Fundamental Attribution Error

Warning – psychology babble coming your way from Fast Company.  I encounter this effect often with clients: That judgment is what’s called, in psychology, the Fundamental Attribution Error. Meaning that we tend to attribute people’s behavior to their core character rather than to their situation. So when somebody cuts you off in traffic, you think, “What a jerk!” You don’t think, “I wonder situation he’s in that’s causing him to drive so crazy.” Even though in those times when YOU have driven crazily, it was almost certainly because of the situation you were in—you were late for a job interview or a date. May I make a suggestion?  The use… Read More

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Stupid Candidate Tricks

Here is a new one – candidates who use provocative usernames in the online resume submission software.  From abcnews.com: …a candidate who entered his resume in the company’s online database — along with the username “Sexpig.” Yeah, what more needs to be said about that one?  Well, this is much better: Poindexter, a community manager at Disaboom.com, a Denver-based Web community for those with disabilities, recently had to retract a job offer from an entry-level candidate who proved to be a LinkedIn liar. Shortly after extending the offer, Poindexter Googled the new hire and found that his assistant-to-be’s LinkedIn profile had been updated to include a nonexistent position at Disaboom… Read More

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