Every quarter, the hiring landscape shifts—sometimes subtly, sometimes sharply. But this time, three traits have shown clear and measurable momentum: Poised, Structured, and Money. Each has jumped dramatically in either ranking or assessment volume, and together they paint a picture of what employers are really optimising for in 2025.
These aren’t just preferences. They’re strategic shifts—responses to uncertainty, complexity, and a recalibration of what success looks like inside modern organisations.
Read our Hiring Intelligence Report Q1 2025 (HIRE) here
Poised: Confidence is in – but it’s evolved
Poised jumped 11 ranking places, and that movement isn’t just cosmetic.
In client-facing, leadership, and hybrid roles, there’s a growing premium on candidates who show composure, clarity, and confidence without veering into dominance or ego. This isn’t extroversion—it’s controlled presence.
Organisations are under pressure to represent themselves cleanly to clients, investors, and internal stakeholders. That makes candidates who show up polished and self-assured in high-stakes situations increasingly valuable.
In short: calm authority is now in more demand than charisma.
Structured: Complexity demands systems thinkers
Structured climbed 8 places in rank. This rise is no coincidence—it’s directly tied to the growing operational complexity across industries.
Companies need people who bring order to ambiguity. Structured individuals are valued not for rigidity, but for the way they create clarity, reduce chaos, and move work forward predictably.
They’re the ones who put frameworks around messy problems, who plan before reacting, and who can operate in pressure-heavy contexts without defaulting to improvisation.
In short: When uncertainty is the backdrop, structure becomes a differentiator.
Money: Motivation is getting repriced
The biggest jump came from Money, which saw a 67% increase in assessment volume. This isn’t a nod to greed—it’s recognition of something more pragmatic: motivation alignment matters more than ever.
In times of economic strain, compensation becomes more than a hygiene factor. Companies want to know whether candidates are driven by financial outcomes, and candidates want to know if roles offer meaningful earning potential.
This shift also reflects a growing transparency around ambition. Being financially motivated is no longer taboo—it’s a variable that hiring teams want clarity on early.
In short: When budgets tighten, motivation can’t be assumed. It must be measured.
What this might tell us
These three traits—social confidence, structural thinking, and financial motivation—point to a deeper shift: companies are hiring for stability and clarity in performance.
It’s no longer enough to be capable. You have to be clear, composed, and aligned—not just in how you behave, but in what you value.
What does this mean for hiring teams
- Interview design should probe for decision-making style (not just results).
- Motivational fit is now a first-pass filter, not something saved for the offer stage.
- Clarity, not cleverness, wins the room—especially in leadership or external-facing roles.
Traits like Poised, Structured, and Money aren’t just rising—they’re redefining what “job-ready” looks like. And if you’re not assessing for them, you’re hiring while flying blind.
