It’s your call: Don’t let friends influence career decisions, study warns

It’s natural for humans to seek out social interaction and acceptance. Whether on the playground or in the boardroom, no one wants to be a pariah. Oftentimes, this universal inclination toward fitting in with the group leads to bad decisions.

At some point in life, everyone has heard the classic parental comeback “if your friends jumped off a bridge, would you?” Now, interesting new career-centric research from the University of Florida changes the question to fit the quintessential burgeoning young professional: “If your friend accepted a poor job offer, would you?”

Published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, this new report dives into how career decisions made by friends and close relations influence one’s own professional choices and outcomes. Read on to learn more.

“Why did you choose this company?”

It’s a question posed by countless interviewers: “Why did you choose this company?” While there is certainly more than one right answer to that query, it’s undoubtedly a bad idea to answer with something along the lines of “because my friend works here” or “because my friend likes the company.”

Surprisingly, however, that’s precisely what this latest research project uncovered. Study authors found that applicants tend to be more attracted to, and especially willing to accept jobs with, a company if their friends feel it is a great fit.

“The study identifies that how applicants go through the recruitment process is meaningfully impacted by what their friends think about those organizations,” Study co-author Professor Brian Swider explains in a university release. “That can be positive in the form of learning. But that can also be negative in the form of social influence and pressure to conform to what your friend group thinks about a certain organization.”

One person’s dream job can be another’s nightmare

While researchers admit it’s understandable and even expected for friends to swap stories and exchange notes while navigating the job market, they stress that what one person experiences isn’t necessarily going to be applicable for their friends – and assuming as much can potentially result in major career mistakes.

In an effort to better understand this topic, Prof. Swider and his co-author, David Sullivan, analyzed two groups of students set to graduate from professional accounting programs in the Southwestern United States. All studied students received job offers from major accounting companies, and researchers were able to observe in real time as the participants pressured each other into taking jobs at certain employers.

“We’re cognitive misers—that’s ultimately where biases creep in,” Prof. Swider says. “These decisions are tough, and sometimes we over-rely on others because we don’t want that responsibility. If I can trick myself into saying I have enough information, then at least I can live with the decision in the short term.”

Tips for choosing the best job for you

Make no mistake, there’s nothing wrong about deliberating with a friend or bouncing ideas off of a loved one while choosing which jobs to apply for, or whether or not to accept an offer of employment. That being said, at the end of the day you’re the one who will have to live with your job day in and day out, not your friend or family member. 

There’s only one person truly capable of picking the right job, and that’s you. Researchers have a few suggestions to help avoid succumbing to peer pressure while job hunting:

• Sit down and write down a list of pros and cons associated with the position/company under consideration.
• Critically analyze your own professional strengths and weaknesses. Then, compare how that skill set matches up with the job.
• Ask yourself: Do the company’s values align with your own?
• Don’t rely solely on friends; seek out second opinions or perspectives about the employer.

“We spend 40% of our waking adult lives at work,” Prof. Swider comments. “Making sure that individuals and organizations are finding the right match has a net positive for everyone involved in that slice of life. If you can get people in organizations that fit, all the data suggests positive outcomes for both the employee and the employer.”

Advice for recruiters, employers

Applicants aren’t the only cohort that can potentially benefit from this work. Researchers recommend employers and recruiters rid themselves of outdated recruiting handbooks. Instead, candidates should be given better information sources about companies and jobs. Hiring strategies may even need to change by way of offering more opportunities to attract friend groups who are already used to working together as a team.

“A lot of employee withdrawal and turnover can be traced back to inefficient or ineffective recruitment and selection processes,” Prof. Swider adds. “If you’re bringing in the wrong people, or the people who are attracted to your organization are attracted for the wrong reasons, it’s not functional for anybody. The employee is going to be dissatisfied, disengaged and eventually they’re going to quit and have to spend time, resources, money [and] effort to find new jobs.”

“The organizations will have to go out and re-recruit, reselect, resocialize and hope they do better in the future.”

In summation, study authors stress that workers who make career decisions based solely on their own judgments and opinions stand a far stronger chance of staying with an employer for the long haul.

“There are a bunch of people taking jobs because their friends are doing it, and I learned very early in life that if all your friends are doing something, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a good idea,” he concludes.