If you want to be good at your job, you better not be too smart.

Whoever is looking for a new job can comfortably watch a silly series or hang out on the terrace. Just don't read a good book or learn a new language, or anything in that direction.

To make a significant step in your career you better not be too smart, because research shows that very smart people actually have less chance of being hired for a new job. The smartest people are certainly not always the most successful people.

This is because very intelligent people are not always hired for a job, as employers fear they will get bored quickly at work. They also think that very smart people won't stay long in one company because they have so many options in life. Additionally, many employers feel a bit threatened by super-intelligent people and are afraid that those smarties are eyeing their managerial positions.

Furthermore, smart people do not always have more success in the workplace. This is because they tend to have relatively fewer social skills This does not apply to every smart cookie, okay, but most Einsteins are just a bit less skilled socially. They sometimes don't know how to greet their boss properly and also don't know how to chat smoothly with their colleagues or how to behave at a company outing. Well. That doesn't work in your favor. Your emotional intelligence is just as important – or maybe even more important – for a bit of a career than your IQ.

Good. That saves you another master's degree. Just go ahead and chat.

FACTS

• From an IQ of 130, you can call yourself gifted
• Around the age of 25, you have the best chance of finding a job
• On Fridays, the fewest people report sick