Candidate Coaching Corner – Personality Assessments

7/1/2013 by Ed Bradstreet

According to research by Kenexa, over the past decade personality measures have increased in popularity as predictors of performance. There are many reasons for this, including the emergence of the five-factor framework, research showing personality measures can have very useful levels of validity, and the tendency for such measures to demonstrate less adverse impact than measures of cognitive ability.   Many of Bohan & Bradstreet’s clients subscribe to a personality assessment as part of the evaluation process.  The Predictive Index (PI) is a tool widely used in the talent acquisition and management process.  The PI is a scientifically validated behavioral assessment that accurately predicts workplace behavior.  The PI has helped organizations to understand what drives individual and team behavior in the workplace. This insight into employee behavior enables companies to make balanced decisions in the areas of talent acquisition, talent development, change management and growth strategies.  The PI combined with the PRO (Performance Requirement Options), which helps managers identify the specific behavioral drivers that are critically necessary to perform a job well, provides a customized target profile for a specific role.

With this increased use of personality assessments as part of talent management strategies, there have been concerns about the “fakability” of personality inventories. Specifically, because most personality inventories are relatively transparent, concerns have been raised about the extent to which job applicants answer them honestly. Whether conscious or not, research suggests applicants are motivated to present the image most likely to be viewed positively by decision makers. Incumbents, who already have the job and who may be responding under “research-only” instructions, have less motivation to attempt to manage the impressions they make. The result of this “test-taker motivation” may well be exaggerated levels of conscientiousness, agreeableness and extraversion for many applicants.

When taking a personality assessment, it is critical you are honest and self-reflected; having said that, you should not be modest when taking this assessment.