Why cultural fit matters more than a perfect resume
Kunal Sethi · 31 July 2026
A candidate can tick every box on paper and still leave within a year. Here is what we look at instead.
Most hiring managers can spot a strong resume in about eight seconds. What takes far longer to spot is whether that person will still be motivated, productive and present eighteen months from now.
In our experience, the single biggest driver of early attrition is not skill. It is mismatch — between how a person likes to work and how the team actually works.
What we assess
When we screen for a client, we go past the skills checklist and ask about pace, autonomy, feedback style and what a good week looks like. Then we compare those answers to what the hiring manager has told us about the team.
The cost of getting it wrong
A bad hire in a mid-level operations role typically costs several months of salary once you count re-advertising, interview time and the productivity gap. Getting the fit right the first time is almost always cheaper than hiring fast.
What to do about it
Build one interview stage that is explicitly about ways of working. Ask the candidate to describe a manager they worked well with, and one they did not. The answers are usually more revealing than any competency question.