Do you want a job you love, at a company you love, with values you love? Of course you do. That’s the dream for just about everyone. And frankly, companies want the same thing. When employee values align with company values, you get engagement and retention. It’s a win-win.
A desire for this “glove-like” fit is why so many MBA students enroll in my class at NYU Stern School of Business. It’s called “Becoming You,” and its goal is to help graduates find a job aligned with their purpose. But here’s the problem — and it’s a big one: Most people know their aptitudes and interests. But their values? Not so much.
My research shows that only about 7% of adults know their values with real clarity. And worse, most don’t know how to identify a company’s real values, either. Not the ones in the brochure. The real ones.
Nearly every company will say it values empowerment, innovation, and excellence. But let’s be honest: Those are just platitudes. The truth is, values aren’t what a company says it believes. Values are how work really gets done.
Figuring out a company’s values
Ask directly, and you’ll usually get those same vague buzzwords. So you’ll need to do some sleuthing.
And that’s where the job interview comes in. There’s one question that cuts through the BS: “What kind of person should not work at this company?”
People who ask it are usually stunned. It almost always catches managers off guard, but that’s exactly why it works. Because the answers are often more honest, less rehearsed, and far more revealing.
Here are some real responses my students have heard:
- “A person who doesn’t want to text on weekends.”
- “Someone who wants to try out different roles — this is a place for specialists.”
- “A person who’s too social.”
- “Excessive wokeness does not really fly here.”
- “Anyone who likes to work on their own too much.”
Now we’re getting somewhere. These answers reveal true values — in high relief.
Take that first one: “A person who doesn’t want to text on weekends.” That company might claim it respects boundaries and employee well-being. But this answer tells a different story.
Or, “A person who’s too social.” Translation: “We prize focus and independence. Community? Not so much.”
I’m not saying any of those values are wrong — unless they’re wrong for you.
Keep in mind that this question is best saved for the end of your interview process, ideally after you’ve received an offer. Why? Because it can be so disarming to hiring managers that you want to make sure you have good rapport with them before you launch it.
And since this question can make people get a little defensive, it has to be delivered with just the right tone. You need to sound pleasantly curious, not investigative, even though indeed, you are being a little bit investigative.
How to get clear on your own values
You can get a ranked list of your core values by taking “The Values Bridge,” a test I developed with my team. When I started teaching at NYU Stern in 2021, building an assessment tool was not on my to-do list. But the seven values exercises I was using in class weren’t giving students the precision they needed.
People kept confusing values with virtues, despite my best efforts. Virtues are broadly agreed-upon ideals: Fairness, Integrity, Honesty. We all endorse them. But values? They’re different. Values are choices — about how we want to live and work. They’re not good or bad, just right or wrong for you.
Take the value of Scope, for example. People with high Scope want stimulation: learning, adventure, novelty. Low Scope individuals seek calm, predictability, and peace.
There are 15 values in total — like Affluence, Familycentrism, Achievement, and Radius. You can test for all of them — and you should. Especially if you’re job hunting. Because once you know your values, you can assess if a company shares them.
Suzy Welch is an award-winning NYU Stern School of Business professor, acclaimed researcher, popular podcaster and three-time NYT best-selling author, most recently with “Becoming You: A Proven Method for Crafting Your Authentic Life and Career.” A graduate of Harvard University and Harvard Business School, Dr. Welch is a frequent guest of the Today Show and an op-ed contributor to the Wall Street Journal. She serves on the boards of public and private companies, and is the Director of the NYU | Stern Initiative on Purpose and Flourishing.
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