Face Reading in Recruiting – Who Am I Really Hiring?
- Daniel Neuhaus
- Sep 24
- 4 min read
Updated: Sep 29
Why People Skills in Recruiting Matter More Than Ever Today
It often takes just a few seconds to form a first impression.
In a job interview, during a greeting, in a brief glance. All it takes is a split second to estimate a person’s approximate age, gender, mood, and personality traits and to decide whether we’ve seen them before or not. But what is really making that decision inside us? And how aware are we of this process?
Especially in HR and recruiting, we often rely on our intuition. That’s not necessarily wrong, but it’s rarely consciously trained. And this is exactly where Face Reading comes in.
Table of Contents
Recruiting in Transition: Soft Skills Can’t Be Read from a Resume
Soft skills are part of it – but not everything. What truly matters is whether someone’s inner attitude is aligned, whether they appear authentic in their presence, and whether unspoken dynamics fit into the team. This is exactly where Face Reading opens up an additional layer.
How often do we experience exactly this: a strong CV on the table, a friendly appearance from the applicant, fitting answers – and yet, there remains a trace of uncertainty within us that we can hardly explain.
Does this person really fit into the team? Will they take on the responsibility they promised? How will they react under pressure? Where are their strengths, and where are their weaknesses?
And once again, I realize: people skills are what happens between the lines. They shape the picture I form of the other person in my perception and they often carry more weight than any certification, even if I can’t put them into words.
Now, if I could add to my intuition by directly reading confirmations or contradictions from the other person’s face, it would create an important counterpart, a whole new channel of access to my intuition. With a trained eye for what shows up in the face and body language, entirely new possibilities open up in the recruiting process and this is exactly where Face Reading comes in.
Recognizing authenticity
Assessing emotional maturity
Identifying possible dispositions early on
Better evaluating true team fit
Face Reading in the HR Context Is Not Magic, but Trained Perception
I’ve been working with Face Reading for several years now.
And for me, it’s not about putting people into categories or trying to see through them.
It’s about recognizing what usually shows up nonverbally, beyond words:
Do I sense that someone is playing a role, or are they showing up in a very authentic way?
Does their expression align with their words, or do I notice a dissonance?
Do I see signs of dominance, a need for control, or insecurity?
All of these are important cues for my decision-making process, signals I can read in the face and body language, and then cross-check with my intuition. The face doesn’t lie. I just have to learn to truly perceive what I see.
Conducting Job Interviews Differently – With an Eye for What Truly Matters
A structured interview can achieve a lot.
But what we truly perceive often happens in between:
In facial expressions
In the eyes, the head, and body posture
In tiny micro-expressions that reveal what someone is feeling right now, in that very moment
Face Reading in a job interview helps not only to sense these signals but also to actually see them and place them in context.
And that doesn’t just change conversations, it transforms entire processes.
Avoiding Misplacements – Truly Seeing People
Every mis-hire costs time, money, energy and sometimes even whole team systems.
Studies show: A bad hire can cost up to 15–30 % of an employee’s first-year salary and for managerial roles even more. In addition to direct costs for replacement and onboarding, there are follow-on expenses from productivity loss, team demotivation, and damage to the employer brand.
But what if we could notice much earlier when something doesn’t fit?
Not because the résumé has gaps, but because the inner experience somehow doesn’t match the outer role.
Face Reading offers HR professionals a new level of perception and that means better decisions, clearer communication, and more sustainable collaboration.
People Skills as a Strategic HR Competence
In times of skilled labor shortages, digitalization, and the search for meaning, what’s needed are not perfect résumés but people who show up authentically in their presence. Soft skills are abilities that are hard to teach, yet they can make the decisive difference for or against a candidate. But Face Reading goes one step further: it reveals what lies between those soft skills – authenticity, emotional maturity, and the attitude with which someone truly enters into relationships.
Those who want to lead must be able to empathize with others.
Those who build teams must recognize what resonates unspoken between people.
Those who work in recruiting carry responsibility not only for suitability but also for relationships, between individuals and within the team.
And this is exactly where the power of Face Reading lies.
Conclusion: People Skills Are the Future of Recruiting
If you work in HR, you know: it’s not just about filling gaps, but about shaping the future.
Face Reading can support you in seeing the people behind the roles.
Not to judge faster, but to understand more deeply. It’s not only about recognizing soft skills, but about seeing more deeply: Who is this person really, beyond roles, rehearsed answers, and the résumé?
Who am I really hiring?
Those who ask this question consciously – not only on a professional level but also on a human one – will make better decisions. And it shows. Not only within the team, but also in the atmosphere, and ultimately in success.
If you truly want to see who is sitting in front of you in recruiting, I’ll show you what really matters. In my specialized training “Face Reading for HR & Recruiting”, you’ll learn how to read people more clearly in conversation and better assess their personality traits and strengths, from inner attitude to team fit.
➡️ For HR professionals, recruiters, and decision-makers who want to see and assess the person behind the résumé, beyond the résumé itself.
