This is true almost anywhere. You need to be likable or people won’t do you any favors. Doesn’t matter how good you are at your job. With that said, academic h

This is true almost anywhere. You need to be likable or people won’t do you any favors. Doesn’t matter how good you are at your job. With that said, academic hiring is a broken process. Professors should be hired and fired like anyone else. It would benefit everyone except already tenured professors who have decided to coast after making tenure. Tenured professors who are doing great would have better job prospects and be able to move more freely as there would be more open competition for top talent.