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18 Dec 2011
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When interviewing for a job, candidates are assessed on their skills, experience, academic qualifications, and personality. Personality also translates into a candidate’s attitude towards work, their co-workers, and organisational processes.</div>
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<img alt="Assessment Centre Secrets Revealed: Personality Questionnaires" src="http://www.careergym.com/images/upload/image/cg_tips9.jpg" style="padding-top: 15px; padding-right: 15px; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 15px; float: left; width: 312px; height: 250px; " />When interviewing for a job, candidates are assessed on their skills, experience, academic qualifications, and personality. Personality also translates into a candidate’s attitude towards work, their co-workers, and organisational processes. </div>
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Most organizations prefer hiring candidates who have the potential of performing well in a team, compared to an individual contributor role. In such a case, <strong>personality questionnaires</strong> become an important component of <strong><u><a href="http://www.careergym.com/live_webinars" target="_self">assessment centre</a></u></strong> interviews and help interviewers make an informed decision about a candidate’s capabilities. </div>
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Most personality tests are very straightforward and simple. Candidates are given a questionnaire with multiple choice questions which they have to answer in a fixed time. The answers are then evaluated based on the key skills required for the job. Shortlisted candidates then usually proceed with <strong><u><a href="http://www.careergym.com/assessment_centre_training_webinars" target="_self">assessment centre</a></u></strong><u><a href="http://www.careergym.com/assessment_centre_training_webinars" target="_self"> tests</a></u>.</div>
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<em><span style="font-size: 16px; "><strong>What Personality Tests Include</strong></span></em></div>
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Typically, most <strong>personality questionnaires</strong> are conducted as a part of <u><a href="http://www.careergym.com/psychometric_glossary/psychometric_test" target="_self">psychometric testing</a></u> even though these questionnaires are rather different in nature. They include questions that provide an insight into the work style and professional attitude of the candidate, such as questions about career goals, professional capabilities, teamwork, and decision making skills.</div>
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There is no fixed number of questions for a <u><a href="http://www.careergym.com/psychometric_glossary/personality_inventory_profile_test_questionnaire" target="_self">personality test</a></u>. The number of questions depends on the role you are interviewing for and the skills your <strong>assessment centre</strong> is looking for. All personality tests are timed and it is important to answer as many questions as possible to increase your chances of moving to the next round of interviews.</div>
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<strong>Personality questionnaires</strong> are only a small part of a series of <u><a href="http://www.careergym.com/online_test_free_demo" target="_self">aptitude tests</a></u> that organizations conduct. </div>
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<span style="font-size: 16px; "><em><strong>Types of Personality Tests</strong></em></span></div>
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Most <strong>assessment centres</strong> and <u><a href="http://www.careergym.com/online_test_free_demo" target="_self">psychometric testing</a></u> centres have different kinds of personality tests – some test basic personality traits while others are customized for a specific type of job. Widely accepted industry standard personality tests include:</div>
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<strong><a href="http://www.careergym.com/psychometric_glossary/myers_briggs_type_indicator" target="_self">Myers Briggs Type Indicator</a></strong> test, which measures professional capabilities through a series of forced questions. Candidates are required to choose two possible answers for each question, with each choice reflecting opposite personality traits.</li>
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<strong>SHL OPQ32r</strong>, which measures personality traits that are essential for optimal job performance.</li>
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<strong>OPQ32r </strong>is a personality test that is a part of an <u><a href="http://www.careergym.com/online_test_packages" target="_self">aptitude online test</a></u> and measures a candidate’s performance in the test against key job skills for a particular role. </li>
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Over the last few years, personality tests have become very popular as they have reduced the manual input required for assessing candidate skills, helping an organization save time and money spent in interviewing candidates. </div>
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<span style="font-size: 16px; "><em><strong>Preparing for Personality Questionnaires</strong></em></span></div>
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As a part of your <u><a href="http://www.careergym.com/psychometric_glossary/aptitude_test" target="_self">job test</a></u> preparation, it is important to take as many <u><a href="http://www.careergym.com/online_test_free_demo" target="_self">aptitude tests</a></u> as possible. You can find resources for <u><a href="http://www.careergym.com/online_test_free_demo" target="_self">free aptitude tests</a></u> as well as personality tests online. By taking these tests, you can reduce the time taken in the actual test and also work on your weak areas. </div>
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Spend time in researching about the organization and the qualities they look for in prospective candidates. By building these qualities, you can increase your chances of getting the job.</div>
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<a href="http://www.careergym.com/contact_us" target="_self"><span style="font-size: 16px; "><strong>Questions? Contact us for FREE advice on personality tests!</strong></span></a></div>
Assessment Centre Secrets Revealed: Personality Questionnaires
When interviewing for a job, candidates are assessed on their skills, experience, academic qualifications, and personality. Personality also translates into a candidate’s attitude towards work, their co-workers, and organisational processes.
21 Oct 2011
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<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong>Personality questionnaires</strong> are a popular type of <u><a target="_self" href="http://www.careergym.com/psychometric_glossary/personality_inventory_profile_test_questionnaire">interview test</a></u> for employers to get an idea of what makes you “tick” and whether your personality would be a good fit for the position they are filling. The great thing about <strong>personality questionnaires</strong> is that there are no wrong answers; it is all about how you feel about particular situations. If you are taking your first personality test, consider these tips:</p>
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<li style="text-align: justify; "><strong>Consistency</strong>: Most <strong>personality questionnaires</strong> will have several questions that measure the same traits, so it is important to answer consistently and truthfully – otherwise you will have very odd results which may raise the suspicion of you trying to manipulate the outcome.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><strong>Honesty</strong>: There are usually a few questions intended to measure your honesty, so be honest! For example “I have never told a lie” – everyone has told at least one lie in their life, so answering negatively may, ironically, be a red flag that you are being dishonest in your answers.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><strong>Speed</strong>: Although these tests are usually not timed, it is important to choose your first (or “gut”) reaction as this is the most likely indicator of your true personality. Note that for computer-based tests there may be indicators to let employers know if you hesitated on any answer, so keep that in mind.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><strong>Emphasis</strong>: Depending on the position you are applying for, you may want to keep a particular emphasis in your mind. For example, if applying for a caretaker role you would be aiming for empathy, discretion, and willingness to help others.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><strong>Role</strong>: Consider what your role will be with this organisation, and keep that in mind as you are answering questions. For example, if your role is going to be customer service, then you will want to agree with statements to do with resolving conflict or working with others.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><strong>Work-related</strong>: Consider your answers in relation to your work personality only, not your social personality.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><strong>Vary results</strong>: If too many test responses use the same answer (i.e. all “strongly agree” or all “neither agree / disagree”) it will be very difficult for the <u><a target="_self" href="http://www.careergym.com/psychometric_glossary/assessment_centre_assessment_center">assessment centre</a></u> to gauge your personality profile.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><strong>Stick to the end</strong>: The test can be fairly long, tiring, and tedious. However, it is intended this way to ensure that the employer gets a reasonably accurate picture of your work personality. Make sure you answer all questions as truthfully as possible all the way through.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><strong>Avoid neutrality</strong>: Questions where you want to choose a neutral answer (i.e. “don’t know” or “not sure”) should be reconsidered; your potential employer is looking for specific traits, not someone who doesn’t know what they would do in a situation.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><strong>Relax</strong>: This <u><a target="_self" href="http://www.careergym.com/psychometric_glossary/psychometric_test">psychometric test</a></u> has no wrong or right answer; it is merely trying to get a picture of who you are in a working environment. You really can’t go wrong, so it’s not worth stressing about the answers!</li>
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<p style="text-align: justify; ">If you have never taken a <strong>personality questionnaire</strong> before, it may be worth trying out an <u><a target="_self" href="http://www.careergym.com/online_test_packages">online psychometric test</a></u> so you can get used to the format of questions. This will help you feel more comfortable during the test, so you can fully focus on providing the answer that best reflects your true self.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><strong>Interested in learning more about Psychometric Tests? Check out the most comprehensive <u><a target="_self" href="http://www.careergym.com/psychometric_glossary/">FREE Psychometric Glossary</a></u> now!</strong></p>
Is it Possible to Pass or Fail a Personality Questionnaire?
Personality questionnaires are a popular type of interview test for employers to get an idea of what makes you “tick” and whether your personality would be a good fit for the position they are filling. The great thing about personality questionnaires is that there are no wrong answers; it is all about how you feel about particular situations. If you are taking your first personality test, consider these tips: