Interview Questions – ‘What is your ideal working environment?’

For Service-leavers who haven’t got recent interview experience, the prospect can seem daunting. Here, we dissect another of the more common but no less difficult interview questions so that you can show your best side to interviewers and land your next post-Services role.

‘What is your ideal working environment?’

The aim of the question
You might think that there is little point in asking this question. After all, it’s unlikely that an organisation is going to upend their working practices just to suit you – and you’re right. 

The two main objectives a recruiter has in mind are to find a person capable of doing the job and second, someone who will fit in with how the organisation goes about its business. 

The answer
The aim is to demonstrate that what they’re offering, is what you want. However, you do need to go carefully.

It isn’t meant to be taken as an invitation to indulge your ‘dream job’ fantasies.

Culture
Different organisations have different cultures. This includes in the way they practice or use certain methodologies through to their attitudes to things like dress code or working hours and so on. 

The question ‘What is your ideal working environment?’ is about company culture and how you’ll fit in.

What do you need to thrive in your role?
The recruiter wants to understand what you’ll need from the role and environment to succeed. You need to balance your answer between not being too vague and saying something like ‘I like working with people’ which is as good as not answering at all, and not being too prescriptive, by saying something like: ‘I can only do my best work when I’m left alone.’

Be yourself.
This is an interview, so you need to be alert to opportunities to add in pointers towards your talents and personality within your answers. Consider saying something like: ‘I can work on my own or as part of a team and while I enjoy healthy competition among my colleagues, everyone wants a friendly environment’.

Small companies
The answers you give will also depend on the specific organisation. You want to outline that this is the company for you. For instance, if it’s a small company, your answer might reference that by you saying: ‘I like working in close-knit teams’.

Large companies
Larger organisations have different benefits resulting from their size. You could mention, job security, for example.

Research
Ideally, you should base your answer on what you already understand about the way the organisation works. You may have already asked people that work at the organisation, for example, about the hours, dress code and general culture.

Previous roles
Ideally, you’ll be able to tell the interviewer about how you’ve worked in similar cultures before, and that you understand how they work and achieve their aims.