How to Pass Personality Test for Jobs

In this day and age, your personality is more important than ever, especially when relating to your career.

According to a study by Ross W. Ginkel, Shawn E. Davis (PhD), and Paul G. Michael (PhD) of Pacific University, employers and hiring managers today pay more attention to an applicant’s personal and non-academic qualities than ever before. In fact, some even conduct personality tests for candidates before hiring them. That’s why when applying for jobs, aside from hiring an online resume writing service to build your resume, you also have to work on how to pass personality test for jobs.

What is a personality test for jobs?

As the name suggests, a personality test for jobs is a tool used by employers to evaluate an applicant’s personality. These tests use techniques designed to appraise the characteristics and responses that a person will show in a given situation. With it, employers are able to gauge an applicant’s likelihood to excel in the job that he or she is applying for. Some companies even consider it crucial for overall efficiency, productivity, and targets.

20-30 use personality tests to assess candidates' personality traits during the hiring process, and the number continues to grow with each passing year.

Needless to say, a personality test for jobs interviews is something you should take seriously when applying for a position.

There’s actually more than one type of personality test for jobs

While no single personality test can truly provide all the individual characteristics and traits that an employer wants to know about, different companies use different types of personality test for jobs when hiring a new worker. We identify five of the most commonly used personality test for jobs, and provide you with a few tips on how to beat each and every one of them.

1. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)

One of the most used pre-employment personality tests, Myers-Briggs Type Indicator seeks to find out how an individual prefers to use judgment and perception. First developed in the 1940s by Isabel Briggs Myers and her mother, Katharine Cook Briggs, MBTI takes into account that choices play a huge role in a person’s interpretation of experiences. These are then checked under four categories, namely: introversion/extroversion, judging/perception, sensing/intuition, and logic/emotion.

How to pass it: Be yourself. Don’t overthink your answer, and go with your gut. MBTI is mainly used to identify your emotional intelligence more than anything else, so stay true to your answers and you might learn more about yourself, which can only prove valuable in the long run, even if you don’t get hired.

2. The Caliper Profile

Designed by Dr. Herb Greenberg and David Mayer in the late 1950s, the Caliper Profile is meant to measure how an individual's personal characteristics correlate to his or her job performance. The Caliper Profile is made up of a few different types of questions that rate an individual according to different personality categories including aggressiveness, egotistical drive, leadership, risk-assessment, time management, etc. The test rates an applicant from 1 to 99, and employers can then use this rating to distinguish their employees based on their scoring range. The higher the score of the applicant, the better his or her chance of getting hired will be.

How to pass it: You can prepare for The Caliper Profile by knowing the various questions that will be asked, which are available from many online sources, so make sure to do your research. Examples of questions include “What trait describes you best: resourceful, responsible, understanding?” or “I am mostly quiet during meetings: Agree or Disagree?”

You also increase your chance of beating this test by making sure the job you’re applying for is one that you genuinely feel you want to do. Don’t try to weasel your way into a job that you know is not really suited for you.

3. DISC Assessment

DISC is an acronym for Dominance, Influence, Steadfastness, and Conscientiousness. Based on the work of Dr. William Moulton Marston, this test is an assessment that seeks to identify an employee’s thought, action, and reaction processes. DISC Assessment shows how the individual manages the four aspects of DISC and how it affects his or her behavior. It employs multiple-choice questions to capture the natural responses of its participants as they relate to workplace communication, conflict resolution, motivation, goal maintenance, and work habits, among others.

How to pass it: Like MBTI, there’s no right or wrong answer in DISC Assessment. As long as you understand the responsibilities of the job and know that you are a good fit for it, you can see that the only “wrong” answers are the ones that don’t really describe your personality.

4. Predictive Index (PI) Behavioral Assessment

The Predictive Index (PI) Behavioral Assessment is a time-limited employment personality test developed by Arnold S. Daniels, who initially used it to study the psychology of bombing teams for the US Army. The test takes over 12 minutes to complete and analyzes four primary aspects of an individual’s personality (extroversion, dominance, formality, and patience) along with two secondary aspects (decision-making and response level). Because it helps determine how an individual is likely to behave, this test is particularly useful for companies looking to identify if an applicant is a great fit for the job position.

How to pass it: Different jobs require different personality types, so it bears repeating that you should only apply for a job that truly fits your personality and interests. To get the best possible score, you should demonstrate the distinct traits that the employer is looking for in the role you want. For example, if you are applying for a managerial job, you should score higher in dominance, assertiveness, and extraversion, and lower in gentleness, tolerance, and conscientiousness.

5. Situational Judgment Test (SJT)

In this test, applicants are assessed on how they may respond to certain workplace situations. Widely used during World War II to evaluate soldiers, this test is now evolved to give applicants a set of possible situations they may face at work involving teamwork, communication, conflict management, negotiation, problem-solving, cultural sensitivity, and the like. Based on their responses, SJT helps companies predict the job performance of potential candidates.

How to pass it: This is one of the hardest pre-employment tests to prepare for because SJTs can come in different formats. Before everything else, read the instructions carefully and make sure you understand each point so you know exactly what to do as you move forward with the questions. Check if there’s a time limit to answer because double-checking your answers and understanding the solutions provided is essential to passing SJT.

Work on your resume with Resumeble

While you work on how to pass personality test for jobs, build your resume with Resumeble to secure your dream job. Send us your resume today for a free, no-obligation evaluation to find out what your resume is missing.