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Companies are increasingly giving job candidates personality tests as part of the hiring process. Test publishers and some recruiters say these tests can profile a person’s suitability for various types of work and accurately predict a candidate’s likelihood of being successful.

Personality tests have been around for decades, but they fell out of favor after passage of the US Civil Rights Act because companies feared they could be considered discriminatory.

Organizations are turning to standardized tests again, partly because employers seldom provide detailed references for former employees due to fear of lawsuits. Companies also use assessments to facilitate the process of sifting through thousands of resumes.

Tests are objective

Advocates of personality testing outline several advantages over traditional interviews. Tests are evenhanded; they ask everyone the same questions in the same way. Tests typically require less time than interviews, so they are more efficient in obtaining job-related information. Tests allow the person’s answers to be easily compared with thousands of individuals.

Employers say applicants are more likely to be honest and admit faults when they’re not dealing with a person. Tests results help them minimize subjective bias from interviews, identify candidates with the traits needed for certain jobs, and make better hiring decisions, all of which can reduce turnover.

Dr. Theresa Kline, psychology professor at the University of Calgary, adds, "Tests are not susceptible to the same variation as are individuals in terms of information gained on a particular day or time. Moreover, standardized tests are cost-effective.

Tests are intrusive

Tests also have numerous limitations. In The Cult of Personality, Annie Murphy Paul documents numerous dangers of intrusive questions, biased assumptions and limiting labels. She’s concerned that workers forced to take such tests may have their privacy invaded and rights trampled on.

Paul contends personality tests don’t show people as they actually are: complicated, contradictory, changeable across time and place. They don’t specify how individuals act in particular situations. Many tests look for (and find) disease and dysfunction rather than health and strength.

Kline concedes that some organizations over-rely on test scores for decision-making, which is akin to viewing a snapshot rather than meeting someone in person.

Characteristics such as customer and co-worker rapport, motivation to help the organization succeed, and oral communication skills are challenging to detect via most standardized personality tools, adds Kline.

Since there are no ‘correct’ answers to personality tests, scoring procedures have been questioned and recent litigation has suggested some items may be too intrusive. It’s difficult to show how certain questions are job related, even if the overall personality scale is a valid predictor of job performance.

Many organizations are reluctant to share information about personality measures they use. One international recruiting firm indicates they don’t employ personality tests. Another says they administer in-house personality tests to all candidates.

Hundreds of personality tests are described in test publishers’ catalogues and Buros Mental Measurements Yearbooks. Some assess a variety of personality traits, and others measure specific individual traits such as integrity. So selecting an appropriate personality test depends on the industry and type of work. A successful computer geek requires different personality traits than a sales agent. And some people are better suited to certain company cultures than others.

Job applicants should be honest

View tests as an extension of the interview. You can’t pass or fail, so be honest. Tests are designed to reveal if candidates are deceptively giving answers they think employers want. "These measures help ensure a good person-job fit, which benefits both the employer and the jobseeker," explains Dr. Deirdre J. Knapp, manager, Human Resources Research Organization.

Be informed. You have the right to be tested with measures that meet professional standards. Find out which test you’ll be given. Know the purpose of the test and how results will be used. Ask for feedback, and ensure your answers will be confidential. Realize you can refuse to take the test, although that would probably disqualify you from consideration for employment.

Employers should be careful

Determine what problem you want to solve with the test. Know the purpose of the test scores, advises Kline. Select a test that has good psychometric properties. Use the test scores only as recommended and don’t take results literally. For example, a test of extraversion may not be useful to assess an accountant’s value to the organization.

Don’t use tests exclusively. If employed, tests should be used in conjunction with other comparative measures such as level of education, work experience and accomplishments.

Ensure appropriate test-taking conditions. Psychologists’ ethical principles and codes of conduct require the use of instruments whose validity and reliability have been established for use with the population tested.

Test users who are not psychologists (employers, teachers, workshop leaders) must educate themselves about a test’s psychometric properties and consider alternative assessment strategies.

Ensure candidates are given an appropriate orientation regarding the purpose and use of the test. Administer the test in a psychologically safe environment and give helpful, realistic feedback.

Use personality measures designed for use in normal populations. Psychological assessments that were designed for clinical or diagnostic purposes are not suitable for pre-employment assessments. Knapp cautions that measures designed for use with normal populations (e.g., Myers-Briggs) may have content or scoring systems that make them unsuitable for selecting employees.

Alternatives to personality testing include structured interviews, biographical information, ratings by people who know the person, and behavioral observations.

New technologies are also being developed to assess personality traits. Some companies are creating technology that shows hot spots on the brain, which may enable insights into ‘how’ someone thinks. That, no doubt, will open up a whole new debate about employers trying to get inside your head.