How To Pass A Personality Test For Job Applications
With pre-employment personality testing on the rise, recruitment agencies and organisations have likely asked you to complete a personality test or other pre-employment assessment. Immediately you start thinking of questions. Will the test be difficult? Will I pass or fail? Will it prevent me from getting the job. While your first response might be stress or fear, personality testing is not a typical pass or fail test and may even help you land the job. Here are some tips to help you pass a personality test for job applications.
Berke Versus Popular Personality Tests
It is common for workplaces to use personality tests such as Myers-Briggs Type Indicator , DISC Assessment, The Enneagram, and StrengthsFinder.
While these tests are good for self-discovery and even team building, they are not designed to predict job performance. An understanding of the job is required to predict performance. At Berke, we compare a candidates assessment results with the requirements of the job and return a job fit rating. Not only do you receive information on a candidates personality traits, you understand how those traits manifest on the job, and impact job performance.
Another drawback of common personality tests is how difficult the results are to interpret. Many present geometric shapes or naming conventions that arent intuitive to translate into real-world meaning. When the results of the test are hard to understand, its difficult to apply the learnings.
Studies show that assessments are more accurate and more predictive when both personality and cognitive qualities are measured. Berke measures seven personality traits in addition to four cognitive traits, painting a complete picture of the candidate. More importantly, giving you the information you need to make the right hiring decisions.
Ias Interview Questions On Current Affairs
UPSC is more fond of current affairs, be it IAS prelims, mains, or interviews. At times, the complete IAS interview questions will be revolving around current affairs based. But at any interview discussions, there will surely be few current affairs questions asked by UPSC interview board.
- What is a hot topic today?
- What are the major issues happening in your state/city/hometown?
- Any burning social issue-related questions may also be asked?
Here again, UPSC is not going to test your knowledge, here they are more eager to know how innovative candidates are, how candidates approach such issues. Instead of worrying right or the wrong answer provide a genuine answer according to you before the board.
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Aptitude Or Psychometric Tests
These tests evaluate specific skills such as logic, reasoning, numeracy, verbal ability and problem-solving that you are likely to use during the course of your work. As aptitude tests are strictly timed and must be usually completed within 30 minutes, they show how well you can think, process information and work under pressure. Employers use a variety of testing formats to assess your aptitude for a specific role. Typically, these are multiple-choice tests with only one correct answer. Employers have specific benchmark scores to compare the performance of several candidates for a particular role.
Types of Aptitude Tests
How to Prepare
- Ask prospective employers for the type of aptitude test you have to take and the test format. Then, practice exactly under test conditions. For example, if you have to take a paper-based test, practice on paper, not online.
- Identify the areas in which you perform poorly, focus to improve on these.
- Although you can never know the exact questions you could be asked, if you are familiar with the various types of questions and practice under time constraints, you can do a good job on the actual test.
How to Ace Aptitude Tests
Why Companies Administer A Personality Test
First and foremost, to answer this question, there prevail numerous reasons why companies administer this test. The most evident reason might be for the companies want to foresee the characteristics and behaviors of their future employees.
Since the companies possess very little information pertaining to the candidates, a personality test helps to pinpoint several mindsets and characteristics of their candidates to some extent. It is, in addition, understandable for a company to look for candidates who predictably suit their work culture and ethics.
Also, companies presumably want to look for fresh employees whose characteristics suit their future co-workers. This is so to ensure the work efficiency and effectiveness of the target department for people with alike mindset tend to perform better.
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Keep The Job Role In Mind As You Go
To prepare for the test, consider the traits and behaviours needed to excel in the role for which you are applying. It may be helpful to list them out.
Some employers have their own personality tests crafted to reflect their specific company values, so look for this information online and review the key points. When completing the personality test, ensure you are reflecting the characteristics and values you have highlighted.
Before submitting each answer, take a moment to consider whether your answer correlates with the strengths needed for the role. If it does not, review your selection and see if there is a more accurate or appropriate option available.
Candidates Answer Personality Tests Honestly
You may be worried that candidates will not honestly fill out a personality test, opting instead to try to give right answers.
But according to Deniz S. Ones, professor of industrial psychology at the University of Minnesota, research indicates that in most cases candidates do answer personality tests honestly. And in the rare cases that they do fudge the truth, it typically doesnt significantly impact the preference between candidates.
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Should You Fake An Assessment
You took the test and now you were invited back to continue interviewingor perhaps this was the last stage of the interviewing process and you were offered a job. Yay! You passed the test. Now what? Well, now you dont know if the employer accepted you because of your amazing dishonest results, or maybe your attempt to fake the test was foiled and the results are accurate. Regardless, you likely have no way to be sure and you may find yourself second guessing your decision.
Personality Assessment By Interview Board
- Eye contact- make good eye contact with the Interview Board. Do not look down or elsewhere while giving answers. The Interview board comprises 5 members and you must make eye contact with each one of them while giving answers
- Quoting facts and figures that you are unsure of leaves a bad impression
- Avoid crossing your arms when you sit
- Sit straight on the chair
- Avoid touching your face and hair
- Nod your head once or twice it makes the sense that you are interactive in this particular session
The Personality Test is the final stage of the Civil Services exam. A candidate who walks in with confidence, a calm and positive demeanor, and who is thoroughly prepared can ace the interview.
All the Best!
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Tell Me About A Time You Got Angry At Work What Happened And What Did You Do About It
This question helps the hiring manager learn more about how you react when things get tough. Over the course of even a shorter career, something has likely gotten under your skin. However, its how you handle it that matters
Being able to navigate your own anger and diffuse it is important. It ensures you dont lash out at colleagues, customers, or anyone else.
When you pick an example and you do have to pick one focus on an option where your frustration would be understandable. Choosing a moment where you were irrationally angry wont work in your favor.
Additionally, be brief when describing your anger. Instead, focus mostly on how you let it go, allowing you to work through it and achieve a positive outcome.
EXAMPLE ANSWER:
Why Do Recruiters Use Them
Because making a hiring mistake is expensive. But hiring the right person for the job makes a massive difference to company performance. We know that certain types of people suit certain types of jobs and personality tests are designed to test this. These tests can also identify how job candidates fit into a team, how they fit into a corporate culture or what they are like to manage.
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What To Expect In A Personality Test
The type of questions in a personality test may depend on the roles that you will be required to perform at the job position. The design and structure of the test may be dependent on the work domain of the company and the characteristics and skills they appreciate in their potential employees.
For every question in the test, usually multiple answer choices are given and you have to select the appropriate one out of these. The questions in a personality test usually do not have correct and wrong answers. Some of the answers may be more appropriate for a given situation while others may be less suitable. You also may be asked if you agree or disagree with a given statement or to rank the given answer choices in an order that you consider appropriate after judging the nature of the question.
Moreover, personality tests may have a specified time limit within which you will have to respond to the questions. The number of questions in a personality test may differ depending on the publisher of the test and preference of the test-takers.
What Is A Personality Interview
Employers use tests in employment interviews to find the proper candidates for available positions and the company itself. While the employment interview evaluates your qualifications and skills for the work in question, a personal interview determines how well your personality suits the job or the companys community. The personality interview also is a useful tool when evaluating candidates with similar qualifications.
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Not All Interview Questions Pertain To The Job
A job interview can be an interesting dance. Sometimes the questions are completely on target, other times, they seem to come out of nowhere.
Certain job interviews do tend to become conversations, and thats not typically a bad thing, but how do would you handle it if the meeting took a turn more toward personality test than job interview?
Of course, there are limitations to what a recruiter or hiring manager can ask you in a job interview setting. Questions about your age, origin, religion, arrest record, your plans to have children and a variety of others are off limits.
But sometimes a question about you is simply that. How would you fare if asked any of the questions below in a job interview?
Eager to get some more practice?
Documents Needed For Upsc Ias Interview
- Proof of Category
- A set of questionnaires is provided to the candidate once he/she qualifies for UPSC Interview.
The questionnaires are filled with a set of questions like:
Applicants must submit an Attestation Form to the interview board with the minimum details required such as residence, nationality, education qualification along with a signature of the Gazetted Officer.
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Understanding The Personality Test
Excelling at a challenging job often requires skills that go beyond the knowledge and intelligence of a person. The personality traits of an individual, including their ideologies, morals and principles, the motivation driving them and the temperament they possess usually play a significant role in their performance at the job. Personality tests are generally designed to measure these characteristic traits of the candidates applied for a certain job role.
Personality tests may be a part of the assessment centers undertaken by some business organizations wherein candidates are evaluated to determine if their skills and capabilities are suitable for the job specifications. In the assessment centers, aptitude and reasoning tests may help measure the knowledge and intelligence of the candidates while personality tests may help analyze their behaviors.
If you have applied for a job and are going to appear in an assessment center soon, you may be asked to take part in a personality test if the job specifications require it. There are a few aspects of personality tests that you should know about.
What Can Employers Do
In order to mitigate your legal risk, consider taking the steps below:
- Measure your tests validity. Make sure your personality test is a valid predictor of job performance and has a high reliability, meaning that it will produce the same results if the same person takes it twice. Tests should measure traits that will remain stable over time.
- Conduct an internal analysis of your personality test with the help of legal counsel to determine any risks.
- Review current and previous Equal Employment Opportunity Commission lawsuits regarding personality tests and remove any questions that have been viewed as discriminatory.
- Make sure personality tests are just a component of the hiring process. Do not allow results from personality tests alone to exclude a candidate.
For more information on hiring check out our blog, knowledge center, or contact Tilson HR today.
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Tell Me About Yourself Or Introduce Yourself:
The introduction is a common scenario in the interview and most interviewers start the interview by asking to introduce yourself. The introduction can go in any direction as it mostly depends on the interviewee, but a smart interviewer knows what to look for.
It is a common question that is obviously asked in all interview processes but sometimes answers matters the most. This introduction process brings out the level of confidence of the candidate. Sometimes it might even happen that most of the candidates prepare themselves for this introductory part of the interview and try to impress the interviewer with their pre-rehearsed answers to the interview questions. But a well-trained interviewer with experience sees right through the words and have a very sharp eye focus on the interviewees words.
Therefore, the introduction question can consider as part of the personality-related question, but with a condition that the interviewer knows how to read through the words and have the experience to go with it.
Is There Any Way That I Can Prepare For A Personality Test
There are a few things that you can do to prepare for your personality test:
1) Read the person specification
Read through the person specification carefully and think about which personality traits would fit well with the competencies that the employer specifies. Does this sound like you?
2) Research the test
Some employers will give you the name of the test theyre using. This is your chance to research it beforehand so that youre prepared for the questions it asks and the traits it measures.
3) Keep calm
On the day, make sure you ask if theres something you dont understand.
Read through the statements a couple of times so that you completely understand what theyre asking of you double negatives like answering completely disagree to I dont like working in a team can sometimes cause confusion.
Make sure you answer every question. Even if youre unsure at first, think about it and put an answer down.
4) Put yourself in your work mode
Go into the test in professional mode and complete the test this way. Answer questions as if you were talking to someone at work.
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Dominance Influence Steadiness Conscientiousness
The DISC personality assessment is a behavioral based personality assessment that categorizes candidate personality types into four categories. Each defines the candidate personality and breaks it into four major categories, by matching behaviors in various situations. The test uses a behavioral model identified by Moulton Marston. This personality profile also may identify occupational skill areas or jobs a candidate may excel in. This test is commonly used to help identify strong candidates in task specific roles, including accounting, finance, administrative roles and payroll.
The Shl Occupational Personality Questionnaire
The SHL Occupational Personality Questionnaire, or OPQ32, is designed to give companies a picture of how certain behaviors influence a candidate’s work performance. The test is made up of 104 questions that measure 32 different characteristics. Candidates and potential employees are evaluated in three main domains: Relationship with People,Thinking Style and Feelings, and Emotions. On the test, candidates are presented with four statements and they must choose which statement best describes them and which statement least describes them. The OPQ32 was specifically developed to guarantee that its scales are relevant and suitable for the workplace.
Insider Tip: The OPQ32 provides a company and employer with a custom report of normed scores, describing both strengths and weaknesses in detail. These reports provide an easy-to-read graphical summary of performance, directly comparable to the other test takers you are competing against.
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