6 Signs You May Be the Personality Hire

So you got a new job. Congratulations! Obviously, it was your qualifications, skills and experience that landed you the role. That's what employers care about when hiring, right?

Well, not always.

In recent months, social media has been buzzing with stories about a new type of employee: the personality hire. These are employees who lack hard skills but make up for it with their positivity and charisma.

Personality hires may not be able to hit the ground running from a technical standpoint. But they surely bring fun vibes to the office! They're the ones who throw epic office parties, organize birthday celebrations and make everyone feel welcome.

Does this sound like you? While there isn't a single definition of personality hire—and mostly, it's a tongue-in-cheek way for people to poke fun at their own imposter syndrome around feeling unqualified for a role—there are some signs that you were hired for who you are over what skills you bring. And that’s okay! 

Here's how to tell if you’re the office personality hire.

1. The interview was awful but you still got the job

Tell me about a time when you showed leadership. What’s your biggest strength? Are you familiar with this software?

These were some of the questions asked during your interview. And you drew a blank on most of them. Maybe you arrived late and left your resume in your car.

But instead of getting flustered, you cracked a joke and made everyone laugh. Before you knew it, you had spilled the entire account of your summer vacation in Italy, learned all about the interviewer's love for pasta, and walked out with a job offer.

Your energy was required in the workplace—and you nailed it.

2. You're fetching coffee when you're not even an intern

So the office is understaffed, overworked and your colleagues are running around like crazy. What do you do? You jump in and help out!

It's not that you're volunteering for the most fun, glamorous tasks. More likely, it’s fetching lattes and picking up lunch orders. But someone has to organize the post-project team night out, and you’re happy to lend a hand.

Okay, you have a sneaking suspicion that you're being deliberately overlooked when it comes to doing the actual work. While your co-workers are busy crunching numbers and brainstorming ideas, the room goes quiet when you offer to put your nose to the grindstone. Kindly, and almost patronizingly, the manager suggests that you rearrange some folders in alphabetical order.

But hey, putting papers in the right place is a super-important task, right? Right?

3. "Chief Vibes Officer" is your unofficial job title

You hear it all the time: 

“I just love your energy!” 

“You're such a ray of sunshine!” 

“We’re so lucky to have you around!”

And it's true— positivity is right at the top of your soft-skills-heavy resume. You may not understand Excel spreadsheets or shared Google calendars, but you sure know how to brighten a room with a smile.

In fact, your sunny disposition is contagious. So much so, that when you miss work, everyone panics. By 8:10 am, you have seven different group chats asking where you are. Your boss sends out a chain email asking who is going to moderate the after-work book club now? And a rumor about your supposed resignation sends the office into a collective meltdown.

You're their dose of Vitamin D, and the office just isn't the same without you.

4. You're the client whisperer

Everyone knows it takes more than whizzy PowerPoint and a spreadsheet to keep a client happy. You need great communication and relationship-building skills just to coax them out of full-blown panic mode.

But you? Well, your clients love you.

Even when it’s not part of your job description, you find yourself chatting with them about their day, sharing funny anecdotes, and even offering to go shopping with them during your lunch break. Your boss takes you to pitch meetings just so you can “work your magic” and ensure the clients sign on the dotted line.

Weird thing is, they usually do.

5. You don't have any projects, but you still have too much on your plate

You're certain there was a list of responsibilities in that job advertisement you replied to but so far, you haven't been asked to do anything remotely close to it. Yet somehow, you always wind up with too much on your hands.

From organizing surprise birthday parties to sweet talking the printer repair service; from playing peacekeeper during the great stapler dispute of '23 to curating the perfect playlist for casual Fridays, your workload is far from empty. And let's not get started on the time you had to step in as an impromptu emcee at the company's annual gala because the professional one got stuck in traffic.

Somehow, your plate is always heaping, even if you're not quite sure how everything on it got there!

6. It is easy for you to get what you want

Did your boss rush to give you a better role when you hinted that you might be a teensy bit dissatisfied with your current one? Did casually leaving an article on the CEO's desk about why puppies are essential for good mental health lead to a "dog-friendly office" policy? Do you always seem to get that window cubicle or work-from-home option without even having to ask?

People can’t say no to you!

And it's not because you use manipulation or threats to get your way. It’s simply because everyone likes working with you and wants to keep you happy. 

That's because personality hires are priceless additions to the workplace. You can teach a new employee how to use a software tool, but you can't teach them how to be likable. You can teach them how to archive a file, but you can't teach them how to challenge and complement the company culture in all the best ways.

You have something over the rest of the employees, because they can never be you. And that’s extremely iconic.