The Courage to Walk Away
Discovering the True Culture: When the Interview Doesn't Match the Reality
Early on in your career search, you may hear colleagues talk about finding the “right fit” in an organization. What they don’t talk about is that sometimes the only way to know if you are a “good fit” is to jump right in and experience the culture firsthand. Early in my job search, coming from a very structured military background, I found myself searching for the right fit by following some basic guidance from workplace experts. First, do your research. This entails researching the organization through its website, Glassdoor reviews, and, ideally, by speaking with people working in the organization. While all of this is helpful and rather sound advice for getting a very basic view of the cultural landscape you are walking into, it oftentimes misses the moment, as the faces you see during the interview may look very different once you are hired.
I was interviewed for a government-related contract with a large panel of future colleagues. The interview conversation seemed very relaxed and quite unusual for the scope of work and the sector. The primary panelist, who was going to be my immediate superior, stated that this was more of a “casual conversation than a traditional interview.” He asked for a background storyline and why I wanted to work for the organization. I answered his questions as I would in any traditional interview, staying true to my communication style, candor, and ability to speak off the cuff rather than in a practiced or rehearsed manner. Everything seemed to move along quite nicely and quickly. I was extended the offer, and I accepted.
Shortly after I started my new role, I began to notice the rigidity in the communication. My team was meticulously managed to the point where mandatory check-ins at 7:00 a.m. became normal—regardless of whether they were necessary or efficient. I started to feel less enthusiastic about the laid-back nature of the leadership style and more duped and frustrated by the very different person I was working with. I had been hired into a senior leadership role that happened to have a very different leadership style from that of my direct superior. I offered transparency, trust, and candor to my team, but I was not offered the same. Instead, I felt as if I was at the bottom of the ladder and had to prove myself worthy of the very basic leadership traits I offered to my team.
After experiencing a series of unnecessary confrontations surrounding combative leadership dynamics, I realized that what I was looking for in a workplace culture was not going to be found there. I realized the interview style had been a façade. It was a tactic to lure people in under false pretenses, only to easily dismiss the same culture that had been alluded to in the first place. I saw the culture and leadership for what they were, and I had to make a choice. I knew that I deserved to be treated with the same respect I offered others, and to that end, I chose to walk away.
