When business market task openings, they frequently utilize buzzwords like “enthusiastic” and “self-reliant” to explain their perfect prospect. These characteristics sound attractive– what employing supervisor would not desire a driven worker?

There’s a catch. In my most current research study, released in the journal Management Science with co-authors Scott Jackson and Nick Seybert, I discovered that these terms might bring in task candidates with more egotistical propensities.

As behavioral scientists in accounting, we have an interest in executives who flex the guidelines. We chose to study task posts after seeing that the language utilized to explain an “perfect prospect” typically consisted of characteristics connected to narcissism. Narcissists tend to see themselves as extremely innovative and convincing. Prior research study likewise reveals that conceited staff members are more ingenious and happy to take threats to get the success and adoration they long for, even if it suggests flexing the guidelines.

Based upon these observations, we assembled 2 sets of terms typically utilized in task posts. We call the 2 sets “rule-follower” and “rule-bender” language.

Some examples of rule-bender language consist of “establishes imaginative and ingenious options to issues,” “interacts in a tactical and convincing way,” and “believes outside package.” On the other hand, the rule-follower language consists of terms like “depends on tried and true options to issues,” “interacts in a simple and precise way,” and “believes systematically.”

Through a series of experiments, we discovered that rule-bender language draws in people with greater levels of narcissism for accounting-specific tasks, along with other markets. To determine narcissism, we utilized a character evaluation that asks individuals to pick whether they recognize more with more egotistical declarations like, “I constantly understand what I am doing,” or less egotistical declarations like “Sometimes I am unsure of what I am doing.”

We likewise discovered that employers are most likely to utilize rule-bender terms when employing for extremely ingenious, high-growth business. For accounting positions, employers are most likely to utilize such terms when aggressive monetary reporting might benefit the company.