Applicant–employee similarity and attraction to an employer

Considerable research has supported the similarity–attraction effect, wherein similarity on various dimensions predicts interpersonal attraction. The present study extended this notion to workplace attraction, by examining whether applicant similarity to prospective co‐workers enhances attraction to the potential employer. Similarity between college‐aged women and prototypical employees at well‐known retail stores was assessed. Both perceived similarity and prototype similarity predicted perceptions of employer attractiveness. Although perceived similarity produced larger effect sizes, prototype similarity showed promise as an indirect measure of person‐to‐person fit.