Is the applicant really good, or just the average narcissist?

Sharon McKnight SPHR

[URL]http://lifeinc.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/10/11101305-narcissists-do-better-in-job-interviews-heres-why?lite[/URL]

I came across this article that made me stop and think for a moment. It's kind of an eye-opener in a way and might explain why some manager's hiring decisions that seem so right at the time go so terribly wrong in the long term.

Have you ever hired someone who just nailed the interview and then turned out to be not such a good employee? What did you do to resolve that problem?

Sharon

KSR6450

I read the article earlier this morning and it was spot on. Made me think about how I recently aided a friend in his job search. He is an admitted narcissist.

He has no college education and a recent spotty work history, but was able to nail the interview and is now a trainee store manager at a large retail auto supplier. I am waiting for him to get fired. The first week he was complaining to me about how the store runs, because he could do everything so much better.

I believe most narcissists are better suited for jobs where they are independent and do not need the assistance of the common folk - like sales.

Side note, I submitted his resume (which I had to build) to a good friend who is the CEO at said company. What was I thinking?!?!

Paul in Cannon Beach

I can see why this happens. I think alot of interviewers are looking for confidence which narcissists appear to have. Interviewers are also looking for accomplishment which narcissists are quick to promote.

Within the contrived reality of the typical job interview, the narcissist shines. Once the harsh spotlight of actual workplace reality with its pesky responsibilities and annoying expectations, the narcissist will spend more and more time propping up their inflated view of themselves and less time actually contributing.

Oh well, there are always more employers out there who don't reference check..

cnghr

I've watched this happen fairly often here. A lot of hiring supervisors are easily swayed by this sort of applicant, because they know how to make themselves appear to be just what you are looking for, and it's not until you get them on board and realize how much of it was their ability to self-promote as opposed to actual job-related ability. I try to caution people about how to be more discerning and not just fall for someone who interviews wonderfully, but unfortunately it seems like these people slip through more often than I'd like to see.

Many of them have ended up weeding themselves out one way or the other, like a few of them who were caught in blatant lies once they got the job and proved that they didn't have the skillset they claimed and were let go, or the ones who realized on their own how over their head they were and quit, but from time to time we get stuck with one of them who does the job well enough to get by or constantly teeters on the edge of being fired for one reason or another, all the while making everyone else's life around them miserable. And when they know it's only a matter of time before they have to go, either voluntarily or involuntarily, they aren't satisfied unless they at least try take other people down with them.

ACU Frank

BTW, Sharon, there are no average narcissists. They are all way, way above average. Perfect even.

Sharon McKnight SPHR

[quote=ACU Frank;723915]BTW, Sharon, there are no average narcissists. They are all way, way above average. Perfect even.[/quote]


LOL -- So true!

KSR6450

[quote=KSR6450;723899]I read the article earlier this morning and it was spot on. Made me think about how I recently aided a friend in his job search. He is an admitted narcissist.

He has no college education and a recent spotty work history, but was able to nail the interview and is now a trainee store manager at a large retail auto supplier. I am waiting for him to get fired. The first week he was complaining to me about how the store runs, because he could do everything so much better.

I believe most narcissists are better suited for jobs where they are independent and do not need the assistance of the common folk - like sales.

Side note, I submitted his resume (which I had to build) to a good friend who is the CEO at said company. What was I thinking?!?![/quote]

Side note - the [B]former[/B] friend was effectively fired after being out for a month on a worker's comp claim. The claim was denied, of course, and he was not put back on the schedule, so he quit. Went back into sales. Sadly, just because a person can "sell" themself does not make them a good employee.