Employers can gain information about their employees’ ability to integrate into the organization and be practical by including personality tests. The better they fit, the more likely they are to remain a part of the company for the long run. Thus, fully redeeming the time and effort required to “close” the position.
Each person holds a set of habits, experiences, skills, and character traits. And all these characteristics can hinder or help to perform some tasks. For example, a persistent and sociable person will “fit in” in sales, whereas a focused and calm person will better do in financial accounting.
Therefore, managers and team leaders should consider such features from the first moment they meet with a person. Namely when they are looking for a candidate. After all, no one wants a person to suffer in the wrong position or leave at the first opportunity.
The Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology report revealed that only 13% of American employers include personality tests in their interview process. However, these numbers constantly grow as smaller companies join the largest corporations.
You can keep in mind this good practice to hire Salesforce developers, managers, designers, and any other employees. This article will look at which personality tests exist and highlight their advantages and disadvantages.
Why Do Employers Use Personality Tests?Employers can gain information about their employees’ ability to integrate into the organization and be practical by including personality tests. The better they fit, the more likely they are to remain a part of the company for the long run. Thus, fully redeeming the time and effort required to “close” the position.
A 40-minute job interview provides only partial knowledge of the candidate. During this time, candidates can tell about themselves in general terms, about their experience and expertise.
After that, it is difficult to say whether a candidate will be a good fit for the position. Adding personality tests allows hiring managers and employers to make more grounded decisions.
Remember that personality test questions don’t have right or wrong answers. Just some of them might not correspond to what the employer wants to hear or is looking for.
It would help if you decided from the get-go whether subordinates will be able to act in a working environment competently. To make the most of the employee’s abilities, executives conduct personality tests. If you haven’t come across this practice before, you still have a chance to prepare for such tests.
However, not all assessment techniques are the same. Some allow you to select ideal candidates with great precision, while others can be completely ineffective.
This rating system has been in use for 50 years. It allows you to determine certain personal qualities that are related to work. For example, whether a person knows how to empathize with others, whether he will be persistent enough or accurate when completing tasks.
It shows whether a person can make contact, which will be helpful for teamwork when disagreements arise or when new work practices are introduced. Also, if a person isn’t flexible enough, he is unlikely to perform well in customer service.
What the Questions Look LikeThe candidate receives a test of 98 questions, grouped into four segments:
For example, the candidate should select one of the four statements above:
Sometimes it is better to lose than to offend someone.
I am pretty good at small talk.
We should always follow accepted norms and protocols.
I sometimes lose control of the situation when working.
It is a practical test that can measure people’s motivation. It shows the big picture, reflecting the positive and negative sides.
2. Big Five Personality TraitsAs the name implies, this testing examines five main dimensions of personality traits:
Each Big Five quality is composed of various unique characteristics. For example, extraversion is a tendency towards a positive attitude towards life. It consists of such specific traits as a positive emotional attitude, sociability, and soulfulness.
The Big Five traits are universal. You can use them to describe a person’s temperament regardless of age, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, socioeconomic level, or country of residence.
The Big Five personality traits are essential in defining relationships and behaviors at work. In this way, you can better understand how people act in a team.
For example, people with strong negative emotional attitudes are more likely to experience stress at work. Such employees are more critical of themselves and their failures. They find it hard to overcome negative comments from colleagues and superiors.
However, on the other hand, this quality allows them to perform better than others and avoid future mistakes. They can prove themselves in quality control, where critical thinking and the ability to evaluate are necessary.
People with positive emotional attitudes experience satisfaction at work and exude confidence. They are most often successful in jobs that require interaction with others, such as management and sales.
Wrapping UpThere are many tests to determine a person’s character. We all want to know why we behave this way and what inclinations we have. Knowing this, we will choose the positions that we like. Also, we will work as productive as possible for ourselves and our colleagues.
I have only talked about a small part of personality tests. Some are more popular; some are less. The main thing is that these tests shouldn’t be the final verdict for hiring or firing. It is an indicator of what areas you and your subordinates can improve.
