The SHL Occupational Personality Questionnaire, also called OPQ32, provides insight into how an individual’s personality traits and behavior may influence work performance. SHL Occupational Personality Questionnaire Related: Career Development Theory: Definition and Introduction 4. The types of personality traits it measures include dominance, rule-consciousness, sensitivity, emotional stability, perfectionism, self-reliance and openness to change. It helps measure behaviors in individuals and has many applications, including career development and employee progression. Cattell, Maurice Tatsuoka and Herbert Eber published the first version of the 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire, also called 16PF, though it has been revised over the years. Related: Character Trait Examples: Best Traits for Work and Resume 3. It can also be customized to target specific behaviors that are particularly important to a certain job or function. This assessment looks at both the potentially negative and positive qualities of a candidate to provide a wider picture of how they would perform in a role. Other question formats include true or false, multiple-choice and degree of agreement scale. When taking this test, you will answer questions in various formats, the most common of which presents a set of statements and asks you to choose which most aligns with your views. This personality test is frequently used during employment screenings. The Caliper Profile measures how the personality traits of an applicant or employee correlate to their performance in their work role. Read more: Job Compatibility for the 16 Myers-Briggs Personality Types 2. With 93 questions in all, it is a fairly long assessment. The results of these groupings place test-takers into one of 16 personality types. Its questions determine where an applicant falls within four key groupings: extraversion vs. Myers-Briggs Type IndicatorĪlso known as the MBTI, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is often used by companies during the hiring process.

Some of the more common of these personality tests include: 1. Preemployment personality assessments can also be used to estimate the likelihood of success in job applicants. Employers often use different personality tests to understand the character traits of their employees. Nowadays, it is not uncommon to encounter a personality test during the job search. Related: Personality Type Test: Definition and Examples 8 top personality tests used by employers But the personality test didn’t exist until post-World War I in the 1900s with the Woodworth Personal Data Sheet, which was used to assess psychological trauma in returning soldiers.Īround that time, another personality test that came into popularity was psychoanalyst Herman Rorschach’s inkblot test-better known as the Rorschach test-that is still sometimes used today in psychology. Psychology itself traces back to Withelm Wundt, the “Father of Psychology,” who first made the distinction between the human personality and the human body during the 19th century. The roots of the personality tests are enmeshed with that of psychology emerging as a respected science. Related: Personality Type Test: Definition and Examples History of the personality test Over the years, an innumerable amount of personality tests have come into popularity, many of which still circulate or are easily accessible online. Otherwise, they can be useful for psychological diagnoses by mental health professionals, personal development or nurturing positive relationships with others. Stemming from the field of psychology, personality tests have been used to better understand character traits in a variety of settings-including, if not especially, the workplace. In this article, we cover some background on eight of the most common types of personality tests used in psychology and how they can be applied in the workplace. From an employer perspective, understanding the personality of a potential hire can shed light on their work style and how they might fit into the company’s work culture. Personality tests are often used to gain insight into who people are, along with what motivates them.

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