Likeability vs Connection | No BS Job Search Advice
By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter
Someone tagged me on LinkedIn and wrote
The “LIKEABILITY” factor is huge during job interviews.
Being able to exude your key accomplishments and skills during an interview are absolutely the most important aspects but people often under-estimate the value of MAKING THEMSELVES MORE LIKEABLE.
Hiring managers tend to make offers to people that they “like”—that’s, in part, why the most qualified candidate doesn’t always get the job.
But a job seeker’s personality and level of engagement can have a very positive impact on the candidate selection process, particularly if they can connect with the interviewer on a more personal level.
Given that, here are a few things you can do to make yourself more likeable by simply reviewing an interviewer’s LinkedIn profile beforehand:
1. Look at the mutual connections that you share with the interviewer to get some background… their interests, hobbies, personality. These can make great conversation pieces during an interview.
2. Look for personal interests and activities that are often mentioned at the bottom of an individual’s LinkedIn profile… you may share some common interests.
3. Find volunteering or charitable causes that the interviewer supports—you may be a supporter of the same organizations.
4. Look at what LinkedIn groups they belong to—this may tell you about the kinds of people that they tend to align themselves with.
5. Don’t be afraid to demonstrate a sense of humor if and when appropriate.
These are all easy tasks and only take a few minutes. But they can provide you with some valuable information that you may be able to insert into an interview… and, thereby, make yourself a more likeable candidate.
I replied
On the surface I would agree with what you wrote. Yet when I look a level down, it explains part of the reason why 30% of hires leave within 6 months of joining AND why within 18 months, almost 60% of hiring managers express buyer’s remorse about the person they hired. Let me explain.
I start with an assumption derived from my time in search—everyone is exaggerating/lying. Hiring managers exaggerate/lie about the job, the work, the team, the environment. People being interviewed do the same about their experience, capabilities and present themselves inauthentically (usually) for who they will be in the workplace (I worked in recruiting. Don’t get me started on them). The result in my thinking is likeability is an act of connection, rather than real connection with the person interviewing you.
My thinking has always been that when firms hire, competence is only one thing they look for. They also try to evaluate for self-confidence, character, chemistry, charisma, that you care about doing great work, and that they can connect with you. These in the aggregate translate into they trust you. You inspire confidence that you are the solution to what they are looking for, Real connection, unlike likeability, in my thinking, is authentic. Being likeable, too often, is B$ing a hiring manager (or a person being interviewed).
We may differ about this and that’s OK. You may be using likeable synonymously with connection.
I also believe that the people being interviewed have the onus of changing the dynamic of an interview by being more authentic since they experience the greatest hazard of joining an organization they will want to flee or will fail at. After all, most will be trapped in environments that will grind them down and homogenize them unless they stand for themselves instead of acting like compliant docile schoolchildren in adult bodies.
This comes from the work I do helping people #begreat!
ABOUT JEFF ALTMAN, THE BIG GAME HUNTER
Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter is a career and leadership coach who worked as a recruiter for more than 40 years. He is the host of “No BS Job Search Advice Radio,” the #1 podcast in iTunes for job search with more than 2300 episodes. He also hosts Job Search TV on YouTube, and Amazon, as well as on BingeNetworks.tv for Apple TV and 90+ smart sets.
I do a livestream on LinkedIn, YouTube (on the JobSearchTV.com account) and on Facebook (on the Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter page) Tuesdays and Fridays at 1 PM Eastern. You can send your questions about job search, hiring better, management, leadership or to get advice about a workplace issue to me through LinkedIn’s messaging .You can also message me through chat during the approximately 30 minute show.
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