The Hiring Intelligence Report: 2025 Year Review
The hidden psychology behind today’s hiring
2025 Wrap-Up & What’s Ahead for 2026
Now that we’ve stepped into 2026, our latest edition of the Hiring Intelligence Report takes a look back at the key hiring trends that shaped 2025, and what they reveal about the traits and skills employers are prioritising for the year ahead. Drawing on a full year of assessment data from over 2.1 million candidates, we’ve identified the traits that consistently rose to the top in 2025. These aren’t just the skills that were in demand last year, they represent the capabilities companies are seeking as they build their teams in 2026. In this edition, we take a look at:- Top 10 Most In-Demand Traits for 2026: Based on 2025 data, these are the most frequently assessed traits entering the new year.
- Fastest-Growing Traits: The attributes that gained the most traction over the past year, signalling emerging priorities.
- Sector Spotlights: A breakdown of the top traits by function, with a focus on Management and HR.
Whether you’re refining your hiring strategy or tracking talent market trends, this report offers a data-driven snapshot of what success looks like in 2026 and what this could mean for the future of hiring and assessment.
Key findings
Top 10 traits that defined hiring in 2025, and will shape 2026
Listening
Previous position: 1st (2024)
Not entirely surprising that Listening is the most assessed trait of 2025, it remains an essential skill in both work and life. In an increasingly collaborative, cross-functional workplace, employers are prioritising individuals who are prepared to take time to listen, consider others’ views, and remain approachable.
Resilient
Previous position: 8th (2024)
Resilient individuals, those who aren’t easily upset by criticism and can stay emotionally steady during challenges, moved sharply into the #2 spot. As businesses navigate uncertainty, this trait has become critical across leadership, sales, and support functions.
Stress Management
Previous position: 3rd (2024)
Calm
Previous position: 2nd (2024)
Adaptable
Previous position: 9th (2024)
Striving
Previous position: 5th (2024)
Striving – the drive to pursue clear goals and stay motivated by achievement, has slightly declined in relative ranking but remains a key performance trait, especially in sales, operations, and goal-driven roles.
Order
Previous position: 4th (2024)
Still highly valued, Order reflects a desire for methodical, rules-based, and organised working styles. Its role is especially strong in compliance-heavy, safety-critical, and customer service functions.
Gregarious
Previous position: outside Top 10 (2024)
New to the Top 10, Gregarious captures the value of sociable, people-oriented employees who work well with others. As hybrid collaboration continues, team chemistry and interpersonal ease have become key differentiators.
Competition
Previous position: outside Top 10 (2024)
The reappearance of Competition in the top ranks suggests a renewed emphasis on performance culture. Employers are looking for individuals who enjoy comparing their performance with others and play to win—especially in high-performance roles.
Variety
Previous position: outside Top 10 (2024)
Also a new entry, Variety indicates demand for candidates who thrive on juggling multiple tasks and prefer dynamic, non-repetitive work. This reflects more fluid roles and evolving job scopes across many industries.
Looking at the changes from 2024 to 2025, it’s clear that employers heading into 2026 want people who bring emotional control, adaptability, collaboration, and a hunger to perform. Traits like Resilient, Gregarious, and Variety climbing the ranks suggest that the future of work will demand both inner composure and external agility.
2026 will reward the emotionally steady, flexible, and socially skilled.
Key findings
Sector spotlight: Management
In 2025, the most in-demand traits for management roles paint a clear picture of the evolving leadership profile. Compared to 2024, there’s a notable shift away from traditional traits like Resilient and Striving, and a sharp rise in demand for emotionally intelligent, change-ready, and people-oriented leaders.
Here’s what stood out:
Listening
The top trait assessed overall in 2025, Listening reflects the need for leaders who are easy to talk to, receptive to input, and open to others’ opinions. In flatter organisations and hybrid teams, the ability to truly listen and create psychological safety has become essential.
Previous position: 5th (management traits)
Change
A major jump in ranking shows how companies are seeking leaders who prefer innovation to tradition and thrive in environments of organisational change. As transformation becomes constant, comfort with change is now a must-have leadership trait.
Previous position: 14th (management traits)
Stress Management
Modern managers are expected to lead under pressure. This trait, defined as the ability to cope with tight deadlines and thrive in high-pressure environments, has become central as complexity and pace continue to increase.
Previous position: 10th (management traits)
Assertive
Previous position: 13th (management traits)
Optimistic
Still firmly in the top 5, Optimistic leaders who expect things to turn out for the best and inspire confidence in others remain highly sought after, especially for roles focused on team motivation and long-term growth.
Previous position: 3rd (management traits)
The 2025 data signals a transformation in how leadership potential is defined. Emotional intelligence and adaptability are rising fast, while the old focus on toughness and individual performance is softening.
Looking into 2026, the most successful managers will likely be those who listen well, lead through change, manage stress with composure, and inspire with presence rather than pressure.
The modern manager is calm, connected, and change-ready.
Key findings
Sector spotlight: HR
In 2025, HR roles continued to demand a unique blend of emotional resilience, creativity, and strategic thinking. While Resilient remained firmly at the top, the overall trend suggests HR professionals are expected to balance stability with adaptability, supporting both operational execution and organisational transformation.
Here’s how the top assessed traits in HR roles ranked in 2025 compared to 2024:
Resilient
No change at the top. Resilient HR professionals, those who don’t get discouraged by setbacks and can stay emotionally grounded remain essential, especially in functions that often navigate conflict, change, and complex people dynamics.
Previous position: 1st (HR traits)
Stress Management
This sharp rise shows how crucial it has become for HR professionals to stay calm and productive under pressure.
As HR continues to be on the frontline of organisational stress, handling restructures, wellbeing, and compliance, employers are looking for those who can manage the pressure without losing clarity.
Previous position: 5th (HR traits)
Change
Still holding strong in the top 3, Change reflects the need for HR to lead and support cultural and organisational change. Whether it’s implementing new tech or managing evolving workforce expectations, adaptability remains at the heart of modern HR.
Previous position: 3rd (HR traits)
Listening
Previous position: 2nd (HR traits)
Creative
Previous position: 6th (HR traits)
The data indicates a clear trend: HR professionals are expected to do more than just support, they need to lead through pressure, drive change, and bring creative, strategic thinking to the table.
As we move into 2026, the HR function will continue evolving into a hybrid of people-first empathy and business-first impact.
HR in 2025 is resilient, strategic and under pressure.
Fastest growing:
Looking across all roles and industries, several traits saw significant upward movement in 2025.
These are the traits that gained the most momentum in assessment popularity, clear signals of how employer expectations evolved during the year and what will matter most heading into 2026.
One of the strongest climbers of the year, Humour reflects a growing appreciation for people who value a positive, lighthearted work environment.
The sharp rise of Gregarious highlights renewed demand for sociable, people oriented employees who work well with others.
The rise of Variety suggests that employers are valuing individuals who enjoy juggling multiple tasks and thrive in dynamic, fast changing roles.
Signals a renewed focus on performance orientation. Employers are once again prioritising individuals who are motivated to win.
The ability to handle criticism, recover quickly from setbacks, and remain emotionally steady has become one of the most defining traits across sectors.
The rise of Striving reflects increased demand for people who are motivated by clear outcomes and sustained effort. Employers are placing greater emphasis on drive, momentum, and achievement orientation.
The clearest message from this year’s data is that hiring priorities have matured. Employers are still looking for results, but they are increasingly selective about how those results are achieved.
Across a full year of assessment behaviour, the traits rising to the top point to a workforce built for pressure, change, and constant collaboration. Listening remaining the most assessed trait signals that communication and approachability are no longer viewed as optional. They are now treated as fundamental to execution, alignment, and speed. At the same time, the climb of Resilient and the continued prominence of Stress Management and Calm show that emotional regulation is becoming a baseline requirement across roles, not a specialist strength reserved for leadership.
Alongside that steadiness, 2025 also revealed a shift towards agility and social connection. The rise of Adaptable, Variety, and Gregarious suggests that many roles are expanding in scope and becoming less predictable. Employers are increasingly favouring people who can switch context, handle competing demands, and stay effective as priorities move. The return of Competition and the strength of Striving show that performance expectations have not softened. What has changed is the profile of the modern performer. Organisations want ambitious people who can deliver consistently without destabilising the team around them.
For leaders, HR teams, and hiring managers, the implication is practical. Selection processes need to evaluate composure, collaboration, and adaptability with the same seriousness as experience and technical skills.
Development plans should focus on helping managers lead through change while maintaining clarity and stability. If 2025 was about recalibration, 2026 looks set to be about execution. The organisations that win will be those that hire people who stay grounded, connect well with others, and keep momentum when conditions shift.
Turn these insights into better hiring decisions with Clevry. Our assessments help you identify success traits, benchmark candidates consistently, and reduce bias with evidence-based scoring at scale. Book a demo to build a workforce that stays steady under pressure, adapts fast, and performs in 2026.
