What are the best ways to use personality tests for job candidates?

There are at least 3 types of assessment tools on the market. Cognitive: which measures reading, writing and arithmetic skills. Those jobs that have a “bona fide” requirement for these skills are authorized to use them by the EEOC and various DOLs’. Affective Tools: measure have you “feel” about things and attempt to measure how you as an individual will act, based on how you feel about the facts and circumstances. These include tools like MBTI, DISC, Predictive Index and Gallup Strengths to name a few. Terrific in place development tools for those already on boarded. Conation: the only tool that I use for hiring because it answers the question “if you were free to be who you are, how would you process information and take action.”

I actually disagree with these test during job interviews. 1) survey results will describe behaviors not personality. 2) you need to assess possible performance or fit during the job interview 3) this test are environmental, working on possible scenarios may mislead both the candidate and the recruiter. The traits they measure might not directly correlate with the skills or competencies essential for the role in question. This disconnect can lead to the exclusion of potentially suitable candidates based on factors that have little to do with actual job performance. Finally focusing on these tests, overlooking the broader context of an individual’s overall qualifications, experiences

The best use of behavioural assessments is in first benchmarking what makes a good employee for the role you’re trying to fill. Before using a behavioural testing tool to determine whether candidate is the right fit or not you need to have something valid to compare them to. I think where most businesses go wrong is, they haven’t got data on what “Successful” people in the role have as natural traits and they use very basic personality tests without role specific benchmark data. Beyond these tools in the interview context we need to understand how people feel appreciated, what interests they have, what motivates them, and why they want the role in the first place. These questions combined with behavioural assessment tools can be powerful

Selecting the “right” assessment instrument is critically important but the first step in my view is benchmarking what “great” looks like for the specific role in the organisation. Ideally the tool should easily compare the complete person and how they fit the requirements of the benchmark. We tend sometimes to over focus on personality but in my view the assessment instrument should also include additional objective data on how a person thinks .Each element provides key pieces of the “jigsaw” . The work doesn’t end once the contract signed. The results should also be used in on boarding and development to ensure they contribute to the business quickly . Finally , any assessment is just the “support act” .

It is important to realize that there is a lot of snake oil in the assessment world. Most assessments are not particularly valid and few should be used for selection. MBTI is one such example. Engage the services of a trained practitioner of an assessment that measures Behavioral Style, Motivation, Competencies and Acumen. The next step is to identify the Key Accountabilities of the role partnering with stakeholders who know the job and ideally have performed well in the role. Once the Key Accountabilities are identified, the next step is to identify the typical amount of time in a work week or month each accountability requires. The next step is to strategically sort the Key Accountabilities from most strategic to least.

Hiring is multidimensional and personality/behavioral tests definitely should supplement this process. When hiring, I look for competence, character, and compatibility. The assessments can help in character and compatibility, but only to direct questions in an interview to go deeper or uncover more. The interviewer should use the assessments to determine if the candidate has awareness of how they show up. It doesn’t matter if an assessment says that a potential blind spot could be over-dominating in situations. A person who has awareness of that AND adjusts accordingly could still be a strong fit. It is up to the interviewer to uncover this. There is no assessment on the market that can be used as a substitute for interviewing.

A couple words of caution here. 1) Personality tests should only be administered by someone who is trained to interpret the results and knows how to see through the data or "read between the lines". 2) As someone who has worked in the field of psychology for over 20 years, I have come to learn that when we put people into a box, it reduces our ability to see who they really are. Diagnosis, personality "types", or "attributes" are just a dot on the page. You don't have the whole picture. Use personality tests sparingly, and use the results as one of many data points to build a picture of the person, not to define who they are. They are too dynamic to do that to.

Over 40 years as an employer, I primarily selected people for their attitude. With the right attitude they’ll learn everything they need and more. With the wrong attitude they will be your worst nightmare.

Tests are a supplement only. I was once subjected to an analysis test. The analysis said I was prone to bullying employees and could have authoritarian tendencies. The company hired me in spite of the test and I worked as an employee for the company for 6 years. Then became a partner with the owner for another 27 years.

Having had the opportunity to hire people in my previous roles and help interview candidates in my new role, personality tests can help but the true personality is not what is on paper, it is also what comes out on the face to face interview. Attitude is something that you as an employer cannot teach an employee.a persons desire to be the best in what they want to do is something that is inherent in someone's true self because of their own personal values, their life experiences, their own motivations.

Interpreting personality test results in hiring requires thoughtful reflection, ensuring they serve as illuminating guides, not rigid labels. Recognize these tests as snapshots, capturing aspects of one's personality, not the whole. Avoid stereotypes; human character is multifaceted and ever-evolving. Embrace diversity and complexity, understanding that behaviors and skills can shift and grow. Uphold privacy and confidentiality, respecting candidates' data. Use results to foster dialogue, encouraging self-awareness and development. Regularly reflect on the test's role and effectiveness in your hiring process, striving for a fair, insightful, and holistic approach. This reflective practice not only enhances the hiring process but also ...

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You don’t. Ask people the types of projects and problems to solve that they are interested in and why gets them engaged. Focus on: Operations Data and analytics People and relationships Things and mechanical

This information is only a baseline or probability of behaviors. A person will react or act based on a specific set of triggers or environment.

Data information may provide insight but must not cast a judgement of all work personnel or work situations. Early in my teaching career I remember sitting in a room after taking Myers Briggs and discussing in a round table fashion if our results matched our personality. As many indicators aligned, it did not mean that the room segregated to likeness. In fact it was pointed out over the course of time that a multitude of difference can be rewarding and a successful combination. Leadership to bring out the success is more important than the test itself. Make sure you know how to coach the results of the tests you give.

While I have used some personality tests in the past, I believe that behavioral descriptive interviewing is a more reliable process. DiSC Is useful when you want your team to understand each other more and develop strategies for working with people whose style is very different than one's own

Very important to use the test for an indepth conversation to find out how the candidate thinks, how they approach problems, how they solve problems, what kind of problems they are interested in solving. A job is about solving problems, after all. Help the candidate get a clear perspective of how they will fit into the company's culture and objectives. And most importantly, how their skills, strengths, values (as per the assessment) will help them to contribute to the success of the company. This conversation should also help the candidate to come up with STAR stories to show how they have contributed in the past, using their unique skillset and way of thinking. And how this will help the company they are applying to.

Finding a candidate that fits the rest of your teams personalities is important here. Yes the test can give you general ideas but everyone is different of course and personalities flex when working with different people & circumstances. If I am looking for a high "I" and they test that way I still ask questions and interview them looking for indicators that this is their primary personality. If I need a good sales person they must be an "I'' but also have the ability to shift personality styles to fit the customers.

We have had all existing employees take the DISC assessment and brought an expert in to educate our team to interpret the results. We have recently had potential candidates take the test as well. This has been incredibly insightful and useful for our team both professionally and personally. I also believe it’s a testament to our commitment to our team and increased employee engagement.

Many business leaders wear so many hats. It really is ok to bring in an expert when it comes to personality testing, workplace dynamics and HR. When our business brought in an enneagram expert, I was able to engage in learning and ask questions along with my team and it felt good to be a part of the group in this capacity instead of always needing to have the answers.

I could not agree more. Just because you can make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich does not mean you now know how to make all sandwich combos. Seek guidance, prepare for success.

Unfortunately most of the tests are a point in time test and have inbuilt biases from the development of the test as we all do. The best way to understand a person is to do it in person by asking work related questions plus personal questions about them ie their likes and dislikes which will lead you to making a decision based on feelings. No test can provide you a feeling about the suitability of how a person will fit in with your team but if you’re a good leader and know your people well you will make the best choice for you and your team which will benefit the company. Great Leadership skills are essential especially when recruiting and cannot be subcontracted out to others or online testing

A personality test is not a full picture of how a job candidate could fit into your organization. It’s a snapshot of how they “showed up and showed off” in just one day of their lives. I think hiring managers need to have good interview skills (like a journalist) along with a strong gut instinct. Hopefully the candidate makes good use of Linkedin, so the hiring manager can see if they are a thought leader in their industry. The hiring manager should do some digging and learn as much as they can about a candidate. A personality test should only be a small portion (if any) of the hiring process.

In my experience, any form of personality testing is only a small part of assessing the suitability of a person and should not be used as defining recruitment tool with a yes or no outcome.

The tests are interesting as an indicator of how they may fit in with the existing team or balance it. At the end of the day that’s all they are is a predictive indicator of behaviour or talent but the leadership in the business and their capacity to develop people to adapt from their natural styles is going to be the biggest success indicator.

In my business I do not have employees, I have a non-profit that runs with volunteers. I have found that you can tell fairly quickly if you want this volunteer to come back. -interact well with the other volunteers -can take direction -takes pride in the work they are doing -not afraid to suggest more productive ways of doing the work -finally, they are happy to be there I don't know if this is very helpful.