To stand out at work, try a little kindness
Good-on-paper people, listen up: A swanky master's degree and successful track record mean absolutely nothing if you are a humorless jerk.
Recent studies have found that charisma and kindness matter just as much as -- and sometimes more than -- credentials when it comes to being hired or promoted these days. A Net Future Institute survey of 223 executives from several different industries found that 63 percent rely on a candidate's ``lik ability" when making hiring and promotion decisions. At 62 percent, ``skills" mattered just slightly less.
As a result, more companies currently are administering personality tests to separate the good from the bad, the courteous from the ill-mannered, and the energized from the energy-sucking. Whether you are at the height of your career or a first-time job seeker, it's time to forget what you've learned from management training courses or reruns of ``The Apprentice."
Sometimes you are there to win a popularity contest.
Your skills may match the job, but in order to close the deal, your temperament must match the culture, according to clinical psychologist Carolyn Kaufman, who said personality tests are usually administered via paper and pen or mouse and screen, and feature multiple-choice questions designed to uncover a candidate's true nature.
``The tests are more objective than face-to-face interviews. The interviewer can't give unconscious non verbals about right or wrong answers," she said. ``While being able to `read the interviewer' could mean that the potential hire is a good people person who will get along well with others, it could also mean that he or she is a great manipulator. The personality test helps identify problems that aren't obvious in an interview or corroborate the interviewer's impressions that the job hunter is a great match."
A person's lik ability or niceness has become more important today because of the way the workplace has evolved over the past 10 years or so, according to Patti Fralix, a workplace coach and speaker.
``There is such a productivity movement in the business world today. We work together in teams more these days, which has made the chemistry and dynamics more important than ever," she said. ``Before, we could insulate mal adaptive behaviors since people worked more independently. You can't get away with that today."
Therefore, if companies can administer these personality assessments up front, as part of a more comprehensive screening process, Fralix said they are more likely to find a better fit for the team as a whole. ``And teams always work more productively when the group dynamics work," she said.
When hiring employees, Andy Freed likes to summon the advice of
Freed, an executive vice president at Virtual Inc., an association management company in Wakefield, said his company has thrown personality tests into the hiring mix to help find employees whose personalities jibe with those of their colleagues.
``The tests are just one part of the overall hiring process, but they often help identify traits and tendencies that may not be evident in the face-to-face or phone interviews," he said. ``The results help us ask the right questions of a potential hire as the process goes forward."
There are people who are good on paper, others who are good in person, and some who simply interview well, he said. The key, for Freed, is finding a candidate who is going to fit in well with the company's situation or its clients' situations.
For example, some personality tests may include statements such as, ``I feel most comfortable around people who are driven" or ``I enjoy out performing others" where candidates are asked to rate whether they agree or strongly disagree with the sentiments.
``At the same time, these assessments help the candidates decide whether we are a good fit for them. I always remind job seekers that they should be interviewing us as well," Freed said.
Freed's views represent a turning tide in a corporate world that once lionized aggression and detachment in business ventures. Today, most companies are looking for people who are emotionally mature and can get along with others to achieve the common goals of the workplace. Therefore, job seekers should not only be prepared to discuss their skills and experience during an interview process, but to showcase their charm in person and on paper.
So, how does one prepare for a personality test?
Linda Kaplan Thaler and Robin Koval, authors of a new book, ``The Power of Nice: How to Conquer the Business World with Kindness," believe niceness is a set of skills, not a predetermined personality trait, and that you can improve these skills just as you would business writing or Web know-how.
``Nice is a muscle that you can strengthen. It's like going to the gym. Aggressiveness may make short-term gains, but nice is a long-term success strategy that will reap unimaginable rewards," said Thaler.
While writing their book, the authors developed an online assessment, a sort of refresher course in common decency, where people can test their ``NiceQ" before embarking on their job search. The 20-question test helps measure your ``niceness quotient" with regard to empathy, charity, social skills, manners, and positive outlook, and highlights areas in which improvements can be made.
``The most important thing to remember is that the test begins the moment you walk through the door," she said. ``The test is not only the questions on paper or the computer but your behavior from the onset. Be sure to say hello to the security guard and to the receptionist. Offer compliments, smile, and be kind to everyone you encounter."
Of course, there are always exceptions, according to Richard Griffith, an organizational psychologist at Florida Tech. ``The trait that we measure to see how well people will be liked and get along with their co-workers is called `agreeableness.' Those who are high on agreeableness tend to have good interpersonal skills."
