Perfect Personality Profiles (14 page)

Another way of using personality questionnaires at this stage of selection is to review qualitatively what the person’s personality profile implies. For this purpose an experienced interpreter of profiles will provide a written or verbal report based on the individual’s profile. Alternatively, a computer-generated report may be used. These are profile interpretations generated automatically using complex expert systems that encapsulate the interpretative skills of a test expert.

Typically, the report will relate to both the strengths and weaknesses of the individual against the job requirements, but it will also provide a flavour of how the person might go about different types of task. The employer does not have a particular personality profile in mind but wants to consider how this person might function in the role and fit in to the organizational culture. In this case, the whole personality profile is considered. This interpretation of the profile will often raise some queries about how the individual will perform in the role, and these are noted down to be explored further at interview. In addition, the employer may want to confirm the results of the questionnaire through a discussion with the candidate. This will check whether the experiences the candidate describes at interview match the behavioural style that the personality questionnaire suggests. For instance, if the personality results suggest a person who is a slow and careful decision maker the employer might ask the candidate to talk about a recent important decision they have taken and consider whether the two accounts are consistent.

The nature of the role will determine how the employer will relate to a particular result and what aspects of the profile they will concentrate on. For a sales role, for example, the aspects of the personality profile that are relevant to relating to people and developing relationships will be one focus. For an administrative role, on the other hand, the information about the degree of structure in the working style is likely to be more relevant.

Below is the example of a personality profile we looked at earlier. It is followed by a possible interpretation report based on these results. Again, it should be remembered that only an outline of the traits measured by the questionnaire has been presented. In real life the actual results and the interpretation would depend on exactly what had been measured and in what detail.

Figure 5: Jay’s personality profile and report

The way an employer might relate to the information provided in Jay’s profile (see above) would depend on the job requirements in question. His profile is suitable for a typical administrative or clerical role, and he might also be well suited to work in a general call centre. However, he would be less suited to working in highly stressful environments, such as those in emergency services, or in those that required a lot of flexibility, such as a travel representative. While the profile contains a mix of positive and negative statements about Jay, the employer will focus on the statements most relevant to the role in question. If this leaves mainly negative statements it suggests that Jay would be unsuitable. If it left mainly positive statements Jay is more likely to be suited to the role.

In making decisions the employer would look at a variety of information about a candidate. Although personality is important, it is never the sole criterion for selection. The person’s skills and abilities are usually considered first, and experience is also often an important factor. After these comes the way a person approaches their work, and personality questionnaires are one source of information on this, but they will be supplemented, generally with an interview and often with other exercises as well. The personality profile is only one part of the jigsaw.

Recruiters will be trying to understand the implications of all the information collected and will be particularly concerned about inconsistencies across the different sources of information. If a candidate says at interview that he managed a team of five people in his previous job, but the reference from his employer suggests he was only a team member and didn’t formally manage anyone, this would undermine the candidate’s credibility. In the same way, if the personality profile suggests an outgoing, fun-loving person but at interview the candidate is quite shy and describes preferring to work alone than in a team, this apparent contradiction will worry the interviewer. This is one of the reasons why the best strategy is to answer questionnaires as honestly as possible.

If a questionnaire is being used as part of a development process it may be used in a similar manner to the later stages of selection – that is, relating the person’s personality style to the job requirements. The questionnaire results will often be related to a more general competency model. In particular, development processes usually want to identify a person’s strengths and development needs. A personality questionnaire can help identify strengths that are not being exploited in the current role. These might suggest the direction of the next career move. An IT specialist who had good interpersonal skills could think about moving into management or training, for example. Where development needs are identified these can be addressed through an appropriate programme of activities. For instance, a customer service operative in a call centre who was high on agreeableness and struggled to deal with difficult clients might consider participating in some assertiveness training.

6
Completing a questionnaire

If you are asked to complete a personality questionnaire as part of a job application process there is less that you can do to prepare yourself than for other types of assessment. The questionnaire is just a structured way for you to describe yourself and your typical approach to work to the employer. This section reviews things you might like to do before you have to complete the questionnaire, discusses the best way to approach completing it and how to get the most out of completing a questionnaire.

There are a number of ways of completing a personality questionnaire. Often the questionnaire is presented in a paper format. These days, however, you might be asked to complete a questionnaire on computer or on a personal organizer. Whatever the format, you should be given clear instructions on what you have to do, and you should follow these carefully.

Paper questionnaires may be presented on a single sheet or in a booklet with many pages. You may be asked to mark your responses next to the question, but it is more likely that there will be a separate answer sheet for you to mark your responses on. Check that you have understood how you are expected to complete the answer sheet. Ask the administrator if you are not sure what to do.

Answer sheets are often read automatically by an optical reader, which is very accurate but will give an erroneous reading if you have not followed the instructions carefully. For instance, if you mark outside the designated area your response might not be picked up or may be misinterpreted. If you are asked to complete the questionnaire in pencil or black ink you must do so. The machine may not pick up marks in other colours as effectively. If you think you have made an error in completing the form tell the administrator and they will tell you what to do. You might, for example, be given an additional answer sheet and asked to copy your answers correctly.

If the questionnaire is presented in an electronic medium there should be full instructions on how to use the technology and how you should indicate your answers. The system should be straightforward enough for people who are not experienced in using a computer. Again, make sure you understand what you have to do, how you should indicate your answers and how you can change an answer if you wish to do so. Computer-based systems often have ‘help’ screens, which give further explanations if you need them or allow you to go back to the instructions to check something.

Most employers will provide you with information about what to expect during the selection process, and this will include whether a personality questionnaire is part of the process. It is generally considered good practice to provide candidates with clear information about a selection process, but because there is no specific preparation needed for completing a questionnaire, it may not be mentioned in advance.

The only skills you need to complete a personality questionnaire are the ability to read the questions and a knowledge of yourself and how you behave, think and feel. There is, therefore, no real need to do any preparation. Each of us is an expert on ourselves: we know what we like and don’t like, what makes us happy and what makes us angry. You are not required to describe this in words, which might take some preparation, but just to answer a series of questions about yourself.

If, even so, you feel you would like to prepare you could try some of the following:

• Look at the example questions in Chapter 3 and think about how you would answer them. This will help you get used to responding to questions about yourself. You will find that you will sometimes need to generalize. We all behave in different ways in different situations – even the brightest optimist may sometimes expect things to go wrong. However, there is a general trend in behaviour, and this is what you should be using to guide your responses.

• Think about what sort of person you are and how this affects the way you work. Consider different work situations and how you respond to them. What kinds of situations and responses are you comfortable with? What sort of things do you find more difficult or awkward? Are you better working with a team or working alone? Do you prefer well-defined structured tasks or would you rather have a less well-defined role where you can make your own decisions on what you should and will do?

• Read through the descriptions of different personality traits in Chapter 4 and answer the questions at the end of each section. Think about which description suits you best. This will help you develop some insight into your own behavioural style and may help you answer questions more easily. Remember that your behaviour will differ from time to time and from situation to situation. Think about what is most typical for you, what you are most likely to do or what you would feel most comfortable doing.