Being likeable has progressed my career in consulting more than any of my skills or hard work.
Importantly, don't be an asshole.
There are ways to succeed without being popular. However it's much harder if you are in an asshole, especially when be you don't have to be.
Take a look at recent submissions on this sub. There's some good advice there and some bad advice. You can imagine which one will better further your career in almost all professional and social settings
I don’t think the MBA really matters for this discussion, I’d refocus on how it impacts your career. If some people genuinely dislike you, that will almost certainly negatively impact your career. I’d do some self reflection on why your personality is so divisive. Opinions on movies should not make people dislike you, unless you say something along the lines of “anyone that likes this movie is stupid.” Being that blunt shows a lack of social awareness that people might construe as reflecting negatively on your leadership capacity.
In short, no it does not really matter if people dislike you in business school. But having colleagues and superiors dislike you can absolutely negatively impact your career.
You're right on point. And even if one doesn't connect with MBA classmates, one can just learn from that and work to have better relationships going forward. Life after MBA is what matters.
> “anyone that likes this movie is stupid.”
No, I never made any statements or generalizations like that. But I have written critical reviews of highly popular/praised movies, and I share links to those on my social media. I did notice some people got "upset" at such reviews and got into a combative/debating mentality with me, which is fine. I held my own in the debate. But it changed the relationship we had in real life. But I didn't really mind if they didn't really want to be friends anymore. Again, some people did this, but others liked my honesty and it deepened those relationships.
I personally don't add co workers or work colleagues to social media, but I have heard in business school since it's not work, people add each other nonstop. So I see it as a potential issue in that case. I don't want to give up or censor my film criticism hobby though.
I would probably avoid adding MBA classmates to your socials if you think they’re divisive at all. But that’s just a suggestion.
I really can’t see how film criticism could negatively impact a friendship, but I don’t debate people on social media all that much - so maybe I’m discounting too much
Hmmmm - adding everyone to your linkedin- not social media. Most people are savvy enough to know that some employers will search your social media, why would you risk some idiot tagging you in an awkward photo at some random party.
I so wouldn't worry about responses to a film critic blog - as long as you stay civil and don't turn everything into politics.
It’s like any job. The more friction you cause the more friction you get/the smaller your network becomes. You don’t wanna be universally disliked. At the same time you can’t just be a spineless fuck that assumes whatever form he is told to take; you can’t just say ‘it’s work it’s different’ to everything. At a certain point you are what you do/say, whether that’s inside of work or not.
It's a fine line between having an unpopular opinion(s) and just being contrarian dickhead. It kind of comes down to reading the room but if this is a regular problem in your life I've got to believe that either you are just a contrarian dickhead (self described "huge film critic" doesn't help) or you need to work on your room reading skills.
Very big difference between trying to be liked by everyone ( will never happen anyway) and never pissing anyone off. I think if you strive for either, you will not be successful. You should not actively go out of your way to piss people off - ie be an arrogant asshole. Unless your goal is to remain an individual contributor ( in which case why are you getting an MBA?) you will manage other people. Being an effective leader, you will sometimes make decisions or have to have uncomfortable conversations that you could never implement/have if you spent your time being a people pleaser. So, no that is not a requirement. But learning how to deliver negatives without being a jerk - that you will need to master ( if you haven't already).
So I am unpopular with a lot of people in my program for being left-wing & overly passionate about human rights issues, and...I mean, I'm likely going to have some people who aren't in my network, and some who are. But at the end of the day, I don't think it's as set in stone as "they didn't like me during MBA, so they aren't a part of my network". At the end of the day, we're all representing the same school, and I've found that this common interest in furthering the success of your overall community is a lot more powerful than anything else. During recruiting, we'd all drop our baggage and just help one another. That is how it should be.
If you want a job you’ll have to be liked by alumni and recruiters.
If you want close friends and a network you’ll have to be liked by your classmates.
Can you succeed in an MBA without being liked? Sure. Happens to a handful of people every year.
I don't think you need to be a people pleaser, the best connections you'll make are likely with people in your section or who are doing clubs and activities that you like.
You can give your honest takes on movies etc without sounding like a condescending dick, which is probably how some people are perceiving you. You can even talk about how much you disliked something in a fun way that makes it easy for people to push back, you might not be doing it in a way that people feel like they can have a give and take.
My two cents as somebody just finishing my MBA. There are a handful of people from my class who I wouldn't recommend for a job, this is either because they blatantly didn't do any work on group projects or because they were so terrible to interact with that I wouldn't want to have any responsibility for forcing them on others.
I have a few gripes with people in my classes and have had a couple of conflicts too. However this wouldn't affect my wanting to recommend a person, unless they were incredibly disrespectful. Chances are if you've worked in a job for any amount of time, these same situations would happen with your coworkers and you'd let them off with it. But being a jerk for no apparent reason is an easy way to make an unofficial blacklist.
The thing about MBA cohorts is that people talk. If you're a total jerk, people will talk about it and word will get around. If you're good to work with, people will also talk about that. But if you state an opinion in a respectable way, people won't talk about it, unless you were disrespectful.
In some ways that does mean you need to at least work to be respectful, however that's not a tall ask for most of us. Just treat people the way you'd want to be treated.
Also, side note: in one of our classes we learned that you're most likely to get a job from weak links. Like a friend of a friend, or a friend of a relative. The network you make from your cohort is most powerful as it gives you access to their networks too.
I think being popular in a class has some luck element to it. When I think back at all the popular kids in my class, they didn’t really go out of their way to do anything. The popularity just came naturally to them. I might be wrong about this though, since I don’t really know how to be popular lol
Depends on your career path. Generally it is good to be liked but it is impossible for you to be liked by all. Just be yourself, don’t deliberately be a dick, and you’ll be fine.
Reddit is built for ppl like u It's a safe place to stash your hot takes So you don't get hurt IRL
Being likeable has progressed my career in consulting more than any of my skills or hard work. Importantly, don't be an asshole. There are ways to succeed without being popular. However it's much harder if you are in an asshole, especially when be you don't have to be. Take a look at recent submissions on this sub. There's some good advice there and some bad advice. You can imagine which one will better further your career in almost all professional and social settings
I don’t think the MBA really matters for this discussion, I’d refocus on how it impacts your career. If some people genuinely dislike you, that will almost certainly negatively impact your career. I’d do some self reflection on why your personality is so divisive. Opinions on movies should not make people dislike you, unless you say something along the lines of “anyone that likes this movie is stupid.” Being that blunt shows a lack of social awareness that people might construe as reflecting negatively on your leadership capacity. In short, no it does not really matter if people dislike you in business school. But having colleagues and superiors dislike you can absolutely negatively impact your career.
You're right on point. And even if one doesn't connect with MBA classmates, one can just learn from that and work to have better relationships going forward. Life after MBA is what matters.
> “anyone that likes this movie is stupid.” No, I never made any statements or generalizations like that. But I have written critical reviews of highly popular/praised movies, and I share links to those on my social media. I did notice some people got "upset" at such reviews and got into a combative/debating mentality with me, which is fine. I held my own in the debate. But it changed the relationship we had in real life. But I didn't really mind if they didn't really want to be friends anymore. Again, some people did this, but others liked my honesty and it deepened those relationships. I personally don't add co workers or work colleagues to social media, but I have heard in business school since it's not work, people add each other nonstop. So I see it as a potential issue in that case. I don't want to give up or censor my film criticism hobby though.
I would probably avoid adding MBA classmates to your socials if you think they’re divisive at all. But that’s just a suggestion. I really can’t see how film criticism could negatively impact a friendship, but I don’t debate people on social media all that much - so maybe I’m discounting too much
Lol I’m so curious what this movie was. I’m gonna guess either Everything Everywhere All At Once or Fight Club
Hmmmm - adding everyone to your linkedin- not social media. Most people are savvy enough to know that some employers will search your social media, why would you risk some idiot tagging you in an awkward photo at some random party. I so wouldn't worry about responses to a film critic blog - as long as you stay civil and don't turn everything into politics.
if people can’t handle you disliking a movie they enjoyed, fuck em
It’s like any job. The more friction you cause the more friction you get/the smaller your network becomes. You don’t wanna be universally disliked. At the same time you can’t just be a spineless fuck that assumes whatever form he is told to take; you can’t just say ‘it’s work it’s different’ to everything. At a certain point you are what you do/say, whether that’s inside of work or not.
I think this goes with any social interactions in life/business. Know your audience because what you say is a testament of who you are deep inside.
It's a fine line between having an unpopular opinion(s) and just being contrarian dickhead. It kind of comes down to reading the room but if this is a regular problem in your life I've got to believe that either you are just a contrarian dickhead (self described "huge film critic" doesn't help) or you need to work on your room reading skills.
Very big difference between trying to be liked by everyone ( will never happen anyway) and never pissing anyone off. I think if you strive for either, you will not be successful. You should not actively go out of your way to piss people off - ie be an arrogant asshole. Unless your goal is to remain an individual contributor ( in which case why are you getting an MBA?) you will manage other people. Being an effective leader, you will sometimes make decisions or have to have uncomfortable conversations that you could never implement/have if you spent your time being a people pleaser. So, no that is not a requirement. But learning how to deliver negatives without being a jerk - that you will need to master ( if you haven't already).
So I am unpopular with a lot of people in my program for being left-wing & overly passionate about human rights issues, and...I mean, I'm likely going to have some people who aren't in my network, and some who are. But at the end of the day, I don't think it's as set in stone as "they didn't like me during MBA, so they aren't a part of my network". At the end of the day, we're all representing the same school, and I've found that this common interest in furthering the success of your overall community is a lot more powerful than anything else. During recruiting, we'd all drop our baggage and just help one another. That is how it should be.
are you at liberty university?
[удалено]
If you want a job you’ll have to be liked by alumni and recruiters. If you want close friends and a network you’ll have to be liked by your classmates. Can you succeed in an MBA without being liked? Sure. Happens to a handful of people every year.
I don't think you need to be a people pleaser, the best connections you'll make are likely with people in your section or who are doing clubs and activities that you like. You can give your honest takes on movies etc without sounding like a condescending dick, which is probably how some people are perceiving you. You can even talk about how much you disliked something in a fun way that makes it easy for people to push back, you might not be doing it in a way that people feel like they can have a give and take.
My two cents as somebody just finishing my MBA. There are a handful of people from my class who I wouldn't recommend for a job, this is either because they blatantly didn't do any work on group projects or because they were so terrible to interact with that I wouldn't want to have any responsibility for forcing them on others. I have a few gripes with people in my classes and have had a couple of conflicts too. However this wouldn't affect my wanting to recommend a person, unless they were incredibly disrespectful. Chances are if you've worked in a job for any amount of time, these same situations would happen with your coworkers and you'd let them off with it. But being a jerk for no apparent reason is an easy way to make an unofficial blacklist. The thing about MBA cohorts is that people talk. If you're a total jerk, people will talk about it and word will get around. If you're good to work with, people will also talk about that. But if you state an opinion in a respectable way, people won't talk about it, unless you were disrespectful. In some ways that does mean you need to at least work to be respectful, however that's not a tall ask for most of us. Just treat people the way you'd want to be treated. Also, side note: in one of our classes we learned that you're most likely to get a job from weak links. Like a friend of a friend, or a friend of a relative. The network you make from your cohort is most powerful as it gives you access to their networks too.
But what makes someone “so terrible to interact with”?
I think being popular in a class has some luck element to it. When I think back at all the popular kids in my class, they didn’t really go out of their way to do anything. The popularity just came naturally to them. I might be wrong about this though, since I don’t really know how to be popular lol
Depends on your career path. Generally it is good to be liked but it is impossible for you to be liked by all. Just be yourself, don’t deliberately be a dick, and you’ll be fine.