Personality testing big in 2010
Posted by EmployTest - on Thu, Dec 17, 2009 @ 03:44 PM
Personality testing will continue to be one of the hottest topics in 2010. Funny thing is that a lot of people we talk with have a negative impression of what it entails. There's often a certain "ick" factor when we suggest that a personality test might round out an assessment portfolio for a certain job. But it can be just as important as other parts of the pre-employment testing process.
Pre employment skills tests are essential to the hiring process. These tests measure the skillset relative to the job--skills with computer programs, clerical skills, spatial relations or other. How quickly the new guy can master the details of the job, whether it's learning a complex computer system or simply drafting a grammatically correct letter.
Pre-employment knowledge tests are equally important to identifying the best candidate. Knowledge of industry standards (ie accounting tests, medical knowledge tests) can allow the new employee to easily converse with clients and co-workers. No time spent explaining what this term and that means.
The final piece of that puzzle is the personality test. Or behavior profile, if you prefer. This will show you if the person is a good fit with the needed mindset for a specific job. If it's a customer service position, it's not enough for them to be able to maneuver the CRM system. They need to have the flexibility and service orientation to do the job. Your new salesperson needs to ooze self confidence and be ambitious. And to measure those critical areas, you need some type of personality profile. Because whether or not they have the skills, if the new employee is not mentally on the game, he/she will not be an effective performer for you.
Remember that each day you are competing against other companies, not only for new clients, but also to hire the best employees in your market. If you aren't testing for personality traits, then you might be hiring the applicants that other companies rejected.
Would you like a sample of our pre-employment tests? Just visit Try a Test to get started!