Meet Lauren Glass-Mullins. Her company is Personality Pool, a startup that uses character-based traits to help employers identify candidates with qualities that are essential for success in customer-facing roles— such as warmth, communication, and emotional intelligence. Her thinking is that traditional recruitment practices often overlook candidates with untapped potential,  focusing too heavily on keywords and missing out on vital personality traits that are truly essential for today’s job success. ‍

Q: You had a personal experience with the hiring process that sparked your idea to start your company. Tell us more about that:

I would love to say I had some magical moment during my college business courses that gave me the idea for Personality Pool, but the truth is far less glamorous. Once I graduated from college, I couldn’t get a job! I had decided I wanted to go into sales until I figured out a long-term plan for my career. I applied to so many jobs and would rarely (if ever) make it to the interview stage. It was frustrating because I knew I had the right personality for a sales role even with my resume lacking what these companies deemed “necessary relevant experience.” I kept thinking, “If I could just meet one of these hiring managers in person, I’ll get the  job.”

Long story short—I did end up meeting a hiring manager and he took a chance on me because he could see I had the right personality for the position. This changed the trajectory of my entire life. I have carried this experience with me for years and always knew that one day I wanted to find a way to give everyone the chance to show who they really are beyond their resume when applying for very personality-driven jobs—think sales, retail, hospitality or any job where dealing with people is what you will spend most of your time doing.

Q: In what ways can character-based hiring help reduce bias in the recruitment process compared to traditional methods?

Not all resumes are created equal, and we cannot keep measuring a candidate's value based on a two-dimensional, traditional resume. Just because someone may be able to say on a resume, they have X amount of work experience vs. someone who, for whatever reason, may not have as much or any experience doesn't make one more qualified than the other. But, if you were screening resumes you would almost always toss the one without specific experience without giving it a second thought. You can teach people how to sell your product, make your coffee or food, and how to treat your customers— but you cannot teach someone to be nice. You can’t teach them to be the right cultural fit.

Character-based hiring evens the playing field because the traditional metrics, which are often all we see on a resume and use to determine what makes a good employee, are out the window. It shifts a hiring manager’s thinking to, “Is this personality a good fit for our team?” It really gives people a chance to shine in a new way, which really excites me. They say don’t judge a book by its cover, and you can also say “don’t judge a candidate solely by their resume” when hiring.

Q: Can you share an example of a "hidden gem" candidate who may have been overlooked by standard resume screening but was identified as a great fit by Personality Pool?

Well, I’m a great example of this! Although I didn’t have access to a tool like Personality Pool earlier in my career, I was hired for a job based 100% on my personality. We see this story repeat itself almost every week with our users. Candidates that, on paper don’t really stand out, but once they get the opportunity to really show why they are the right candidate (in their own words) it completely flips the hiring process on its head. Again, if you are hiring for customer-facing roles, personality is everything—so starting the hiring process with personality just makes sense.‍

Q: How do you see character-based hiring evolving in the coming years, and what is your vision for Personality Pool's growth and impact?

I see Personality Pool leading the charge in character-based hiring when character is what truly matters. AI is a very hot topic in HR right now, but our take has always been we want AI to be a supporting character when it comes to HR— not the star. When AI starts to replace the human in human resources we have gone too far.

Q: As a Tennessee native and entrepreneur, how has the local startup ecosystem supported Personality Pool's development, and what are the benefits of building a company in Kingsport?

Over a decade ago when I fell into entrepreneurship, I was convinced that you needed to be in a large city to create a successful company, so I moved to start my first business. Fast forward to now, and I am building a tech company in a very rural part of Tennessee, which has been one of the best decisions of my life. I can work hard, connect with people virtually, and easily fly out for anything I need to do in person. I can do all of that so much easier in a much more peaceful environment. Mental health is vital for anyone, but especially when you are an entrepreneur. So, being able to turn my computer off and be surrounded by my family and friends in one of the most beautiful parts of the country is the No. 1 benefit.

Another benefit of building a company in a tight-knit community is that people want to see you win, so they will be cheering you on every step of the way.‍

Q: What advice do you have for other founders interested in the HR tech space?

Keep it simple and keep it human.

Q: Beyond customer-facing roles, what other types of positions or industries could benefit from character-based hiring, and do you plan to expand Personality Pool's focus areas in the future?

‍Customer-facing roles are definitely our sweet spot. However, we are quickly experiencing growth outside of these verticals. For instance, we are talking with healthcare companies, event venues, and even staffing agencies that hire for companies all across the board because people are excited about trying a new and simple concept that makes the application process better for everyone involved. It’s truly an exciting time to be innovating in the HR space.