From DiSC to Myers-Briggs, there's no shortage of personality tests available today. While leaders often use these tests to better understand their current teams, personality assessments can also provide critical information on prospective hires.
Here, nine members of YEC share what you can learn about candidates through personality assessments—and what you can't—and how they can be useful in finding the right talent for your team.
What's one perk of using a personality test to recruit or hire employees? What information will these tests give you that you might not learn otherwise?
1. A candidate's natural skills and talents
Personality tests reveal traits beyond an individual’s resume, such as their thought processes, working style, organizational habits, interpersonal strengths and weaknesses, conflict management skills, problem-solving abilities, and much more. These tests help companies assess an individual’s potential in real-life situations while analyzing compatible traits that fit the company’s culture. —Brian David Crane, Spread Great Ideas
2. Their fit in your company culture
Employees are leaving companies in droves these days, and one of the reasons is that they don’t feel like they fit in with the company culture. Therefore, you don’t even want to bring these folks on board if, based on the results of their personality test, you doubt they’ll fit in. —Andrew Schrage, Money Crashers Personal Finance
3. Work style
One test we have found extremely useful is the Kolbe A Index, which doesn't tell us about the personality of the employee, but rather their work style. For example, some people are more methodical and research-focused, while others need to dive in and get their hands dirty right away. Knowing this ahead of time can help you find the right person and work with them effectively from the get-go. —Nathalie Lussier, AccessAlly
4. Strengths and weaknesses
Personality tests help you explore the strengths and weaknesses of a candidate. It's not possible to simply inquire about such information. Most people aren't truly aware of their strengths or, most importantly, their weaknesses. Even if they know, it's highly unlikely they would disclose this information to a recruiter. Personality tests are designed to help you explore this information. —Jared Atchison, WPForms
5. Ideal working environment and role
Not all personality tests are created equal. When you find a good one, however, use that information to figure out a couple of important factors: what type of work that person does best, what environment they prefer (e.g., more flexible or more controlled), how they work in a team, and what motivates them. Not everybody is so self-aware as to understand these things about themselves. —Samuel Thimothy, OneIMS
More articles from AllBusiness.com:
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- Using Personality Tests as a Hiring Tool: What Are the Pros and Cons?
- The 4 Types of Questions to Ask Candidates in a Job Interview
6. True nature of a person
Personality tests help you explore in-depth information that's not easily accessible via standard interview questions. These tests help you assess an individual's frame of mind, their strengths, weaknesses, fears, expectations, and more. Overall, personality tests help you assess the true nature of a person. —Stephanie Wells, Formidable Forms
7. Leadership skills
Personality tests aren't 100% reliable, but they can help you learn a few things about people. I would use a personality test to figure out whether a person is suitable for a leadership role or not. For example, a test can tell if someone is likely to be aggressive or passive. It can also give you an idea of how well a person works in a team. This information can help you make hiring decisions. —Blair Williams, MemberPress
8. Temperament and workflow
A personality test should be used as a tool to understand an individual, not as the be-all and end-all of their exact inner dynamics as a person. That said, it's helpful for finding out their temperament and workflow. How a person works and interacts with others are two huge factors that affect team dynamics and tasked workflow the most. Know those, then hire accordingly to fit your needs. —Nic DeAngelo, We Buy Loans Fast
9. Motivational triggers
Personality tests are great because they tell you, as an HR official or as a boss, how to deal with the potential hire when it comes to addressing workplace issues. There are different ways of working with people to appeal to their personality triggers, and knowing what they are is advantageous in persuading or motivating them in a project. —Baruch Labunski, Rank Secure
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