Personality Tests and Why Employers Use Them

Personality tests examine your innate characteristics, the type of information you don’t generally put on a C.V. They endeavour to uncover the real you, hidden behind the enthusiastic nods and go get ‘em attitude we all hope to convey in interviews. The main difference between a personality test and those dreaded tests you sat in school: the ones that made you feel as if butterflies were legitimately fluttering around your insides is that they are neither timed, nor is there a right or wrong answer. Instead they seek to create a ‘personality profile’ to help potential employers decide if you are the right person for the job. And they are becoming increasingly popular, with America unsurprisingly leading the charge. In 2001, 26% of large employers used personality tests, a figure which by 2013 had shot up to 57%. In fact, 89 of the Fortune 100 companies in America are now using personality tests, making it a cool $500 million a year industry. The main personality test used is the Myers-Briggs test which is inspired by Jungian thought. (If you don’t happen to have a grounding in modern philosophy then feel free to take a look at Jung’s Wikipedia page for some further procrastination.) Basically, it offers 16 different personality types which are somewhat confusingly sorted into acronyms like “ENFJ” or “ENTJ.” This may be a little complicated (what happened to simple adjectives like nice or angry?), however whoever holds the copyright is doing remarkably well. The rights are currently worth somewhere around the $20 million mark, a figure that is set to rise. So the question is, of course, why now? What has caused all this hoopla over personality tests? One reason proffered by the people in the know is the increasingly competitive job market. With Britain boasting an extremely high graduation rate at 54%, it is far more difficult to distinguish between graduates. It is necessary to call upon alternative methods to seriously differentiate between candidates. This was further compounded by the 2008 recession, which saw even more graduates compete for even fewer jobs. And then, of course, there is the simple argument that this sort of testing works. It highlights where there could be potential problems (for example an introvert applying for a job in telesales) and ensures a far more productive hiring process. The hope is that it will help lower staff turnover, increase productivity and ensure new employees are well suited and matched for their job. Of course, there is plenty to dispute this fact. A simple Google Search will conjure up a myriad of results with a series of incredibly disparaging and incredulous titles (such as “four reasons you should never use the Myers-Briggs personality test”) that basically state these tests are popular simply because they are popular. There was even a rather well received book on the subject by an American Annie Murphy Paul entitled, “The Cult of Personality,” which basically stated that personality tests are leading us to miseducate our children, mismanage our companies and misunderstand ourselves. So what do you think? Have you ever had to take a personality test? Let us know your thoughts by leaving a comment.