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In our recent "Open Source Hiring" interview, Mikaila broke down what character skills are, why they matter, and how businesses can incorporate them into their hiring process. Spoiler: this could revolutionise how you think about talent acquisition. 🚀
According to Mikaila, character skills are learned behaviours that help people show up their best, even on tough days. 💪
She explains it like this: “If personality is how you respond on a typical day, then character is how you show up when the shit hits the fan.”
Unlike personality traits, which are innate, character skills—such as proactivity, discipline, and determination—can be developed. 🛠️ They’re distinct from “soft skills” and often indicate a person’s ability to prioritise values over instinct.
Hiring for character skills isn’t just a “nice-to-have”—it’s a proven way to predict performance. 🔮 Mikaila points out that these skills are especially valuable in stressful or uncertain environments.
“They’re highly correlated with high performance,” she says. “If your goal is to predict how someone will perform on a hard day, this is the lens to use.”
Unlike traditional metrics like past experience or even university prestige—which Mikaila calls “filters we’ve always relied on but don’t actually work”—character skills dig deeper into someone’s potential. 🌟
Here’s the good news: you don’t need a radical overhaul of your hiring process to incorporate character skills. ✅ According to Mikaila, it’s all about the questions you ask.
“You can use situational and past-behaviour questions,” she explains. “Ask things like, ‘Tell me about a time you faced a challenge and how you handled it,’ or ‘How would you respond to this hypothetical situation?’”
She also suggests digging into growth orientation. For example: “How does this person respond to discomfort, making mistakes, or messing up in public? Are they learning from these experiences?”
💡 Pro tip: Work with your hiring team in advance to define what “fair,” “good,” and “excellent” answers look like. That way, you can measure responses more consistently.
In today’s job market, with Gen Z poised to make up 33% of the workforce, priorities are shifting. 📊 Mikaila highlights this trend:
“They’re not looking for a job for life anymore. They’re looking for lifelong employability.”
Focusing on character skills can help companies align with this new mindset. Instead of promising loyalty, businesses can position themselves as a place where employees grow quickly and gain the skills they need for long-term success. 🌱
It’s not just about culture—hiring for character skills impacts the bottom line. 💼 Mikaila shared an example from Adam Grant’s book, Hidden Potential, where a company saw measurable improvements in profitability after training its executives on character skills.
“This isn’t just about creating a nice-to-be-in work culture,” Mikaila says. “It genuinely drives results.” 📈
Mikaila acknowledges that character skills aren’t the only factor to consider when hiring. But they’re a powerful addition to your toolkit. 🧰
“This can help level the playing field,” she explains. “It’s not about what someone has achieved today, but how they learn and commit themselves to growth.”
As the job market continues to evolve, character skills might just be the edge your company needs to attract top talent and build high-performing teams. 🏆
Want to learn more?Check out Adam Grant’s Hidden Potential and start rethinking your hiring strategy today. 📚 And if you’re already experimenting with character skills in your process, we’d love to hear how it’s going! Let us know in the comments. 💬
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