How to Use Personality Tests in Hiring
How to Use Personality Tests in Hiring: A Strategic Guide for Recruiters
In the high-stakes world of talent acquisition, relying solely on resumes and technical interviews often leaves a critical blind spot: the human element. Personality tests in hiring are standardized assessments designed to measure character traits, behavioral tendencies, and potential cultural alignment.
Why does this matter? Because while skills get a candidate on the shortlist, behaviors determine if they stay. According to recent data from LinkedIn, 89% of hiring failures are due to poor cultural fit, not a lack of technical skills. Integrating personality data helps recruiters predict job performance, reduce turnover, and improve team cohesion.
Consider this common scenario: You hire a "rock star" developer who aces every coding challenge. Three months later, your team is demoralized because this person refuses to collaborate and hoards information. This is the exact problem personality assessments aim to solve.
The Scenario: The "Paper Perfect" Candidate Trap
Let’s walk through a typical recruiting nightmare that highlights the cost of missing behavioral data.
The Situation: Sarah, a VP of Sales, needs to hire a Senior Account Executive. The pressure is on to hit Q4 targets.
The Workflow Before Assessment
- Intake: Sarah tells the recruiter she needs "a shark who can close deals."
- Resume Screening: They find "Mark," a candidate with a flawless track record at a competitor.
- Interview: Mark is charismatic, confident, and answers every question perfectly.
- Offer: Mark is hired with a $150,000 base salary.
The Missing Metric
Within six months, the cracks appear. Mark closes deals, but he does so by poaching leads from junior reps and ignoring CRM protocols. The team’s overall productivity drops by 20% due to the toxic atmosphere, and two high-potential SDRs quit.
The Cost: The U.S. Department of Labor estimates a bad hire costs at least 30% of the employee’s first-year earnings. In Mark's case, factoring in recruitment fees, training, and lost team productivity, the loss exceeds $100,000. Sarah wasn't missing technical validation; she was missing behavioral validation.
Strategic Implementation: 3 Rules for Success
To avoid the "Mark" scenario, you must treat personality tests as a data point, not a crystal ball. Here are three best practices for integrating them into your hiring stack.
1. Choose Science Over Astrology
Not all tests are created equal. Avoid ipsative tests (like the MBTI) for hiring, as they are designed for self-discovery, not predictive validity. Instead, use normative assessments based on the Big Five (OCEAN) model or HEXACO.
Key Heuristic: If a test assigns a "type" (e.g., "You are a Protagonist"), use it for team building. If it measures traits on a sliding scale (e.g., "High Conscientiousness, Moderate Agreeableness"), use it for hiring.
2. Integrate, Don't Isolate
Never use a personality test as a standalone "knockout" tool. It should be part of a broader workflow:
- Resume Screening: verify hard skills.
- Assessment: gather behavioral insights.
- Structured Interviews: use the assessment results to probe deeper.
For example, if a candidate scores low on "Agreeableness," you shouldn't auto-reject them. Instead, add a specific question to their interview scorecard: "Tell me about a time you had to compromise with a colleague to achieve a goal."
3. Watch for Compliance Pitfalls
Legal compliance is critical. Under EEOC guidelines, any test you use must be job-related and validated. You must ensure your assessment does not create "disparate impact" on protected groups. Furthermore, avoid any questions that could be interpreted as a medical exam (violating the ADA), such as asking about mental health history or mood stability.
The Breakthrough: Data-Driven Alignment
Let’s revisit our hiring manager, Sarah. After the Mark disaster, she revised her hiring process to include a validated behavioral assessment focused on Conscientiousness and Team Orientation.
The Turning Point
The next candidate, Elena, had slightly less experience than Mark. However, her assessment profile showed high scores in adaptability and emotional stability. During the interview, Sarah used these insights to ask targeted questions about how Elena handles high-pressure sales environments.
The Outcome
Elena was hired. Twelve months later, not only did she hit 110% of her quota, but the team's retention rate improved. By adding this layer of data, Sarah's department saw a 30% reduction in turnover year-over-year. This is the difference between hiring for Culture Fit (hiring people just like you) and Culture Add (hiring people who bring missing, positive traits).
Recruiter Toolkit: Career & Interview Relevance
Mastering personality assessments doesn't just help you hire better; it positions you as a strategic talent advisor rather than just a "resume shuffler."
Q&A: How to discuss this in an interview
Interviewer: "How have you applied personality tests to improve outcomes?"
You: "I moved us away from gut-feeling hires by implementing a Big Five-based assessment. I used the data to calibrate our structured interviews, specifically looking for gaps between candidate perception and behavioral reality. This streamlined our decision-making and reduced early-stage attrition by 15%."
Resume Bullet Examples
- Operationalized behavioral assessments within the ATS, reducing time-to-hire by 10 days.
- Implemented a "Culture Add" scoring model using trait-based data, improving diverse hiring pass-through rates by 22%.
- Trained 20+ hiring managers on interpreting assessment data to reduce bias in structured interviews.
Pros & Cons of Personality Testing
| Benefit (The Strategic Advantage) | Tradeoff (The Risk) |
|---|---|
| Predictive Validity: Scientifically validated tests (like Big Five) are proven predictors of long-term job performance and reliability. | Candidate Anxiety: Lengthy tests can cause drop-off. Candidates may feel scrutinized or "psychoanalyzed," leading to a poor experience. |
| Objective Data: Provides a standardized metric that reduces unconscious bias (e.g., halo effect) during the interview process. | Faking Good: Savvy candidates may answer aspirationaly rather than honestly. (Tip: Look for tests with "validity scales" to detect this.) |
| Onboarding Acceleration: Knowing a new hire's communication style helps managers tailor their coaching from Day 1. | The Clone Effect: Over-reliance on specific profiles can lead to a homogenous team that lacks diverse perspectives. |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a personality test in recruitment?
It is a pre-employment assessment used to evaluate a candidate's non-technical traits, such as communication style, resilience, and openness to experience. The goal is to predict how they will perform in a specific role and interact with the existing team.
Can personality tests backfire?
Yes. If used as the sole deciding factor, they can incorrectly filter out great talent. Additionally, using non-validated tests (like free online quizzes) can introduce bias and expose the company to legal liability under EEOC regulations.
Are these tests legal in the US?
Yes, provided they are job-related and consistent with business necessity. They must not discriminate against protected classes or violate the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by acting as a medical exam.
Final Thoughts
Personality tests are not a silver bullet, but they are a powerful flashlight in the often murky process of hiring. When used correctly—as a complement to structured interviews and reference checks—they provide the data needed to build resilient, high-performing teams.
If you want to operationalize personality tests within a seamless structured workflow (Sourcing → resume screening → AI interviews → scorecards → offers → background checks), try tools like Foundire to modernize your entire hiring funnel.
