What vibes are you bringing to your career? An analysis of over 10,000 interviews by Textio found that vibes hiring is common in the workplace – where personality and soft-skills such as likability form the basis for the hiring decision. The new study reveals that a job seeker who receives an offer is 12 times more likely to be described as having a “great personality” compared to those who didn’t get the gig. “Too many hiring teams rely on memory, gut instinct, or informal messages to capture what happened in an interview,” according to Kieran Snyder, Chief Scientist Emeritus and co-founder at Textio. “Unfortunately, memory fades, gut instincts are often unreliable, and informal messages aren’t a hiring system. Structured, skills-based interview assessments are a non-negotiable for any effective hiring process,” Snyder says. So, for job seekers, what’s the message – more good vibes, less hard skills? And what do companies risk, or gain, when hiring for likability? Is it really necessary to invest in formalized, skills-based hiring systems – especially for small businesses?
Vibes Matter – But So Do Other Things
Candidates receiving job offers also receive the following adjectives in the interview process:
- “Friendly” is used to describe desired candidates five times more often
- “Great energy” is used to describe desired candidates four times more often
- Women are described as “bubbly” 25 times more than men, and “pleasant” shows up 11 times more than for guys
- 84% of candidates who are rejected never get any feedback on their interview
In this age of skills-based hiring, where college degrees aren’t supposed to matter as much as in the past, what’s the message for job seekers? Turns out, personality fit is still important – but it’s not a good idea to base a career decision on just vibes.
“It’s crazy how often hiring still comes down to a ‘gut feeling’ instead of actual skill alignment,” according to Olivia Crawford, CEO of Bettabite. “No wonder so many companies struggle with turnover or poor role fit. Hiring based on vibes might feel good at the moment, but it’s not a strategy, it’s a gamble. We need more tools (and willingness) to assess candidates on what actually matters long-term.”
Experts point out that skills and performance based evaluations are the strongest predictors of career success. And those assessments can rate soft skills as part of the process. Restaurant owner Michael Passalacqua says that he’s been using a skills-based hiring tool for the last 14 years. In an industry notorious for high turnover (food service), the tool has helped him to assess the fit for new employees. “It’s not a test,” says Passalacqua, adding, “There’s no right or wrong answer.” The process doesn’t take long, which is important. One challenge for candidate assessment methods is they can discourage candidates if they drag on or seem too onerous. This is particularly a disadvantage for restaurants, which often need to make hiring decisions quickly in a competitive market, according to restaurantowners.com.
Work is a place where we spend a majority of our waking hours. Devoted to a cause, product or purpose in the pursuit of a livelihood, getting along with others is part of the deal. The ability to interact (or perhaps even tolerate?) a co-worker or team member is a vital criteria. Would you hire someone with epic skills and a toxic personality? In a tight job market, it seems that soft skills like collaboration, enthusiasm and willingness to take on new responsibilities are the difference-makers in the interview process.
Liz Palmieri, a talent optimization consultant, says that The Predictive Index is a great way to assess candidates in an objective and scientific way. “When we align a candidate to the job and take a look at the behaviors, it’s a very objective process,” she explains. Predictive Index has “over 400 validity studies proving we measure what we say we measure,” Palmieri says.
The Marriage of Vibes and Data
Assessing candidate skill levels, in an objective way, can be extremely valuable. And, in some roles, mission-critical. However, in organizations where teamwork, innovation and collaboration are foundational to the culture, relationships matter. Leaders have to trust their instincts when it comes to merging personalities inside a team. For applicants, the ability to play well with others gets you into the game. But your skills will help you to play it. And win.
Assessments can evaluate for personality traits and soft skills. “Assessments let you identify someone who has the right traits for a role,” Passalacqua says. For companies who rely on these types of assessments, that flexibility might be an advantage for those looking to change jobs or industries. After hiring, behavioral profiles can inform leaders of ways to interact with employees – understanding their preferences inside of both challenges and opportunities. The whole idea behind assessments is to create alignment between the company, the employee and the role. Feeling good is nice, but performing well is where career satisfaction really happens. Good vibes without a good fit for the role is a recipe for disaster.
For job seekers today, the message is clear: a willingness to focus on soft skills (like communication, interpersonal awareness and emotional intelligence) can go a long way in the job interview. Hiring focuses on ability and aptitude, in companies that are focused on growth. Candidates need to combine vital soft skills with hard results on an assessment. That way, you’ll be giving the hiring manager more than just good vibes in the job interview.
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