How Important Is It to Be Intelligent?

In the field of recruitment, there has long been an established truth:

If you were to evaluate only one (you shouldn't) characteristic in a candidate, their cognitive ability would be the most critical. Cognitive ability includes – but is not limited to – intelligence.

This isn’t particularly surprising. An intelligent individual processes information faster, draws more relevant conclusions, and identifies connections more effectively. Naturally, this makes intelligence a highly valuable trait for employers, especially for roles that require complex or abstract thinking.

However: New Swedish research (a meta-analysis, not yet published or peer-reviewed) suggests that the importance of intelligence for workplace success might be less significant than previously believed – at least in Sweden. (Although, to be clear, it’s still good to have a quick upstairs processor.)

Why might intelligence appear to be less crucial than earlier studies indicated? Is this a reflection of societal changes, methodological errors (in earlier studies, or this new one), or something else? While we can only speculate, some possible explanations include:

• Modern jobs may not demand as much abstract problem-solving as before (though that seems debatable).
• Other factors, such as motivation, knowledge, experience, and behavior, might have gained greater importance (this seems plausible).
• Something entirely different – emotional intelligence (EQ)? Favorite colour? (mine is blue —no, wait, yellow — Aaaagh!)

A significant challenge in recruitment research is that it’s inherently difficult to conduct. Some obstacles include:

• You can only assess the performance of those who were actually hired; there’s no way to know how rejected candidates might have performed.
• Employee performance is often evaluated by supervisors or through KPIs, both of which can introduce subjectivity.
• Since the 1970s, studying cognitive ability has been considered controversial in much of the Western world, stalling the development of this research field (though the military has long monitored cognitive ability among recruits and personnel).

So, if you’ve ever suspected that quick thinking might not be your strongest suit – congratulations! It might be a bit easier to bypass cognitive ability tests in the recruitment process moving forward.

What do you think? Let’s discuss!