Assessment Tips

Ten free tips for completing a personality test

A personality test is a psychological questionnaire designed to assess the personality of a person. Companies not only look for candidates with the right background, but also with the right personality. That is why many companies will ask you to complete a personality test during the application process. Some people find this intimidating, but there is no need. You cannot make mistakes — just try to be as honest as possible.

What is a personality test?

A personality test often forms part of an online assessment. In many cases the questionnaire is taken digitally because time does not matter and cheating makes little sense. The aim of a personality test is to gain insight into your personality. Thus a personality test is also frequently used for personal development. The insight into your personality is obtained by asking you a series of questions. By asking many questions in the test, one can better form a picture of you as a personality. Because of the many questions one tries to prevent socially desirable answers. The consistency of your answers can also be determined better with more questions during the personality test. The large number of questions also makes the analysis of the personality test one of the least scary tests to do. You cannot give right or wrong answers. You can only give honest or less honest answers.

The most used personality theory in a personality test: the Big Five

Personality tests are an interesting way to learn more about who you are and how you are put together. One of the most used methods for this is the “Big Five”. This may sound like an adventurer group or a famous band, but it actually concerns the five main traits that together form our personality. These five are: openness (how curious and creative you are), conscientiousness (how organised and reliable you are), extraversion (how social and energetic you are), agreeableness (how friendly and compassionate you are) and emotional stability (how calm and stress-resistant you are).

By answering questions about how you feel or how you would act in certain situations, a personality test based on the Big Five can give a picture of your unique mix of these traits. The nice thing is that there is no good or bad here; every combination of the Big Five traits makes you who you are. A Big Five personality test is often used by companies and organizations to understand people and to help them in their professional development.

Why do employers use a personality test?

When selecting the right candidate for a role, employers increasingly rely on personality tests. These tests provide insight into how well someone fits within a team, the company culture and the role’s specific demands. Below are some crucial aspects employers check:

• Determine whether someone fits the team: in roles where teamwork is central, it is essential that new employees fit the group dynamics. A creative team, for example, benefits from members who can think outside the box.
• Company culture: each company has unique values and norms. Employers use personality tests to assess whether the values of the applicant correspond with those of the company. In commercial organisations one might look for commercial drive.
• Check if a candidate is suited to the role: employers also want to know if a candidate is suitable for the specific responsibilities of a role. In positions where sensitive company information is handled, one might look at traits like integrity and interpersonal skills.

Sample report of a personality test

Here is a sample report of a personality test. It first shows the scores on the 34 Big Five traits, which can be related to almost any job profile. Next, the participant’s Jung Type is displayed. Then, the scores on the 4-color model appear in a clear color wheel. On the final page, you can see the scores on eight commonly used competencies.

Example page from a personality test report

How can you prepare for completing a personality test?

This part of the online assessment is the only component that does not require preparation. The intention of the personality test is to gain insight into your personality. This is relevant to the company, but also to you. After all, you also want to be a good match for the company culture. If you try too hard to prepare for the personality test, you may give answers that align more with the company’s core values than your own. In that case you might appear to be a good match on paper but be less satisfied in the role in practice. In short: besides familiarising yourself with the format and structure of the personality test, you do not need specific preparation. Frequently, a specific personality test is used that matches the role you are applying for, such as a personality test for IT.

The questions (items) in a personality test

Besides the fact that a personality test consists of many questions (also called items), some people find the statements uncomfortable. The statements and responses may lie very close to each other, forcing you to make a choice. There is no opportunity for explanation during the test. During the interpretation of the results there is room for explanation, but when the results of the personality test indicate that you are an introvert person, it may be difficult to change this. Candidates who have taken a personality test often say “you can answer any way” — but this does force you to make choices.

The Big Five model of personality

Most personality tests are based on the five aspects of the Big Five personality model. This is called a Big Five personality test. These five aspects are: (1) extraversion, (2) agreeableness, (3) conscientiousness, (4) neuroticism and (5) intellect/imagination. Most questions in a personality test will relate to these five aspects and your personality will be assessed on them.

How to complete a personality test

One of the most important points when taking a personality test is to be honest about yourself. By answering honestly to the questions, you will obtain a reliable picture of your personality. It is important to realise that this picture may not always align with what a company is looking for. So keep in mind that being yourself is best. Also, because of the large number of questions it can sometimes be difficult to maintain concentration. Make sure you stay sharp and alert during the test. Finally, it is important to remember that everyone has weaker points. Therefore you should be honest about your weaker points and know how you work on improving them.

Ten tips for completing a personality test

• In most personality questionnaires you will have to assess statements. These statements you rate about yourself (self-assessment). Try to answer as quickly as possible and don’t overthink it. Your first answer is usually best.
• Do not adjust your answers afterwards. With some tests this is possible, however since your first answer is often the best, changing it rarely improves your result.
• It is important to be honest. You may try to present yourself differently, but most tests are designed so that this becomes noticeable. Some tests, such as The Bridge Personality, use advanced normative-ipsative technology to detect directed answering behaviour. Such tests make it immediately clear where a candidate was not honest and to what degree. Directed answering is therefore not possible.
• You will likely complete the test as part of a job application. So during completing it try to think about work rather than private life. In your free time you behave differently than at work. The organisation wants to get to know you with your “work hat” on.
• Many people try to give socially desirable answers. They choose statements that create the best impression. For example: “I know no one who works as hard as I do.” However, such a statement does not measure personality but socially desirable response behaviour. Companies will notice that you were not honest when they see your results.
• A good personality questionnaire is not timed. However, keep a steady pace while completing it, so you do not risk filling it in too “steered”.
• Have you recently had a negative experience at work or in your private life? Try not to think about it too much when completing the test, as it will influence the outcome.
• Personality questionnaires do not show whether you are smart or not. They provide a picture of your personality. Companies can thus see whether you prefer to lead, collaborate or work with detail.
• Personality questionnaires are different from timed performance tests like intelligence tests or cognitive ability tests. With such IQ-tests there are right and wrong answers.
• Make sure you complete the test in a quiet environment so you can concentrate better and the report reflects you accurately.

More information about the tests of TestGroup

Would you like to know more about using personality tests in your organisation? Contact TestGroup here.

Ordering personality tests

Would you like to order personality tests for your candidates or employees? You can order a test per candidate or choose an assessment subscription on the Bridge Assessment Platform.