Passing A Work Personality Test: Top 3 Tests & Pro Tips
How To Pass Personality Test For Employment: Top 3 Tests & Foolproof Tips
The growing number of companies evaluate not only the skills of the candidate, but also their personality and aptitude. Employers rely on such tests to reveal the true personality of the applicant and predict their performance in the workplace. Moreover, they want to make sure in advance that the potential hire will fit in well into the team and share the company's values.
Today, our career expert will tell you about the main types of psychometric tests that the employers use. We will also share some advice on how to perform better on the test.
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What are personality tests?
Employers often use a pre-employment personality test as part of the recruitment process. In this test, you will be asked questions about your workplace behavior, preferences, and style of work. Such a personality assessment tests help the hiring manager evaluate if you are a good fit for the company and the position.
The cost of hiring the wrong person is high, so they try to evaluate the candidate's personality based on such tests. Around 80 percent of Fortune 500 companies rely on such tests, and practice becomes commonplace.
The good news is that if you know how such tests work, you can practice self-awareness and understand what traits to highlight during the testing phase and in the interview process. Here are the most popular tests you may encounter during your job search.
Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
One of the most commonly used personality tests, MBTI evaluates your personality based on the four pairs of traits. Upon completing the assessments, you'll be assigned to one of the personality types that reveals your working style and assume the ideal type of career. This test is not meant to evaluate your fit for a particular industry or role and rather show your preferences than capabilities to do get the job done.
The test-takers should know that the test doesn't have ‘right' or ‘wrong' answers. Although it's often used during the hiring process, it's better suited to define the career path for someone who's already part of the team rather than to predict if the candidate will outperform.
What are the DISC personality types?
Another popular option among employers, DISC behavior inventory accesses the job applicants based on the four traits: Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, and Conscientiousness. Unlike some complex assessment system, it contains under 30 questions. Upon completing the test, your results will be shown as a dot on the pie chart, with your dominant characteristic highlighted. For instance, if Influence is your dominant trait, it implies that you are optimistic, energetic, and social.
This test is user-friendly and can be administered by anyone, which makes it a popular for screening employees. However, the results of several candidates cannot be compared. This means that it's up to the employer to decide what personality type they'd love to see in this role.
The Caliper profile
Unlike the two previous tests, the Caliper test evaluates your match for a target job position. The results are presented as a percent match, and it's considered that you fit for the opening if your percentage exceeds 50%. Comparing to the previous ones, this test is much longer and will take you over 2 hours to complete.
This test is presented in the form of statements, and you'll have to choose the ones that represent your personality most (or least, depending on the question). Test results make it easy to compare your performance with that of other applicants.
Why take psychological tests about personality?
The employers' motivation behind making psychometric testing a part of the hiring process is pretty clear. They want to hire employees who are psychologically suited for this particular type of work and will fit in into the team's culture. Hence, the cost of the wrong hires and hiring process is minimized.
As a job-seeker, you might want to take a personality test to better understand your working style, personality type and career preferences. Take a look at the list of scientifically-proven personality tests (some employers might be using them in the hiring process either):
- 16 personalities – it evaluates the top 5 personality traits of the individuals and shows detailed results on your personality type, including your workplace attitude, strengths, weaknesses and relationships with others.
- Eysenck personality inventory allows you to access introversion vs. extraversion and neuroticism vs. stability and shows your result on a pie chart.
- The Birkman method – named after its developer, this online test shows your personality, social perception and professional interests.
Taking one of the personality tests at home will give you an insight into the personality assessments during an interview.
Tips for passing the work personality test
Although there are no right and wrong answers in the personality test, you'll want to prepare in advance to maximize your chances for the job. Here are the personality test tips that will help you make the right impression.
Answer honestly
You might want to portray yourself as a perfect person for the job, but beat the temptation to answer in the way that has nothing to do with your personality. In other words, if you prefer working individually and solve problems consistently, avoid portraying yourself as an introvert who thrives in a busy environment. Even if you manage to fool the hiring person, these discrepancies will reveal once you start working.
Avoid extreme answers
In many tests, you'll be asked to mark the result on scale from 1 to 10 or to agree or strongly disagree with a certain statement. In both cases, avoid giving extreme answers, either negative or positive. It might make you look as inflexible and stubborn in the hiring person's eyes.
Read the instructions carefully
This advice might seem trivial. Yet, the requirements in different tests might vary. Some of them are timed, and some instructions suggest that you mark the statements you disagree with rather than agree. There might be multiple choice questions as well. If you don't follow the instructions or don't meet the time limit, the test might not give the accurate reflection of your strengths. Plus, the hiring manager might assume that you are inattentive to detail.
Answer from a professional point of view
Some tests will evaluate your emotional intelligence and ability to cooperate with others professionally. So, keep the professional and ethical standards in mind when giving answers to the test. Avoid options which could be interpreted as inappropriate or unethical by a test administrator.
Keep the role in mind
To score better, keep in mind which skills and personality traits are expected from someone in the role you're applying for. Try to maximally highlight these traits in your answer. The idea here is not to game the test; as we've mentioned in point 1, you need to be yourself. However, if you apply for the sales role, give your people skills, relationship building and communication abilities maximum exposure.
Practice pre-employment testing at home
Search for sample questions of popular psychometric tests online and practice the test at home. Thus, you'll get an idea of what personality tests look like and what character traits employers look for in candidates. Plus, you can experiment with different answers and check if the test gives an accurate reflection of who you are.
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FAQ
Can you fail a personality test?
In a personality test, there are not right and wrong answers. Thus, you cannot fail the test. On the other hand, the company might look for specific personality traits in potential employees. To increase your chance for the job, read the job posting and the company description to anticipate what type of person they would like to hire, and try to emphasize the needed traits.
How do you answer Strongly Agree and Strongly Disagree questions?
Some personality tests have strongly agree and strongly disagree questions. These questions reveal the issues and situations you feel strongly about. To handle such questions, be honest. Don't write that you are super excited about teamwork if you are more comfortable working alone. Secondly, try to avoid extreme answers and give more neutral ones.
What are employers looking for in personality tests?
Companies use personality tests to predict your working style and how you handle specific situations in the workplace, such as handling stress, working with others, leading a team, resolving problems, and more. Some tests also reveal your character traits and show whether you will work effectively in the company's culture.