When companies hire employees, they are interested in assessing at
least two types of fit. Person-organization fit refers to the degree
to which a person’s personality, values, goals, and other
characteristics match those of the organization. Person-job fit is the
degree to which a person’s knowledge, skills, abilities, and other
characteristics match the job demands. (Human resources
professionals often use the abbreviation KSAO to refer to these four
categories of attributes.) Thus, someone who is proactive and creative
may be a great fit for a company in the high-tech sector that would
benefit from risk-taking individuals but may be a poor fit for a
company that puts a high priority on routine and predictable
behavior, such as a nuclear power plant. Similarly, this proactive and
creative person may be a great fit for a field-based job such as
marketing manager but a poor fit for an office job highly dependent
on rules such as accountant.