That's because narcissists, known to be obnoxiouslyhigh on self-esteem, are better able to talk about and promote themselves, which projects confidence and expertiseto interviewers, University of Nebraska-Lincoln researchers explained.
In their two-part study, narcissists scored much higher in a simulated job interview than equally qualified non-narcissists.
"This is one setting where it's OK to say nice things about yourself and there are no ramifications. In fact, it's expected," study co-author Peter Harms, an assistant professor of management, said in a university news release. "Simply put, those who are comfortable doing this tend to do much better than those who aren't."
The study, which appears in the Journal of Applied Social Psychology, first involved 72 people being videotaped as job applicants. While non-narcissistic people eased up on their self-promotion when challenged by expert interviewers, the narcissists actually increased their attempts to promote themselves, the researchers found.
In the second part of the study, 222 expert interviewers rated videos of applicants with similar job skills and varying degrees of narcissism. The self-promoters -- those who spoke quickly and at lengthand used such "ingratiationtactics" as smiling, gesturing and complimenting others -- received far more positive evaluations than equally qualified applicants who used tactical modesty, the researchers reported.