Sure, skills and professionalism still count--just not as much as personality and "likeability," according to a new survey.

Of course, it's no surprise that human factors matter in a job search. But I always figured that between two candidates with equivalent skills, the job goes to the candidate who was more personable or exhibited better people skills or, in the right setting, just had a better time yucking it up with his or her interviewers.

I never imagined it would be the other way 'round: that between two candidates with approximately the same "likeability" ratings, the job would go to the one with more or better skills.

But that, indeed, is the case, according to an NFI Research survey of 223 senior execs and hiring managers. Some 63% named likeability as the key hiring factor, followed by 62% who said skills are most important. What matters least to those hiring and promoting are knowledge of the organization, which was cited by only 20%; diversity, at 19%; and testing, at 15%.

So, job searchers, better spend your prep time learning to make small talk and other entertaining chatter to put your interviewer at ease. Practice your smile, and forget about those nasty details like learning about the company or getting the latest certifications in your specialty. Don't worry about documenting your worth to the business you're already in or demonstrating your bottom-line results.

No, instead learn about your interviewers and try to be just like them.

Ay, caramba. Maybe it's me, but this sounds like a reality TV show gone bad. Okay, that is an oxymoron. Let me rephrase: If this attitude becomes widespread, we're going to wind up with IT departments that make the "Stepford Wives" seem like Berkeley, Calif., circa 1968.

Perhaps it's the uncertain times we live in that make people want to work around clones of themselves. Maybe it's just human nature that we prefer to spend our 10- or 12-hour workdays with people we don't have to work too hard to be around because, after all, they're more or less like us. And the job is tough enough, right?

Well, maybe. But it's always seemed to me that people with different personalities--given relevant skills and experience, solid training, and, yes, reasonable interpersonal communications abilities--make for a stronger team. People from different generations, with diverse tech skills and cultures and backgrounds, can together solve a problem better, I've found, precisely because they look at the world a bit differently.

Yes, it can take longer to come to consensus. But once there, the solution is generally more solid than whatever a team of mini-me yes-men can come up with. They've looked at the issue from all angles and have tested out many possible answers from just about every realm of the tech world. They complement each other's skills.

And so it's anathema to me that the pendulum seems to be swinging in this style-over-substance kind of way. Here's hoping it doesn't stay there for long, particularly with 60% of IT professionals looking for a job, according to another survey.

What do you think of this notion of charm over skill? Weigh in below.

And finally, for those who are looking for a completely "out of the box" kind of job experience, check out this story about one person's view of an IT workforce shortage in New Orleans. Vince Gremillion, president of New Orleans-based Restech Information Services, has lost valuable members of his staff and hasn't been able to replace them. I'd wager that working in that most soulful of cities would be anything but boring.