It’s a common perception that being nice seldom works in life, with a ruthless edge required to thrive.  In a world that is so highly collaborative and social however, does the adage that nice guys finish last still apply?

A recent study suggests that the answer is a definite no.  The study, which saw the assessments of over 2,600 candidates for management positions in a range of organizations analyzed to assess the impact of interpersonal qualities on the success of an application.

Getting personal

Each interview lasted for around four hours, with a substantial report generated on each candidate as a result.  This report detailed things such as the career to date of the candidate, but also their childhood and education.  This resulted in a rating for each candidate across 30 personal and professional characteristics that is used to make the hiring decision.

The characteristics of each candidate broadly fitted into four categories:

• their charisma
• their strategic thinking
• their ability to get tasks done
• their creativity

Perhaps unsurprisingly, candidates that scored highly in these areas tended to receive more offers, both for new jobs and for internal promotions, especially to the CEO position.

Perhaps the most interesting finding from the study was around the impact of ones interpersonal qualities.  The candidates hired would normally score significantly higher on qualities such as team work, listening ability and openness to criticism.

This would be contrasted with lower scores in execution related areas, including proactivity, efficiency and perseverance, all of which suggests that recruiters are looking more for personality than more proficiency based skills and experience.

Are we really to believe that recruiters are overly swayed by charismatic individuals and that more rational decision making gets overlooked?  I’d be fascinated to hear your thoughts in the comments below.