It’s not easy to get the right fit for the right job. According to a survey by the staffing firm OfficeTeam, 59% of the 400 Canadian and American human resources(HR)managers surveyed admitted they were wrong about a candidate’s fit for a job.

However, the survey indicated that job searchers are also guilty of error. Of the 300 administrative professionals polled, 46% said they misread the work environment and took a job that wasn’t a good fit.

When the fit isn’t good, both employee and employer lose. In fact, 89% of HR managers said their organization lost an employee because he wasn’t suited to the organization’s environment.

The interview is a two-way street, said Diane Domeyer, executive director of OfficeTeam. An employer should look for signs of an applicant’s work ethic and personality, and the applicant should find out about the company culture, she said.

To get the right fit, OfficeTeam suggests asking questions about the kind of work environment in which the applicant thrives and doesn’t thrive, what he liked best and least about his last job and why, and factors that allowed him to be successful in his greatest accomplishments.

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