Hiring the best candidate for the job

Employers are often more focused on hiring someone they would like to hang out with than they are on finding the person who can best do the job, suggests a study in the December issue of the American Sociological Review. Researchers say employers often hire people who they bond with, who they feel good around, who will be their friend and maybe even their romantic partner. As a result, employers don't necessarily hire the most skilled candidates. According to the study, those doing the hiring often valued their personal feelings of comfort, validation, and excitement over indentifying candidates with superior cognitive or technical skills.

Researchers say it's important to note that this does not mean employers are hiring unqualified people. But the findings demonstrate that employers hire in a manner more closely resembling the choice of friends or romantic partners than how one might expect employers to select new workers. When you look at the decision to date or marry someone what you think about is commonalities. Do you have a similar level of education? Did you go to a similar caliber school? Do you enjoy similar activities? Are you excited to talk to each other? Do you feel the spark? These types of things are salient at least to the employers researchers studied.