According to a recent study that surveyed 500 business leaders around the world, 78 percent of potential employers believe that personality is the most important factor in choosing the perfect candidate. Skills (39 percent) and culture fit (53 percent) paled in comparison to having a charming demeanor, a friendly smile, or whatever else these business leaders think the word “personality” means in this context. And the data has some pretty impressive entrepreneurs behind the theory: It stands to reason. Intelligence, while often considered stagnant, is easily improved and molded to fit a company’s requirements. However, personality is fairly unchanging, particularly at the age where you’re looking for employment, and can have decidedly more of an effect on team productivity, company culture, and overall work performance in a specific company. I apologize for sounding like your mom right now, but if you really want to get the job, just be yourself. Getting an interview means you’ve already impressed them with your skills and your experience, and the face-to-face is mostly just to find out what kind of person lies behind the piece of paper. By being yourself, you’ll appear calm, cool, and collected, an invaluable skill under pressure, particularly to an interviewer that has probably seen more pit stains than a TSA agent. Read more about getting hired at your dream job on TechCo
