4 Free Personality Tests for Better Talent Acquisition
The pandemic brought about different changes in the workplace landscape. One of them is the contraction of the Malaysian economy, which resulted in people losing their jobs.
However, Malaysian economists are expecting the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2021 to grow between 6.5% and 7.5% – after the contraction of 4.5% in 2020. Which could lead to a new wave of job openings and new candidates to interview.
(Read: Malaysia’s 5 Most Popular Industries and What Those Candidates Want)
With so many available talents in a growing competitive job market, hiring someone that will best match your company may need more than a standard interview and application process. Additional steps that some hirers employ are personality tests that look deeper into a candidate's potential.
Through a series of questions and scenarios, a personality test assess the behaviour and attitude of a candidate. The results will also be helpful in quickly narrowing down the list for potential employees who will best fit your company culture.
We list down 4 free job personality tests that are free and readily available online.
1. Predictive Index (PI) Assessment
Used by thousands of big named companies around the world, the Predictive Index Assessment is a test used to assess a candidate's personality and their abstract intelligence, rather than focusing solely on their skill sets.
There are two types of Predictive Index Tests available to use: the Predictive Index Cognitive Assessment (PICA) and the Predictive Index Behavioural Assessment (PIBA).
Predictive Index Cognitive Assessment This assessment tests the abstract intelligence and cognitive ability of a candidate. It is composed of 50 questions that measure cognitive skills, critical thinking, and verbal reasoning. This test is the most useful when you are looking for candidates that can process and solve problems quickly.
Predictive Index Behavioral Assessment In this assessment, candidates will receive two lists of adjectives – one has words that describe how they think others expect them to act, and the second list contains words they can choose from to define themselves according to the way they see themselves.
This test measures a candidate based on the four key factors that define workplace behaviour: dominance or the drive to exert influence on people, extraversion or the need for social interaction, patience, and formality or the likeliness of conforming to rules and structure.
This test is useful in determining a candidate’s workplace behaviour--and if they are a match for your company's culture.
2. Myers-Briggs
A popular personality test, not just in the professional industry but around the world, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). Isabel Briggs Myers and Katherine Briggs took C.G. Jung’s psychological types and incorporated these into an understandable test format accessible to interested individuals.
The test combines one quality in each personality dichotomy – introvert versus extrovert, intuition versus sensing, thinking versus feeling, and judging versus perceiving – that will help you see the way a candidate may possibly react in a given scenario or describe the way they behave with peers.
If your organisation's culture is modern and young, a great website to conduct MBTI assessments is 16Personalities due to its fun and youthful approach to the scientific method.
Similar to the MBTI, this assessment groups a person's temperament in four different types, and further broken down into two roles with two other role variants, resulting to 16 different personalities.
The four main temperaments are: Artisan, Guardian, Idealist, and Rational.
Like the other tests, although it does not accurately depict the kind of person someone is, the Keirsey Temperament Sorter helps you better understand how a candidate may interact with co-employees. Plus, with this theory, it is much easier to understand and sort people to the most fitting job because the descriptions for the results are clear.
This test is based on the Keirsey Temperament Theory, which was created by psychologist David Keirsey, using the ancient study of temperament by Hippocrates and Plato.
Kiersey Temperament Sorter is widely used by some of big-named multinational companies during their hiring process.
4. Big Five The Big Five personality test, sometimes known by its acronym OCEAN, is a test that places individuals into one of five key traits: Openness to Experience, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism.
Openness to Experience - Describes people who are, based on the name, receptive of new things. They are intellectually curious, creative, and most of the time are free-thinkers.
Conscientiousness - People who score high on this are often laser-focused when it comes to accomplishing tasks, likes structured workflows, and are generally reliable when it comes to organisation. While people who score low tend to be more flexible and spontaneous when it comes to working.
Extraversion – People with high extraversion scores tend to be people-oriented and enjoy engaging in conversations with peers.
Agreeableness – This relates to individuals who value harmony among the group. Most of the time, people who score high on this trait tend to be more sympathetic and helpful towards their peers. Often seen as a soft trait, agreeableness is a trait often observed in successful leaders.
Neuroticism – Among the five traits, this is the only trait where a low score is good news. Individuals that score high on this tend to be easily stressed and irritated when problems arise. On the other end of it, individuals that score low tend to be more relaxed and laid back when placed in a stressful environment.
The given test is a list of statements that the candidate will rate based on the aptness to their personality from 1 to 5 – with 1 being strongly disagreed and 5 strongly agree. Its results can help you find out an individual's work characteristic and their professional personality.
(Read: How HR Can Help Employees with Different Personality Types Work Better Together)
While the list above shows tests that provide hirers with greater insight into the personality type of each candidate, keep in mind that these tests are not perfect and are only meant to supplement the decision-making process for your organisation.
Look for the best talent for your company through Talent Search on Jobstreet. For more insight on what candidates look for in a job, check out JobStreet’s Laws of Attraction. Check out our Job Resources Hub, and Employer Insights for other relevant resources.
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