No common interest with interviewer. Deal Killer?
I have a second round interview coming up with a boutique firm, a lot of my friends who have gotten jobs all said that they shared common interests with the interviewer, whether it was sports, music, etc. I did my research on the interviewer, and me and him really don't have much common interests. Are common interests absolutely necessary for getting an offer? Or is there any way to make up for it? Some of the previous jobs I interviewed at, the people who got the jobs literally only talked about common interests and they got the job.
Not essential. If anything, it saves you wasting time trying to make painful smalltalk with the interviewer about some perceived common interest.
In interviews, I'm far more interested by people who have interests or experiences that are off my radar or way outside my experience. For example, I had a great conversation once with a Korean candidate who had worked on the NK border in psy-ops during his conscription period.
Thanks for the reply, I keep on hearing the term cultural fit is extremely important. But what exactly is cultural fit, and how do you demonstrate in your interview that you are a good cultural fit. I am confused.
Vaguely, cultural fit is how well your personality and approach to work will fit in well with the people hiring you, the team you'll be hired into and the organisation. More the first two.
For example, a team of extroverted fratty guys who like talking about their March Madness brackets may be a better cultural fit for someone who is similarly banal. Or perhaps the boss wants to dilute the frattiness by bringing in some other types of personalities.
Either way, you likely won't know what the interviewers are looking for in terms of cultural fit. It's not a university exam and they are not required to give you access to all the textbook info before the test so that you have a "fair" chance to score 100%/get the job.
So, just be your professional self to demonstrate your cultural fit.
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