C
o O
rgan
izat
iona
l A
rche
type
s
FAMILY DYNASTY
As traditional as apple pie.
INTERGALACTIC EXPLORERS
Creative, social and innovative. Traditional and structured.
LARGE-SCALE MILITARY OPERATION
MOUNTAINEERING EXPEDITION
Competitive, yet flexible.
NUCLEAR FAMILY
Family-like atmosphere with a clear hierarchy.
SPACE COLONY
Creative and nurturing work environment.
COMMANDO UNIT
Like a boot camp minus the workouts.
Good.Co PERSONAL ARCHETYPES
Based on my personal archetypes, I can see if I’m a good cultural fit for certain employers. I’m a 56% match with Accenture.
And I’m an 86% match with Acer.
THE TOP TRAITS of FUTURE LEADERS are SOFT SKILLS!
EMPATHY Being sensitive to the thoughts and feelings of others
VULNERABILITY Owning up to one’s limitations and asking for help
HUMILITY Seeking to serve others and to share credit
INCLUSIVENESS Soliciting and listening to many voices
GENEROSITY Being liberal with time, contacts, advice and support
BALANCE Giving life, as well as work, its due
PATIENCE Taking a long-term view
FURTHER READING & RESOURCES
• Start With Why, by Simon Sinek • Creative Intelligence, by Bruce
Nussbaum
• Linchpin, by Seth Godin
• Maximize Your Potential, Jocelyn K. Glei
• Lean In, by Sheryl Sandberg
• ChangeThis.com
• Fast Company
• Levo League
• Good.Co
• 99U
Don’t try to stand out from the crowd. Avoid crowds altogether. “ ” - Hugh MacLeod
Q&A breeanmiller.com [email protected]