The Personality Key that Opens the Front Door
Aug 10, 2025
Ever hired someone with perfect skills who turned out to be a cultural disaster?
You know the type—stellar resume, aced the technical interview, but three months later they're creating chaos in team meetings and everyone's walking on eggshells.
That's exactly what happened to Marcus, a small business owner in Denver, on a Thursday afternoon that changed his entire hiring philosophy. His company had just lost their third "perfect on paper" hire in six months. The pattern was always the same: great skills, terrible fit.
Marcus discovered what top talent attractors know: Technical skills get candidates to your door, but personality fit determines if they walk through it and stay.
Attitude Over Aptitude
Alex Szinegh, real estate professional and DISC-certified trainer, puts it perfectly: "The No. 1 reason people get fired from a job is attitude, and I'm guessing the No. 1 reason people get hired on a job is because of attitude. You can teach skills, but you can't teach attitude."
Think about it. When was the last time you fired someone because they couldn't learn Excel? Now compare that to how many times you've had to let someone go because they couldn't get along with the team, complained constantly, or brought a negative attitude to your culture.
Attitudes shape and form based on personality fit. When you raise your P.Q. (Personality Quotient), you create a magnetic work culture that naturally attracts right-fit talent before you waste time on ill-fit interviews.
Know Yourself, Then Others
"Know yourself first, and then you get to know others, and then you see how it all fits together," Alex believes. This wisdom forms the foundation of all successful talent attraction strategies.
Before you can attract the right talent to your team, you must understand:
- Your own personality style.
- The personality makeup of your existing team.
- The best-fit personality for the role you're filling.
Research shows organizations that align personality types with role requirements see 60% higher performance and 50% lower turnover. This isn't about "getting along," but about creating the optimal mix for productivity and engagement.
The Platinum Rule of Talent Attraction
We all know the Golden Rule: treat others as you want to be treated. But Alex points out a crucial flaw: "That's incorrect from a standpoint of communication with people. You need the Platinum Rule, which is do unto others as they want it done."
This insight transforms talent attraction. Different personality types are attracted by different messaging and experiences.
DISC is a personality assessment that helps you ensure best culture fit among team members. Here's how to speak each DISC language:
D personalities (Dominant) want challenges, results, and autonomy. Attract them with direct communication about impact and leadership opportunities.
I personalities (Inspiring) want recognition, interaction, and fun experiences. Attract them with team gatherings, public appreciation, and creative work environments.
S personalities (Supportive) want security, harmony, and clear expectations. Attract them with one-to-one conversations, detailed onboarding, and stable team structures.
C personalities (Calculating) want accuracy, quality, and logical processes. Attract them with detailed information, evidence-based practices, and opportunities for precision.
Right Person, Right Seat, Right Team
Alex uses a powerful metaphor from Jon Gordon's The Energy Bus: "Business is like a bus, and you're the driver. You go down the road, and you have these different stops. People get on your bus, and when they get on, you put them in the right seat."
This approach requires understanding two critical fits:
- Person and position
- Person and team
Jennifer, a healthcare administrator, was struggling with turnover in patient care coordination. Using DISC assessments, she discovered the department was filled with high D personalities (dominant, direct, decisive), but the role actually required more S characteristics (supportive, steady, stable).
She redesigned her talent attraction strategy to emphasize patient relationships and team harmony rather than metrics and competition. Applications from high S candidates increased 64%, and team cohesion scores rose 49% within six months.
The Complementary Team Approach
The strongest teams are those with complementary personalities working in harmony.
"I've seen companies fall apart big time because there were too many I's and D's in the front lime light, and they didn't have enough people in the back to make sure everything gets done right," Alex warns.
Research confirms this reality. Teams with balanced DISC profiles outperform homogeneous teams by 42% on complex tasks.
Instead of hiring more people, Rachel, a marketing agency owner, implemented "Personality Partners" which consisted of pairing complementary DISC types on projects. Performance improved 53%, and employee satisfaction scores rose 61%. When she later opened new positions, she explicitly sought personalities that would enhance the team's balance.
Your P.Q. Challenge
Ready to raise your P.Q. and attract top talent that fits your culture? Try these three front-door opening actions this week:
- Assess Your Current Team: Have everyone take a DISC assessment to understand your team's personality makeup. Where are you strong? Where are you imbalanced?
- Audit Your Job Descriptions: Review your current postings through a personality lens. Are you inadvertently attracting types that don't fit well or repelling the right ones?
- Create Personality-Aligned Interview Experiences: Design different interview approaches based on the personality type you're seeking to attract.
The Bottom Line
Technical skills might get candidates to notice your job posting, but personality fit determines whether they apply, accept your offer, and thrive in your culture.
Stop hiring in your own image. Start hiring for harmony.
What's your question about using personality assessments in talent attraction? Ask Dr. Joey here.
Taken from Dr. Joey's latest book, Open the Front Door: How to Attract Top Talent Today. Get your copy here today.
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