The world of talent acquisition is relatively new: candidates and employees are asked to take personality tests. Those who are unfamiliar with the way personality tests work often feel uncomfortable with the prospect of a new set of ambiguous criteria. But there’s really nothing to worry about because personality tests can benefit both employees and job seekers.
You might even want to do some personality tests yourself to get an idea of which career suits your interests. It’s always interesting to look at the results, and they can give you an idea of what you could do with your working life.
Here is our brief guide to what personality tests are and why they should be important to you.
What is a personality test?
As qualifications are important for employers, it is important to include material and human skills in CVs and applications. Your skills are technical skills that you can demonstrate, such as B. Writing, computer programming, CPR, etc. Relational skills are those that are more intuitive, such as active listening, leadership, and teamwork.
However, personality tests (also called psychometric tests) have nothing to do with actual or unreal skills. Not only do they assess your skills, but they also inform employers about your approach to communication, conflict, and problem-solving in general. When you are asked to take a personality test, your skills are not tested.
Instead, employers think about the chemistry of their employees. Are you good enough for us? That’s what the employer wants to know. The questions in the personality test contain no right or wrong answers. Used correctly, it simply reveals your personality and can be as revealing to you as it is to your potential employer.
Types of quarrying tests
Job testing
Tests are often used as part of the hiring process. For example, when a company hires salespeople, it wants to make sure that the candidates interviews have the type of personality it needs to achieve the goals it has set for itself.
Tests for students, job seekers, persons undergoing training, and employees
There are many personalities and career tests you can take to find out what kind of job you like:
- There are tests that can be used to analyze your skills. These tests then link your skills to relevant jobs and careers.
- Other tests measure your suitability for a particular job or type of work.
- Counselors can make use of professional tests as part of the career guidance process. Tests conducted by the counselor will help you and the counselor determine the best career opportunities.
What you can learn
Career trials measure a variety of skills, abilities, and personality traits. They are designed to help with career planning and generate ideas for career opportunities. Some tests are easy and fun, others are more difficult. Some are free, some are paid for. They are all designed to help job seekers assess their skills and match them with job opportunities. There are different kinds of tests:
- Suitability test: These tests measure your ability to perform a certain task or your ability to acquire the skills necessary for that task.
- Career trials: These tests will help you determine which position is most suitable for someone with your personality.
- Career inventory: They measure the relationship between what interests you and what is needed to work in different functions.
- Career trials: Career advisors use these tests to analyze your personality type and match your personality with the right career opportunities. Remember, no test is a perfect indicator of what to do. However, the career tests will give you an idea of the type of positions that match your skills, experience, and background. They at least give you a starting point to limit your options and focus your search for a job. At best, they can help you determine the type of position you want to take.
What can personality tests tell you?
The way in which employers use personality tests is very controversial these days. One of the most controversial features of the personality test concerns the hiring process. Many employers use personality tests to select candidates before they decide to hire them. From the employer’s perspective, this helps them to maintain the status quo in their workforce.
On the other hand, some employers are actively seeking diversity in their work culture. From their perspective, the careful integration of teams with different personality types can help a team to work together rather than competing against each other.
Companies that want to increase diversity understand that the best way to disrupt the market or end apathy is to introduce more diversity into the mindset (which is the key to healthy collaboration). In fact, many studies show that diversity is often responsible for increasing a company’s market share in its sector. Personality tests help these employers understand if they have the diversity they are looking for.
Finally, employers can use personality tests to select a certain position. Some jobs require a unique personality, such as sales or customer service. These companies often train their employees from the ground up, rather than employing those who already have the necessary professional skills. So, before they spend money on your education, they want to make sure that your personality matches the demands of the job.
How do personality tests work?
You may be asked to take a personality test before or after your employment. These tests can last from a few minutes to more than an hour and generally follow a specific model that has been peer-reviewed (i.e. the model has been thoroughly tested by scientists in academic fields such as psychology, anthropology, and organizational behavior).
MBTI
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is probably the best known and most recognized personality test. However, the makers insist that the test will not be used for the selection of a track. You may be asked to complete the MBTI after you have been hired or for mentoring purposes.
Although the scientists who developed the test are actually called Myers and Briggs, they mainly trace their research to the psychologist Carl Jung. Myers and Briggs developed this test to help people adapt their personality to their ideal career. They based their results on a comparison of the following types:
- Extraversion versus inversion
- Reason versus intuition
- think and feel
- Judge vs. Perception
Each type equation assumes that the types are polar opposites, and the test helps you identify the polar opposite that is right for you. For example, the way you answer the questions about the test in Part E (Extroversion) and Part N (Introversion) shows that you tend to prefer one type of answer over another. At the end of the test, you will receive four letters representing your personality type, for example, B. ENTJ or ISTP.
An official MBTI costs money and is best carried out by a certified person, but here are some free personality tests based on the MBTI model:
DiSC
The evaluation of DiSC is not attributed to a single scientist, although many of its underlying principles were first presented in the book Emotions of Normal People by scientist William Marston in the 1920s. The makers of this test want those who take it to increase their overall emotional intelligence. Nevertheless, some employers use this assessment when selecting employees.
The test measures four characteristics:
- Dominance
- Impact
- Sustainability
- Awareness
Once the test is complete, the results are displayed as a dot on a pie chart with four slices (each slice represents one of the four attributes). For example, if you tested the strongest on i (impact) and S (stamina), your point is on the right side of the pie chart.
You can purchase a set of tests for yourself and others in your organization, or you can try one of the free online personality tests based on the DiSC model:
Bracket
Perhaps the most widely used test in employment and candidate selection is the compass. It’s also one of the longest tests for the person taking it. If an employer asks you to take a test, it is best to take at least two hours to answer each question carefully.
When you sit down to do the test, you will see that all available options are positive. Although there is no technically correct answer, the positive answer you choose will help the employer understand who you are and whether you are a good fit for the company or position.
Their results often go directly to the employer and give them a percentage of the correspondence with the job and the company (from 0 to 100). Ideally, your percentage for an open position is greater than 50. Although Caliper’s tests are not generally available to the public (Caliber Corp. is a service provider for employers), here are some free practice tests you can do based on Caliper’s results:
The Big Five
Unlike the other reviews mentioned above, the Big Five test, also known as the Fives test, has no administrator or official rating. Most five-factor tests are completely free but are just as popular as the above tests.
As the name suggests, the test measures your propensity to the five attributes. At the end of the test you will receive a percentage from 0 to 100% for each category:
- Opening
- Awareness
- Extraversion
- Coherence
- Neuroticism
Moreover, unlike other tests, one of the attributes is clearly negative (neurosis), and employers can use such a test to screen those who are emotionally unstable. As mentioned earlier, most of the 5-factor tests can be done for free, but here are some of the most popular:
Result: Why are personality tests important for jobseekers?
It is true that many people spend years in a certain job before they realize that they are not the right person for that job.
Tip: The sooner you find a job that matches your natural abilities (such as your personality), the happier and less exhausted you will be in your work.
If you are in between jobs or want to change careers, consider taking a career test to see if you are applying for a job that is right for you.
On the other hand, these tests are not always accurate, and not all employers use a personality test to examine you. So if you take a personality test for an employer and the employer tells you that the test shows that you don’t meet their expectations, trust your own intuition.
You know each other better than you know yourselves. Don’t be afraid to fake a personality test if you love what you do and have confidence in your ability to do the job. Just move on to the next call.
