It’s always important to think about who you want to work for when searching for a job. Does your future employer share the same principals and values that you have?Finding out the answer to this question in advance can aid you in your job search.

I listened to this great interview that aired on NPR’s Marketplaceon August 19 with CEO of Zappos, Tony Hsieh. Hsieh discusses how he defined his company’s culture and then used that culture to create core values. With these core values in place, Hsieh determined the dynamic of his workforce and increased his employees’ overall happiness and productivity.

Although companies may have core value and principals, Hsieh argues that many don’t have committable core values. Once the principals are written and etched onto a plaque, Hsieh argues they are never instilled in employees. So, what are committable core values? Hsieh defines committable core values as values companies are willing to hire or fire an employee based upon, independent of their job performance.

Hsieh argues that soon after corporations and companies write their values they forget them. What Hsieh wanted for Zappos was a list of core values that employees could be held responsible for.  These core values created goals to aspire to and in return drove performance and productivity.

Listen to this interview and determine if your current or future employer has committable core values. If so, it is important to familiarize yourself with them. In the instance of Hsieg, who takes them very seriously, it can determine whether someone is hired or fired.