Talent Management Blog

Are you funny? It could help you successfully on-board into a new job — or, at least help you fit in as part of a company’s culture.

According to a new survey from specialized staffing firm Accountemps, nearly 80 percent of chief financial officers said employee sense of humor is important for fitting into a company’s culture.

The survey, which polled more than 1,400 CFOs from a “stratified” sample of U.S. companies with 20 or more employees, asked how important, if at all, a person’s sense of humor was to them fitting in with corporate culture.

Twenty-two percent said sense of humor was “very important”; 57 percent agreed it was “somewhat important”; and 20 percent said it was “not at all important.”

A few weeks back, I wrote here about the importance of company culture to the process of on-boarding a new hire. Teaching culture, the post said, helps new hires get comfortable and acclimated more quickly to the job. It also forces the organization to define and study its culture, which helps talent managers in other areas as well, such as recruitment.

In a release announcing the survey results, Accountemps Chairman Max Messmer said “sometimes, a little levity goes a long way toward building rapport among colleagues and diffusing workplace tension.” He also said “job candidates should let their personality shine when meeting prospective employers.”

He does add this caution: “The interview is no place for a stand-up comedy routine, but it is the right time to show hiring managers you are approachable and will be easy to work with.”

I would have to agree: leave the stand-up comedy to the experts. I do think letting people see glimpses of your personality, especially during the interview process, is beneficial. I also agree that, when on-boarding into a new role, it’s safe and comforting for both the new hire and the hiring manager to maintain that levity Messmer hinted at.

What’s your take? Does this vary by company and culture? Or is a sense of humor welcome everywhere? Please email me at fkalman@talentmgt.com or tweet us at @Talentmgt.

 
Frank Kalman
About The Author

Frank Kalman

Frank Kalman is an associate editor of Talent Management magazine. He is a graduate of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, where he earned his master’s of science degree in Dec. 2010. He is also a graduate of Indiana University Bloomington, earning a degree in American history in May 2009. Prior to joining MediaTec, Frank served as an editorial intern for Crain’s Chicago Business, covering commercial and residential real estate for Crain’s real estate spinoff, ChicagoRealEstateDaily. He also covered public finance and commercial banking while a reporter at Medill. Frank can be reached at fkalman@TalentMGT.com.

  • http://www.bgdfgdfgdfgdf.com/ bgdfgdfgdfgdf

    Title…

    [...]here are some links to web pages that we link to due to the fact we think they are really worth visiting[...]…

  • http://www.electronicadventure.us Remote Control

    Title…

    [...]usually posts some pretty fascinating stuff like this. If you are new to this site[...]…

  • http://daughtersofpromise.net/smf/index.php?action=profile;u=233349 Darwin Glatt

    The Absent Game…

    Amongst me and my husband we’ve owned much more MP3 players over time than I can count, including Sansas, iRivers, iPods (classic & touch), the Ibiza Rhapsody, etc. But, the last few decades I’ve settled down to one line of gamers….

  • http://www.lesalonbaby.com/forum/profile.php?id=295427 Kira Sturdy

    Woman of Alien…

    Great work you’ve got completed, this page is de facto awesome with amazing details. Time is God’s method of holding every thing from occurring at once….

  • http://www.marinanielisz.pl/hotele-zamosc/noclegi-roztocze.html noclegi roztocze

    Title…

    [...]we like to honor numerous other web web pages on the web, even when they aren’t linked to us, by linking to them. Underneath are some webpages really worth checking out[...]…

  • http://medprice.fr lecteur carte vitale

    Title…

    [...]although internet sites we backlink to below are considerably not related to ours, we really feel they may be actually worth a go by, so possess a look[...]…

  • http://forum.ourvoice.or.id/member.php?action=profile&uid=26141 Zella Asher

    The Birch of the Shadow…

    I feel there might be a few duplicates, but an exceedingly helpful listing! I have tweeted this. Lots of thanks for sharing!…

  • http://www.facebook.com/allevamentorottweiler.custodiestensi Allevamenti Rottweiler

    Title…

    [...]please pay a visit to the websites we follow, like this a single, as it represents our picks in the web[...]…

  • http://www.mic4sa.com “?????”

    Title…

    [...]just beneath, are numerous absolutely not associated internet sites to ours, even so, they may be surely worth going over[...]…

  • http://fiverr.com/jmhhacker/get-you-75-likes-50-real-active-instagram-followers-and-not-follow-new-people-to-top-it-off-tweet-a-message-or-picture-of-your-choice buy real active instagram followers

    Title…

    [...]that could be the finish of this post. Here you’ll obtain some sites that we believe you’ll appreciate, just click the hyperlinks over[...]…

  • http://www.oobgolf.com/golfers/drake77hawk Dumpster Rentals

    Title…

    [...]Here is a great Weblog You may Obtain Fascinating that we Encourage You[...]…

  • http://shullo.com/?module=register 123moldtesting.com

    Title…

    [...]Here are several of the sites we advocate for our visitors[...]…

  • http://bookmarks.lahorimela.com/other/tips-to-renting-a-roll-off-dumpster/ Dumpster Rental

    Title…

    [...]Every once inside a although we opt for blogs that we read. Listed below are the newest sites that we pick out [...]…

  • http://www.askgovt.com/User-dadesoamb Livia Celadon

    The Absent Game…

    Between me and my husband we have owned additional MP3 gamers over time than I can count, which include Sansas, iRivers, iPods (basic & touch), the Ibiza Rhapsody, etc. But, the last few decades I’ve settled down to one line of players….

  • http://d-q-e.com/phpBB2/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=81326 Theron Mifflin

    The Birch of the Shadow…

    I think there may well become a couple of duplicates, but an exceedingly useful record! I’ve tweeted this. Several thanks for sharing!…

  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuGXBNwcIjQ&feature=youtu.be weight loss diet

    Title…

    [...]below you’ll uncover the link to some web-sites that we assume you ought to visit[...]…

  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01Z_0PDv3Os samsung galaxy s3

    Title…

    [...]just beneath, are several totally not associated web-sites to ours, nonetheless, they may be surely really worth going over[...]…

  • http://landofnodcoupons.weebly.com/ land of nod discount code

    Title…

    [...]check beneath, are some entirely unrelated sites to ours, even so, they are most trustworthy sources that we use[...]…

  • http://www.der-messershop.ch/de/Bear-Grylls bear grylls messer

    Title…

    [...]Here is a great Blog You might Obtain Exciting that we Encourage You[...]…

  • http://rodneystokes.com/organo-gold-scam-its-time-you-heard-the-truth/ Organo Gold Scam

    Title…

    [...]Sites of interest we have a link to[...]…