Job Hunting as Dating

But is it a seduction or a search for true love?

Paul Zak is the founding Director of the Center for Neuroeconomics Studies and Professor of Economics, Psychology and Management at Claremont Graduate University, and he is credited with the first published use of the term “neuroeconomics” which combines psychology, economics, and neuroscience in the study of how people make decisions.

Paul’s lab studies the role of oxytocin in trust and virtuous behavior, and he discusses this in his popular blog at Psychology Today titled, “The Moral Molecule.” He is working on the forthcoming book of the same name.

_________________________________________________________

<<< Elissa is a documentary filmmaker

Abby is a writer >>>

_________________________________________________________

Elissa and Abby were two of the many people who responded to an advertisement for an executive assistant placed by Brooke Allen, founder of No Shortage of Work, and who, by day, heads a quantitative trading desk for a securities firm. Brooke has an unusual approach to hiring that involves, in his words, “due diligence and full disclosure.” He says, “I try to be completely honest in presenting myself, the work and the firm, with a concentration on the negatives because I don’t want any nasty surprises afterward.” He has discovered that when he is honest, most people can’t help but be honest in response. Although Brooke got to know both Elissa and Abby very well, and now counts them among his friends, he did not hire them – not because they wouldn’t be excellent workers, but because his job would not get them closer to their dreams.

Many people have compared job hunting to dating, and Brooke agrees. However, he likens most job hunting advice to lessons in seduction, where landing a job is like going to bed for the first time – as if it doesn’t matter what happens afterward. “I don’t want to hire anyone until we both get to see the other person’s authentic self, because who else do we plan on being after work begins in earnest?”

Paul Zak has made a career of studying how people establish long-term relationships and create bonds of trust, whether in the workplace, the marketplace or the home.

Paul joined Elissa, Abby, Brooke and Adrienne (the person Brooke did hire) to discuss how the process of matching people and jobs can be made more honest, effective and humane.

Listen to their conversation:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Or right-click here to download the .mp3 file.

Audio engineering was provided by Glen Allen.

Be Sociable, Share!

•