How to Use Personality Assessments for Employee Selection

You might have seen personality assessments in job postings or on employer websites. Have you wondered what they are and what purpose they serve? Personality assessments are tests that measure an individual’s stable personality traits, such as extroversion and neuroticism. Organizations use different types of assessments as part of their selection process to identify the most qualified candidate for a position. By using personality assessments, organizations can identify applicants who are a good fit for the job and the organization’s culture. Here are 5 steps on how you can use personality assessments during selection:

Determine the business need for a personality assessment.

The two main types of personality assessments are self-report inventories and projective techniques. Self-report inventories are paper-and-pencil or online questionnaires that ask people to describe themselves. Projective techniques ask people to interpret ambiguous stimuli, such as pictures or stories.

Consider the type of personality assessment that would be the best fit for your organization and the role.

The type of personality assessment that would be the best fit for your organization and the role you are looking to fill will depend on several factors, such as the size of your organization, the culture, the type of role, etc.

Obtain buy-in from stakeholders.

While personality assessments can be a valuable tool for selection, they are also often met with resistance. This is because they can be perceived as subjective, or as a ‘black box’ that is difficult to understand. As a result, it can be difficult to gain agreement from decision-makers on using them as part of the selection process. It’s a key factor that stakeholders of your company or team agree on common personality assessments based on what they require and experience on key tasks potential candidates need or must have.

Implement the personality assessment with care and attention to detail.

Hiring managers after considering key points from team members can implement each question with specific KPIs (key performance indicators) for potential candidates. This can promote transparency as well, for SIXER assessments you can easily access templates and get team feedback before proceeding. Book a demo with us to know more.

Evaluate the results of using a personality assessment as part of your selection process.

The final step is to evaluate the results of the personality assessment. This includes considering the strengths and weaknesses of each candidate, as well as their suitability for the job. When used correctly, personality assessments can be a valuable tool in the selection process. However, several ethical concerns need to be considered when using these assessments. Due to that the pros and cons have to be considered before implementation and not only depend on assessments but rather use as early indicators to call potential candidates for the final interview.