It has been well-established within the literature on hiring that organisational fit is of great importance in hiring decisions. In order to get hired a candidate must ‘fit in’ and get on with other people within the organisational environment. This organisational fit is often seen as the chemistry between the personality of the candidate and a) the organisation or b) the interviewers or hiring panel. It is furthermore understood to depend on the extent applicants share certain characteristics such as values, culture and interests with the organisation and its workers. Within psychology, Person-Organization Fit Theory understands this organisational fit in rather mechanical terms and underplays the role of social characteristics in the construction of organisational fit. Yet sociologists have found that uncertainty in organizations leads to selection of workers on the basis of social similarity (Kanter, 1977). Gender, race and cultural similarities drive some of these matching processes (Friedman and Laurison, 2019; Gorman, 2005; Rivera, 2012; Woodson, 2015). Yet we do not currently know much about how social fit is socially constructed and applied within (non-elite) skilled work, in which many university graduates are employed. This paper focuses on how employers and labour market intermediaries construct organisational fit and how do they ascertain the organisational parameters of fit as well as the relevant characteristics of candidates. It draws on interviews with 47 recruitment consultants based in England, and predominantly in the London area. The sample consists of consultants recruiting for positions in marketing, finance, the public sector, engineering, management consultancy, and law. The findings confirm that social fit is still of critical importance in the recruitment and selection process in these sectors. Despite this, notions around fit are rarely made explicit, codified or shaped into hiring criteria. The paper also shows that the understandings of fit are very malleable and in practice there exists great variety in interpretations of what it constitutes and how it can be assessed. The paper will outline some key factor that shape recruiter’s judgement on social fit such as the importance of personal narratives, the organisational stance on diversity, and sector. The paper will discuss the implications for our understanding of graduate transitions and the relative chances of acquiring and maintaining employment for disadvantaged graduates.

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