A new study, “Hiring as Cultural Matchmaking: The Case of Elite Professional Service Firms,” suggests that employers are often looking to find a candidate whom they would like to hang out with rather than identifying the person who can best do the job.
“It is important to note that this does not mean employers are hiring unqualified people,” says the study’s author, Lauren A. Rivera, an assistant professor at Northwestern University.
“But, my findings demonstrate that—in many respects—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 I’ve studied.”
Rivera says the study is the first systematic, empirical investigation of whether shared culture between employers and job candidates matters in hiring, evaluators at firms often valued their personal feelings of comfort, validation, and excitement over identifying candidates with superior cognitive or technical skills.
In fact, more than half of the evaluators in the study ranked cultural fit—the perceived similarity to a firm’s existing employee base in leisure pursuits, background, and self-presentation—as the most important criterion at the job interview stage.
The study is based on 120 interviews with professionals involved in undergraduate and graduate hiring in elite U.S. investment banks, law firms, and management consulting firms as well as participant observation of a recruiting department. More details about the study can be found in the American Sociological Association (ASA) news release.
As a hiring supervisor, I certainly agree. As Dr. Eric Allenbaugh says, hire for Attitude and Alignment and build on Aptitude. Sure, you must hire people who have the aptitude to do the job, but without the right attitude and alignment, all the aptitude in the world will not save you from a miserable experience–for everyone! With baseline Aptitude and a great fit in Attitude and Alignment, you will be able to coach and mentor the new hire into a dynamo for your business.