Every company wants to hire someone “ambitious” who “thinks outside the box,” right? Who “thinks strategically” and “communicates persuasively”? While recruiters may be tempted to pepper job postings with these keywords, which seemingly describe the ideal employee, a new study suggests such “rule-bender” language is apt to attract narcissistic applicants. What’s more, this type of wording entices narcissists who are more likely to engage in fraudulent or unethical behavior—particularly where accounting positions are concerned—according to researchers at the universities of Maryland , Mississippi , and South Carolina . Their findings have been accepted for publication by the journal Management Science .
“Even before a single job seeker has clicked ‘Apply,’ language contained in a job posting may be too seductive for narcissists to ignore, increasing the chances of attracting unethical applicants to the position,” Nick Seybert, PhD , an associate professor of accounting at UMD’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, said in a news release . Narcissists are no strangers to the workplace .
Previous research has shown they not only hamper team performance but also have a knack for landing leadership roles . This latest study, the researchers note, may help explain why self-admiring applicants get hired in the first place; recruiters may unintentionally be using rule-bender rhetoric. In a series of experiments, Seybert and his colleagues gauged peo.