CA Career Briefs: Corporate Culture

California Career Briefs

“Failed employees rarely fail because they aren’t smart. They fail because they don’t fit.”

- Natalie Baumgartner

Consider Culture

Did you know?

Because 89% of hiring failures are due to poor cultural fit, helping your students understand the “what” and “why” of corporate culture will facilitate their career success. It’s hard to for students to get their arms around corporate culture and many new job seekers tend to dismiss it. Corporate culture is the personality of a company. It is the sum total of an organization’s values and behaviors the ways the organization conducts its business, treats its employees, customers, and the wider community. When employees fit into their organization’s culture, they tend to be more satisfied with their jobs, more committed to their companies, more influential in the workplace and have greater career longevity.  To help your students tune in to the importance of workplace culture and avoid a culture mismatch try this activity.

Do this…

• Ask students:
  What different kinds of culture are you experiencing in your classes?
  How does this college culture differ from your workplace culture?
  Why does workplace culture matter?
• View video.
• Distribute Student Activity, review and complete the exercise.
• Discuss ways this information will help them when they are looking for a job.

 Get Real!

Encourage your students to pay attention to their current workplace culture and be prepared to share the things they like and the things they would like to change at the next class meeting. In addition, encourage them to visit theCACareerCafe.Com and “Tune in to Corporate Culture.”