''Whether you are liked or not accounts for about 40 percent of the hiring decision,'' he says.
What about whether you can do the job or not? ''About 20 percent,'' Beshara says. ''That's just the first hurdle.''
Beshara explains in his new book, Acing the Interview: How to Ask and Answer the Questions That Will Get You the Job, (Amacom, $16.95) that hiring people is just like buying something. ''People do it for emotional reasons and justify the rest,'' he says.
That's why it's so critical that job seekers practice and prepare for interviews so that they come across not only as capable of doing the job, but more importantly, as someone that would fit in, who others would like.
Still, Beshara explains that companies often will try to find out if they like you in ''very odd ways.'' For example, the questions by hiring managers or others may get under your skin personally, and you may even feel a little angry or resentful at the probing. Still, it's part of the interviewing game, and those who prepare ahead of time for such a grilling will come across as relaxed and friendly, instead of insulted and unprepared.
Beshara offers these sample questions from interviewers trying to determine whether you will ''fit in'' and some good ways to answer:
* ''What are your three greatest strengths? Your three greatest weaknesses?''
While it's easy to come up with strengths, it can be tricky to talk about weaknesses without appearing, well, weak. Some ways to do that are talking about how you can be impatient with yourself because you often expect the same passion and commitment from others that you have for what you do. Never talk about weaknesses such as procrastination, tardiness, jabbering, etc.
* ''What do you like and dislike about your present boss?''
The interviewer doesn't really care about your current boss, but is interested whether you will make the fatal mistake of badmouthing him or her. ''I really like him as a person and have learned a lot from him,'' is enough of an answer.
* ''What are one or two things your present or previous co-workers dislike about you?''
Beshara says job candidates get this question more than they might like to believe. This is a question, he says, where it is much more important how you respond than what you say. A good response: ''Well, nobody has ever told me outright anything about myself that they said they disliked. I sometimes get the feeling that my work ethic and the striving for perfection irritate some people. But I'm not aware of anything that people have actually said they disliked.''
* ''I'm sure that there were some policies in your previous companies that you didn't agree with . . . how did you handle those?''
Beshara says this is one of the questions interviewers use to try to gauge how you respected previous bosses and to see if you will badmouth a company. The thinking goes that if you disrespected one employer, you will disrespect another. You can admit that while there may have been some policies and procedures that were not clearly understood, it was apparent that those policies were for the good of the company and its employees.
* ''Describe a situation where you personally or professionally failed.''
Bashera says that job candidates should ''watch out for this trap.'' He advises using a ''safe'' story such as not making the high school basketball team or not getting a promotion you felt you deserved. Always remember to follow it up with how you learned from the situation, and don't ever blame another person for the failure. Never talk about personal issues such as divorces, bad childhoods or bankruptcies.
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* ANITA BRUZZESE can be reached c/o Business Editor, Gannett News Service, 7950 Jones Branch Drive, McLean, Va. 22107.
