Actually, you'd be surprised. I'm taking the "jerk" definition to mean a sense of self-entitlement and sense of power.
You don't need to be a jerk and eat the last cookie but having a strong sense of "alpha" confidence in most interview-like situation pays off really well.
Next time you have an interview (or a one-on-one or a salesy meeting), try to exude some sense of power[0] (don't overdo it!) and see how the other person reacts. I know that it blew my mind the first few times I tried it.
As an aside, it's crazy to me that we engineers are so focused on hacking systems but seem to denigrate hacking personal interactions as if it's something dirty/beneath us.
You don't need to be a jerk and eat the last cookie but having a strong sense of "alpha" confidence in most interview-like situation pays off really well.
Next time you have an interview (or a one-on-one or a salesy meeting), try to exude some sense of power[0] (don't overdo it!) and see how the other person reacts. I know that it blew my mind the first few times I tried it.
As an aside, it's crazy to me that we engineers are so focused on hacking systems but seem to denigrate hacking personal interactions as if it's something dirty/beneath us.
[0] http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_cuddy_your_body_language_shapes...