Advantage and Disadvantage of Personality Testing for Hiring

Last Updated: January 9, 2025
Author: sajoki

Table of Contents

Nowadays, companies are hugely using personality testing for hiring, enabling them to learn their applicants beyond resumes. 

Personality testing gives insights into someone’s work practices, teamwork, and versatility. Even for some roles, these tests provide critical information to guide the managers. Personality tests alone cannot judge an applicant’s skills. They have limitations, too. So, how much beneficial are they in making hiring decisions?

Let us explore the advantages and disadvantages of personality testing for hiring, and when to use and execute them. 

What is Personality Testing for Hiring?

Personality testing for hiring involves evaluations crafted to judge personality traits. These tests highlight whether someone is best for teamwork, leadership, or communication. These tests will help businesses find the best fit for their tailored category in the workplace. 

Advantages of Personality Testing for Hiring

Managers can remember several advantages of personality testing while making hiring decisions. 

Stronger Team Fit

Personality testing helps find employees who are well-suited for a role. A good fit on the team will ensure fewer struggles and better conformity. Teams succeed when all members can accompany each other. 

Enhanced Procurement

Employers are likelier to be happy with their positions when the roles match their best traits. These tests help identify candidates who will stay and thrive for a long time in the company. This saves businesses from waste of time and money. 

Decreased Bias in Hiring

Personality assessments in hiring create a regulated approach. When we focus on personality tests, bias is reduced in making decisions. In this way, all these assessments ensure the entire process is fair and consistent. 

Disadvantages of Personality Testing for Hiring

There are also several disadvantages of personality testing that managers can remember while making hiring decisions. 

Restricted Scope

The personality tests used in hiring can only partially measure skills or experience. They prioritize personal traits rather than practical skills, which can leave space in many job preparations. 

Possibility for Miscommunication

Personality testing in hiring requires proper training. It enables managers to  read results properly after that. If the analysis of these tests is inaccurate, misinterpretation may lead to hiring the wrong employee. Therefore, companies should train hiring managers to be able to interpret the results of all personality tests correctly to avoid biasing in hiring decisions. 

Overdependence on Test Results

Being more reliant on personality tests may cause other things to be ignored. Other qualities such as skills, experience, and motivation are also vital. These assessments should accompany, rather than replace, other hiring methods. 

Common Kinds of Personality Tests Used for Hiring

Various personality assessments focus on different traits. Each is popular in its way in the hiring process. Let’s look at some of those.

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)

MBTI is one of the most renowned personality evaluations. It categorizes individuals into 16 personality traits: extroversion, introversion, communication, etc. MBTI proves to be a valuable tool in roles requiring specific communication and analytical styles. 

The Big Five Model

This model uses five broader extents to measure personality traits. These include conscientiousness, openness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. This test has been useful for deciding job performance and teamwork in a workplace. 

DISC Evaluation

DISC personality assessments measure supremacy, influence, dependability, and unrighteousness. DISC helps identify candidates who will excel in quick and customer service roles. This is because DISC has helped pick out how well an employee will adapt to others. 

When to Use Personality Testing in Hiring

By carefully comprehending when to use personality testing for hiring during recruitment, HR managers can make the most out of it. 

Highly Interactive Roles

Since personality traits highlight patience, flexibility, and empathy, they must be used to judge roles in sales and customer service. 

Roles with Management and Leadership

Confidence and decision-making skills are vital in management and leadership positions. Personality tests are essential to identifying candidates who will excel in these positions. 

Teamwork Roles

Personality tests in hiring can also complement people with teamwork abilities. Jobs can use them to accompany people who will work better in teams. In this way, a workplace can achieve a cohesive and collaborative working environment. 

Steps to successfully Execute Personality Testing in Hiring

Companies must ensure proper planning to see the effectiveness of personality tests in hiring decisions. Here are some key points to remember while planning.

Explain the Requirements of the role.

Select the traits that one must have for each role. For example, high confidence and public speaking points are necessary for someone being recruited in a leadership role. 

Choose the Right Test

The proper personality test should be selected to meet your role’s demands and find the perfect fit. For instance, DISC is suitable for roles requiring handling clients, while the Big Five helps assess teamwork. 

Instruct Interviewers on Exposition

The hiring managers should be able to interpret the test results correctly. This will ensure that there is no bias and that ethical decisions are made when hiring employees. 

Merge results into Interviews.

Follow the data of the personality test results to interpret how the candidate may handle real-world problems. Integrating the insights into interviews may help to bring out more characteristics of the candidate in front of others. 

Conclusion

All in all, personality testing for hiring is useful for boosting a team’s mobility and retention. Merging it with other assessments makes it a key tool for making informed hiring decisions. Similarly, picking the right personality test for your required job skill is essential.  However, companies should not use it to replace traditional hiring methods. 

Even if personality testing has notable flaws, using it carefully has made recruitment more meticulous. So, are you considering hiring your next batch of employees?

FAQS

Can personality tests be used elsewhere other than in hiring?

Yes, they can be used in training and building a productive team.

Are personality tests effective in predicting success in a job?

Not totally; they indicate the best role of a job. But skills do matter for success, too. 

How long can a personality test be relevant?

Specific life experiences can alter personality tests sometimes—other than that; they remain stable for years. 

Which traits from the Big Five personality tests are most important for teamwork?

Traits like agreeableness and conscientiousness are crucial for teamwork. 

What happens if someone’s ideal traits do not match the results of their personality hiring test?

Companies might look for other strengths. Sometimes, organizations still hire if they find another fit for a specific job.

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Lukas Müller

HR Manager, TechCorp

SAJOKI made hiring easier by providing clear insights into candidates' soft skills, helping us find the right fit every time.

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