[TurboHaskal]

Here's how to pass most startup cultural fit tests:

Avoid strong opinions even if you're asked. The interviewers themselves may be crapping on emacs, PHP, design patterns or whatever so you may be tempted to voice your own, but it doesn't go both ways. Don't get too comfortable.

You'll be offered coffee. Drink it. Don't refuse beer either. Fake a liking if need be. After work drinks are mission critical.

Make sure you're not too fat nor too old nor too Indian. If you're a woman, look your best and practice your natural makeup skills.

"What are your hobbies? / What do you like to do on your free time?" don't mean what you think they mean. "Spending time with my family" or "reading" are not valid answers. The only valid answers are the ones that imply you like working for free (Github, OSS, and the like.) Bonus points for consecutive green squares.

Don't talk badly about former colleagues. This is the biggest red flag.

[ttd]

I'm thinking (hoping) this comment is based in sarcasm. Leaving aside the overt racism and sexism, hiring someone who "passes" these ridiculous criteria seems counterproductive, as you will be hiring someone who either a) does not have viewpoints that are fresh or different from your own, or b) has them but will not share them for fear of reprisal for speaking out against the status quo.

[coredog64]

I know this response is only semi-serious, but I'll say this anyway.

HR professionals that I respect have advised me that asking questions about hobbies or personal interests are to be avoided.

[Peroni]

Correct. There are a bunch of reasons to avoid it but two very tangible reasons are:

1. It makes you susceptible to bias. Say a candidate reveals that they love volunteering at their local church group and it becomes evident that they hold strong religious beliefs; in some circumstances, if the interviewer holds contrary beliefs, it could unfairly affect their perspective of the candidate.

2. Along the same lines as the first example. If the candidate revealed during the interview that they were Muslim for example, and they were unsuccessful in getting the job, there is little preventing them from bringing a case against the company for discrimination. Unless you have absolutely rock solid evidence to prove that their faith had zero influence on the decision making process, it can actually be a very difficult position to defend.

[rando444]

I'm not sure where you're located, but the opposite is true in Europe.

Personal questions are used to gauge your interests and personality to see how well you might fit within the company or a specific team.

[Peroni]

I'm a HR/Talent professional based in London and I can assure you that those questions should be avoided at all costs regardless of your geographic location.

[nunez]

I disagree with this. It's a harmless question during a non-tech interview, or at least I thought was.

[preetish]

What exactly do you mean by too Indian?

[ttd]

Since nobody else has, I'll step in here and stay please ignore this. If you encounter this attitude when you're interviewing somewhere, treat it as a big red flag to avoid working for them. You shouldn't contribute your skills and time to help make money for a company that accepts this attitude.

[prchaudhari_007]

What do you mean by not too Indian?

[laichzeit0]

Don't stink up the dining areas with your Indian food and then eat it with your hands whilst only hanging out with your Indian coworkers speaking in whatever Indian dialect you're speaking. That or wearing 7 gold rings and chains or have some weird image on your desktop of an 8 limbed elephant Goddess you venerate. Don't say "Yes" while bobbing your head left-to-right, that means the opposite to Westeners. Don't say things like "I will revert back" or "Please do the need for" in emails, it makes no sense. Don't have the kind of accent that people ask you to rather "send them an email" because they can't actually figure out what you're trying to say over a phone call because your Indian accent is too strong.

These are things I've heard other white dudes complain about at work.

[eddieroger]

Was there really no way to answer that without your own editorialization? Maybe without picking off a stereotype list? I'm pretty glad I don't where ever you work, because the "other white dudes" at your place sound dreadful, and I imagine you get along pretty well with them.

[laichzeit0]

I don't know? I'm trying to be frank here. You can't really dance around these issues. I know this because I've sat in many hiring sessions and interviewed many people. By the time you've shook someone's hand and they've uttered their name it's already 50% made up in people's mind if they're gonna hire this person or not. Welcome to the shit show.

I'm just giving a heads up for some poor dudes that wanna "play the game" and make a good career. Or what is worse is the poor guys that post on HN about "I've been to 50 interviews, everyone thinks my resume is great but I'm not landing any jobs". The fit or fuck off attitude is still very much alive in the corporate world.

I could write a similar list for the typical white geek that dresses like Rainman or has autistic body language and wonders why he's not getting hired.

[nunez]

We make decisions about people within the first second of meeting them. Read here: https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/how-many-secon...

There is no way around this. Everyone does it.

[vorotato]

You could be aware that you do that and counteract it in any way? For example I saw this and my reflex interpretation was that you were extremely dumb, but instead of just saying that I thought maybe they just haven't thought about using their conscious mind to affect their behavior.

[bryanlarsen]

"Cultural fit" is sometimes a code word for outright racism.

And even when it isn't, it means they're looking for somebody who they can get along with easily. Which means they're looking for somebody who could easily become friends with them.

And making friends with white guys is a lot easier if you're a "banana": yellow on the outside but white on the inside: if you like the same things the white guys do, if you have the same opinions that the white guys have, if you behave the same way they do, et cetera.

One thing I've noticed about tech companies is that they like to brag about how diverse they are.

"John over there is a ballroom dancer, Jack doesn't drink beer, Talia is a black girl, Jim dresses funny, ..."

So if you have one thing that distinguishes you from the other guys at work, that's actually a good thing. If the group is a bunch of hard drinkers that talk about sports all the time, it's possible to not drink or not care about sports as long as you don't make a big deal about it.

But if you have two things different, then you don't fit in. You're an Indian, you've already used your "difference card", so to fit in you have to be a hard-drinking sports lover or whatever the company culture is.

[rawTruthHurts]

Don't look too much of a native from wherever you are if your average peer does not share your traits.