Skills still matter. But when it comes to getting hired, your personality may be the deciding factor.
Hiring managers say they want skills and experience. But new research suggests that, in practice, they’re often making a much faster—and more subjective—judgment: Do I like what I see in this person?
A recent survey found that 94 percent of hiring managers and 91 percent of job applicants believe personality and first impressions play a crucial role in hiring decisions.
Even more striking: personality can sometimes outweigh the very qualifications companies say they’re looking for.
Personality can close the skills gap
The survey, conducted by job search and recruitment company Express Employment Professionals, found that 86 percent of hiring managers believe positive personality traits can compensate for gaps in skills or experience.
And the judgment happens fast.
Eighty-seven percent of hiring managers said they can tell from the first interaction whether a candidate is likely to succeed in the workplace. Sixty-one percent of applicants said they have a similar instinct about employers.
That first interaction can take many forms: casual small talk before an interview, the tone of an email, a candidate’s response to a challenging question, or even how they treat employees they encounter during a visit.
What are employers looking for?
Reliability. Honesty. Adaptability. Flexibility. Self-motivation.
In other words, they’re trying to determine not just Can this person do the job? but What will this person be like to work with?
First impressions don’t disappear after the interview
The influence of personality appears to extend well beyond the hiring decision.
Nearly 95 percent of hiring managers and just over 90 percent of job seekers said personality continues to affect how workplace performance is perceived. Meanwhile, 78 percent of executives and 72 percent of candidates said personality influences whether a new hire ultimately thrives at the company.
That helps explain why employers may be willing to overlook a missing skill when a candidate demonstrates the right attitude.
“Every employee has an effect on the workplace beyond the responsibilities listed in a job description,” said Express Employment International CEO Bob Funk Jr. “The right personality can build trust, make change easier to navigate and raise the standard for how a team works together.”
There’s research behind that instinct, too.
A recent analysis by University of Florida researchers found that the way candidates communicate and present themselves can overshadow more substantive factors such as skills and experience.
“The impression you form of somebody in the first handful of minutes of meeting them will strongly relate to how you feel about them more than a month later,” coauthor Brian D. Swisher told the university’s news site.
That finding challenges the comforting idea that hiring decisions are purely rational evaluations of résumés and qualifications. They aren’t. First impressions stick.
In the age of AI, personality may be your advantage
The shift is particularly relevant as artificial intelligence increasingly helps candidates generate résumés, cover letters, and applications.
AI can make an application polished. It can also make it sound like everyone else’s.
An analysis by job-hunting platform KickResume found that some of its most successful users broke conventional résumé rules by letting more personality come through. The winning formula was simple: sound human, then back it up with evidence.
“Personality earns the read; the evidence earns the interview,” said KickResume HR expert Marta ŘÃhová.
That may be the real lesson for both sides of the hiring desk.
Skills get you into consideration. Experience gives employers a reason to take you seriously. But personality can determine what happens next.
In a job market increasingly flooded with polished, AI-generated applications, the candidates who stand out may not be the ones who sound the most perfect.
They may be the ones who sound the most human.