Personality May Outweigh Skills for 86% of Hiring Managers, Survey Finds

HR Dive · United States · Sep 1, 2026

A new survey by Express Employment Professionals and The Harris Poll found that 86% of U.S. hiring decision-makers believe the right personality can outweigh a candidate's skills gap. Reliability, honesty, adaptability, flexibility, and self-motivation ranked as the top valued traits among both hiring managers and job seekers. The findings align with a parallel TestGorilla report showing 78% of employers had hired technically strong candidates who failed due to poor soft skills fit. For staffing firms, the data signals growing client demand for candidate assessment beyond hard skills, particularly as AI reshapes workplace expectations.