Linchi Kwok, Ph.D.

The Wall Street Journal reported a study conducted by scholars at Stanford and Harvard , suggesting that employers are willing to pay more for candidates with high potential and promise than those with actual, proven performance. Is that for real? If so, how can job candidates demonstrate their potential during the interviewing process? In this study, researchers asked 77 participants to evaluate two hypothetical applicants for a managerial position based on the candidates’ performance on two tests, one measuring a candidate’s leadership potential and the other measuring the actual leadership achievement. It turned out that these 77 participants were more excited with the candidate who did very well in leadership potential but moderate in actual achievement, as compared to the candidate who did very well in actual achievement but moderate in leadership potential. Interesting, but really? I do not think potential alone can make the cut in job search especially in today’s econo

This month’s HR Magazine reported two interesting studies about self-promoter and self-deprecator. They are:   Leaders who rated their skills significantly higher than the ratings given by their bosses are six times more likely to derail than those who have a more realistic view of their work performance, according to a study with 39,000 global leaders. While the self-deprecators are less likely to derail than self-promoters, they are also less likely to advance than those who are in touch with their actual work performance, according to Louis Quast , associate chair of the Organizational Leadership, Policy and Development Department at University of Minnesota. Self-deprecators are often overlooked even though they could be really good performers.  Another study of 14,000 U.S.-based managers reveals that those seen by their immediate supervisors as lacking in self-awareness and tact were most likely to derail. I am not sure whether being a self-promoter or a self-d

I keep hearing two distinguishing voices about social media. Some complain that social media has negative impact on individual users and the society as a whole because people can become very addicted to it and there is no sense of privacy in the cyber world. Others think highly about social media because people can use social media to promote business , find jobs , solve crimes , and remain connected with friends and family. Which school of thoughts makes sense to you?     To me, they all make sound arguments. I see social media as a “neutral” tool. If people do not understand social media or fail to use it in an appropriate way, it could be very harmful. At the same time, social media can certainly become very useful, depending on how we use it. The following news videos, for example, provide some great examples of how social media can make positive impact. As featured in the first, CBS news video , NextDoor is a new entrepreneurship venture that keeps people connected with