Though these processes may differ depending on the company type and size, what all the most successful companies have in common is that they rely heavily on quality personality tests.
Here we’ll share with you all you need to know about the pros and cons of personality tests in the hiring process and explain what kinds of companies use them and why.
Why Do Employers Use Personality Tests for Hiring?
We all tend to present ourselves in the best light when we apply for a job. That's perfectly normal. However, that’s one of the reasons employers need more reliable tools to determine who's the best fit for the company.
Personality tests are one of the most reliable ways to determine the key traits of a person, such as whether the person is extroverted or introverted, how they behave under stress, whether they are leadership material, and similar job-related things.
Experience has shown that knowledge, intelligence, and expertise are often insufficient to make someone perfect for a certain position. What matters just as much are personal traits and attitudes that are more difficult to adopt than specific professional knowledge.
Therefore, it is no wonder leading companies in all industries, from IT to HR and every other in between across the globe, hire HR agencies or buy customized personality tests to facilitate the hiring processes.
Of course, leading HR companies and recruiters will be the biggest consumers of personality tests since their business relies on how well they match companies with job candidates resume. Now, let’s see what kinds of personality tests are mostly used in the hiring process.
Types of Personality Tests Used in the Hiring Process
A good personality test must be precise, practical, and fairly simple, both in terms of questions and interpretations. It is not easy to come up with a test that satisfies all these criteria, but some did it, and they are:
MyPersonality test
The MyPersonality test consists of 60 statements. It’s formulated in a precise yet natural tone so the candidates don’t feel interrogated or judged for giving a certain type of answer.
The result describes a person’s behavior, leadership potential, ambition, and emotional nature in detail, and it’s one of the most accurate ones you can find online.
Caliper Profile
The Caliper Profile test examines how the candidate’s personality fits a specific job role. Its main goal is to anticipate how the candidate would behave within the specific work environment.
This test measures competencies such as leadership, problem-solving, decision-making, organization skills, and similar ones.
The Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI)
The HPI test is also a highly specific test designed to estimate the personal qualities of the candidate and how they fit with the job requirements. It also helps employees map the areas of growth and strength for each candidate.
The test is based on seven primary scales that measure desirable personality traits such as adaptation ability, drive, interpersonal skills, learning style, and other important characteristics related to the job role.
Benefits of Using Personality Tests for Hiring
Not only do personality tests help predict how successful a person will be in a specific role, but it also shows how the person will fit into the organization's culture. Apart from the obvious benefits, there are also many more important advantages to using personality tests in the hiring process, such as:
- Personality tests are designed to provide objective, unbiased results and insight into a person's character. A good personality test will always provide a realistic view of a person's strongest and weakest traits, even though different people may always interpret the results differently.
- They save time by instantly pointing to an individual’s talents and capabilities, so the employer can come up with a professional development plan for the candidate immediately after hiring.
- These tests also show how the candidate behaves under stress, which gives the employer an opportunity to prepare stress management strategies for employees and minimize the damage in unexpected situations.
Drawbacks of Using Personality Tests for Hiring
How useful the test will be largely depends not only on the quality of the test but also on how experienced the people who interpret the results are. Generally, the biggest drawbacks of using personality tests for hiring are:
- Time. Some tests take too much time to analyze and interpret.
- Reliability. Some tests can even estimate how honest the candidate is, but in general, no one can guarantee a candidate’s honesty, which directly influences the accuracy of the test.
- Unfairness. Many people see these tests as unfair because they put people into different boxes without providing them with the chance to prove themselves.
Key Takeaways
How useful a personality test will be in the hiring process mostly depends on the choice of the test. If the test is well designed, there are almost no real drawbacks to using it to find the perfect candidate. So, if you’re in a dilemma about whether to use such a tool or not, the best advice is to explore which of the tests best suits your company’s needs.
