There are many facets to consider when applying for a job. From scouting job postings, ensuring your resume is updated and ATS friendly, to honing your job interview skills – there are many moving parts! An additional thing that may be used during the process, is a personality test.
These can be very beneficial for employers and certain organizations. So, today, let’s chat further about personality tests during the job hiring process.
What is a personality test?
The goal of a personality test is to allow employers a better idea of who candidates are. In some instances, they are used to determine if the individual will be a good fit for a specific role. A personality test is used to not only determine certain personality traits, but it also helps discover whether or not you are suited for the position, and if you will be successful in the role.
An article from Psychology Today, states that “one study of more than 22,000 employees across 25 different occupations found that those whose personalities more closely matched their occupation were more satisfied with their jobs.”
Therefore, personality tests can be helpful for both the employee and employer.
Types of Personality Tests
To better understand what personality tests entail, it is important to have an idea of the types of tests that employers may use.
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
This personality test is a self-report questionnaire that helps determine how individuals make decisions and perceive the world. You are given 93 questions or statements and must decide how these relate to you. The results will then put you into four groups: extraversion vs introversion, judging vs perceiving, intuition vs sending, and thinking vs feeling. The scores you get in each grouping will give you a result of one of 16 personality types.
Caliper Test
This test will measure a candidates personality traits, and how these relate to their performance in a professional role. It is often used in screenings of applicants, and you will be required to answer questions in various formats. This can include: true or false, multiple choice, and degree of agreement scale. The reason the Caliper Profile is so common is because it helps give employers an idea of how the person will perform in the role
DISC personality test
What does DISC stand for? Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and Conscientiousness. This test will assess these four categories. You are given twenty-eight statements, which test takers rate on a scale depending on how they relate to each one. Your result will categorize you into one of twelve different personality types based on the four DISC categories.
The Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI)
Based on a five-factor model, the HPI includes 206 true or false questions which need to be completed in 15-20 minutes. The test uses seven primary scales and six occupational scales as well as 42 subscales. The results will help show how candidates will act under certain circumstances and may help predict a person’s job performance.
It is important for an employer, and potential employees, to recognize whether their personality will be a good fit for a job. Therefore, there is certainly a benefit to using personality tests in the job applicant process. These tests are also helpful, as they can help individuals discover what their personality type is, and what jobs may be the best fit.
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