When it comes to hiring, technical skills and business fit should drive decision-making. But new research from Textio shows that subjective impressions are still playing an outsized role—and could be leading companies to miss out on top talent.
Personality vs. Skills
According to the Textio report, candidates who are hired are 12 times more likely to be praised for their personality rather than those who are rejected. Interview feedback often highlights traits like likability, confidence, or friendliness, while deeper discussions of capability, problem-solving, and performance are left out.
It’s not just a harmless assessment. Prioritizing “vibes” over verified skills can lead to costly hiring mistakes.
Companies that want to build strong, capable teams need to be aware that early impressions are often driving outcomes more than objective evaluation.
Gender Differences
The study also points to troubling gender differences in how candidates are described.
Men are frequently praised as “confident,” while women are often labeled “pleasant” or “bubbly.” These patterns reinforce stereotypes and can distort how hiring managers assess leadership potential and career trajectory.
Train Interviewers to Avoid Bias
For organizations focused on fair hiring and long-term success, the message is clear: interviewers must be trained to evaluate based on structured and role-related criteria, not gut feelings. Feedback should be specific, evidence-based, and tied to how candidates can deliver against business needs.
Allowing vague or personality-driven feedback into the hiring process doesn’t just risk bias. It can weaken the entire organization, favoring likability over capability and limiting the diversity of thought and experience companies need to compete.
Additional Interesting Points From the Study
The study also yielded some additional points about our tendencies when evaluating candidates:
- Interviewers write 39% more feedback when the candidate is not getting an offer.
- Interviewers write 17% more feedback about women than men—though women are also more likely to have no documented feedback at all.
- Candidates with offers are more likely to get feedback than those who are rejected; 84% of candidates who were rejected never got any feedback on their interviews.
- White candidates with offers are 2-3 times more likely than Latino and Black candidates to getting feedback.
Raising Awareness
Building better hiring processes starts with awareness.
Leaders need to insist on structured interviews, consistent evaluation frameworks and actionable feedback from interviewers. Anything less leaves critical hiring decisions up to chance and undermines the very culture most companies say they want to build.