In case you believed that your abilities drove your earnng potential, here’s a study to give us all cause to think – especially those who would rate themselves as closer to introverted rather than extroverted.

A recent study published in the International Journal of Selection and Assessment (Rode, J.C, Mooney, C.H, Near, J.P, and Baldwin, T., 2008) looked at what factors of our ability and personality were predictors of salary, perceived job success and perceived career success.

Here’s what they found:

1. Gender, extroversion and agreeableness were the strongest predictors of salary
2. Emotional stability and a proactive personality (lead, plan effectively, adapt quickly to new situations) was a predictor of perceived job success, and
3. Extroversion was significantly related to perceived career success

These findings are interpreted as meaning that

• inital career success is related much more to personality, and “hat
• EI and IQ matter less on entry

So – we are learning that people with more extroverted personalities are being hired more frequently, without necessarily having the emotional intelligence or IQ required to be successful in the long term. Even more painful a realisation is that those individuals with more reserved personalities or styles are not being recognised as a “good fit”, and may not be fully recognised for their abilities or potential.

These kinds of unconscious biases have enormous impacts on the make-up of our organisations. Solid recruiting practices that are truly competency and skill based may avoid these potential pitfalls. I am aware of many companies that find rigorous interviewing systems a drag, but it’s these kind of findings that ratify for me, the focus on asking behavioural questions and rating competency as a structured part of the interview process.