Do They Like People?


Now that seems a bit of an odd question, right? Doesn’t everyone pretty much like other people?

And just before you got that question out of your mouth, you knew the answer: not everybody does. We all know people who just don’t like other people. They rarely (or never) find a nice thing to say about others; they criticize easily and often; they grumble; and they are not all that warm and fuzzy to be around, right?

Well, those folks are obvious. They stick out like a sore thumb. This tip endeavors to go a bit deeper. Let’s take a look at this when it’s not so obvious and when you don’t have all the time in the world to find out.

Enjoying other people, having affinity for other people, liking other people — this is a very positive quality to have in your workplace.

A genuinely likable person who genuinely likes others is likely to get more done in a variety of ways:

    • They will try to do more with less. They’ll be inclined to look at the company as if it were theirs and try to be efficient with the company’s resources.
    • They will take the time to help fellow employees. The effort to help a co-worker isn’t something they feel compelled to do, they just think it’s the right thing to do.
    • This person usually takes criticism well. Supervisors enjoy working with this person.

The list goes on.

How can you tell how much a person truly likes people? Well, if you are not using our employee testing service, watch this 3 minute video and take our free test. The test can tell you many things about people and in particular it can tell you how much affinity and empathy a person has for others. And because you’re taking the test, you can see how accurate and revealing this test really is.

But what about the interview itself? Is there something you could do in the interview to help you assess your applicant’s affinity for others?

I think there is.

Give the applicant the following statement:

“Describe for me what it means to like other people.”

If the person very easily answers this question and gives an answer that makes total sense to you, that’s a good sign.

If the person stumbles a bit or hesitates and has to think it over, well, not a great sign.

People who go through life liking other people understand what that quality is and can easily communicate about it.

In the humble opinion of the author of this hiring tip, the more you can locate future employees that easily and freely like others, the better.

