Look Past the Résumé: Hire for Culture, Not Just Experience

I was talking recently with a funeral home owner who had just lost a great employee.“She was only with us nine months,” he said. “I thought she’d be here for years.”

When I asked what happened, he paused.“She said she loved the families, loved the team, but the culture just wasn’t what she expected.”

That moment stayed with me because I’ve heard that story too many times.

In funeral service, and across many small businesses, we are quick to study a résumé. We look for gaps, short stays, and frequent job changes. We circle them like warning signs. Yet those patterns might not be the warning we think they are. They might be the story of someone who refused to stay in an unhealthy environment.

What looks like job hopping may actually be survival.

It may be the story of a professional who values integrity enough to leave when the words and actions of leadership do not align. Someone who has seen the difference between mission statements and daily behavior and is no longer willing to settle for the gap between them.

The Story Behind the Paper

Every résumé tells a story, but not every story is written in ink.Sometimes, the most valuable line is not a title or a degree. It is the quiet courage to leave when a workplace turns toxic.

I have met professionals who have worked for several firms in a short period of time. At first glance, it looks unstable. But when you listen, you hear stories of burnout, inconsistency, or a lack of genuine leadership. They left because they needed to protect their health, their integrity, and their sense of purpose.

They did not leave because they were restless.They left because they were honest.

That kind of honesty is something every healthy organization needs more of.

Hire for What They Bring to the Table

Here is what I tell employers: start hiring for culture, not just credentials.Skills can be taught. Character cannot.

Look for people who strengthen the culture you already have. Seek those who listen, encourage others, and align with your mission in both spirit and practice. Those are the hires that last.

When you find the right fit, you can feel it. The energy shifts. People show up differently. Work becomes more than a schedule. It becomes a shared purpose.

If the fit is not there, do not force it. Forcing a fit is like patching a leak with tape. It might hold for a while, but eventually it will give way. Move on with respect and clarity. Both sides deserve that.

Healthy teams are built when leaders have the courage to say, “This is not working,” and the humility to keep looking until it does.

The Cost of Ignoring Culture

I once worked with a funeral home that hired a candidate with a flawless résumé. Years of experience, glowing references, and impressive education. On paper, they were perfect. But a few months later, tension began to build. The new hire handled families beautifully but struggled to connect with the team. The tone in the building changed, and morale dropped.

It was not a question of competence. It was a question of chemistry.

They had the skill, but not the spirit of the organization. And it took nearly a year before the owner finally admitted, “We should have trusted our instincts.”

That lesson cost them time, trust, and team unity. But it also taught them something lasting. When you compromise culture for credentials, you always pay more later.

Look Beyond the Paper

Before you pass on a résumé that looks uneven, pause and ask a few questions.What kind of leader might this person become in the right environment?What have they learned from their past transitions?How could their story strengthen your story?

You might discover that the candidate who has moved around the most is the one who understands what healthy leadership looks like. They have seen what happens when it is missing, and they know the value of an organization that practices what it preaches.

A Final Thought

If you want people to stay, build a place worth staying in.Hire people who make your culture better.Protect the environment you have built with the same care you give to the families you serve.

Because people do not leave jobs. They leave contradictions.

The information points us to this: purpose and practice must match. When they do, people stay. When they do not, even the best résumé cannot hold them.

Five questions to ask:

Here are five questions you can ask to discover whether a potential new hire will fit and strengthen their work culture.

1. “Tell me about a time when you worked in a culture that brought out your best. What made it work for you?”

Why it matters:This question reveals what environment helps them thrive—structure or freedom, quiet focus or teamwork, tradition or innovation. It also helps you see if your culture aligns with what they value most.

2. “What values guide the way you make decisions at work?”

Why it matters:This invites candidates to share their internal compass. If their response highlights respect, honesty, or teamwork, you can assess how that fits with your organization’s stated and lived values.

3. “How do you handle conflict or disagreement with a colleague or supervisor?”

Why it matters:Culture is shaped in how people respond to tension. Their answer will show whether they bring humility, accountability, and communication to difficult moments—or whether they withdraw or blame.

4. “When you look back on past jobs, what kind of leadership helped you succeed, and what kind made it hard to stay?”

Why it matters:This helps you identify patterns. If they describe leaving environments that lacked integrity or transparency, that tells you they notice culture and care about it. It also helps you gauge if your leadership style will connect with them.

5. “What do you hope to contribute to the spirit of this workplace—not just to the job itself?”

Why it matters:This shifts the focus from tasks to impact. It allows you to hear how they see themselves as part of something larger, and whether they take ownership of the tone and energy they bring into the room.

About JPS

At Jacobson Professional Staffing (JPS), we help funeral homes and small businesses find professionals who bring integrity, alignment, and care to their work. The right people do more than fill positions. They strengthen purpose.