How To Beat Personality Tests In Job Interviews

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Employers judge job candidates in three key areas: personality, aptitude, and experience - in that order. As a result, some companies make candidates take personality tests during the hiring process to make sure they filter out candidates who might not be the best fit.

If you’re intimidated by the thought of taking one of these personality tests, you’re not alone. But the best way to beat personality tests during the hiring process is to be prepared. And that’s what I’m here to help you with today!

Let me start by explaining the types of tests employers could give you.

3 Basic Test Types:
- Cognition and ability
- Simulations and skills
- Personality and other indicators

Now, let’s get into why companies use these types of tests.

Companies use them to…
- Weed out ill-fitting applicants
- Be objective
- Overcome lying
- Replace references
- Reduce turnover

Let’s practice really quickly. If you were given the following options, which would YOU choose?

- I enjoy the thrill of meeting new people.
- I like to be alone most of the time.
- It’s hard for me to make conversation with people I don’t know.
- I like being to center of attention.

This is an example of a behavioral question. You need to think about the position you’re applying for and choose the answer that makes the most sense for the role.

For example, if the position you’re applying for deals with cold calling and a lot of client interaction, then the employer will be looking for people who chose the answer “I enjoy the thrill of meeting new people.”

While you want to be honest in these tests, you also need to keep in mind what answers they would be looking for a specific role.

This leads me into ways you can prepare for these interviews.

Tips for Success:
- Do your homework
- Be honest
- Don’t be extreme
- Ask questions: What is the test measuring? Is it going on file? Can I get the results?

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[saiaquarius]

These assessments tell me that if I'm honest I don't deserve to work or make money.

[JessesWorld]

When I use to manage hotels', there were numerous times I had to fire people who passed these personality test with perfect high flying colors, had clean backgrounds and perfect references because they were caught stealing, skipped work and a lot of other issues. Finally, I told the corporate office to stop giving these test out and to let me do my own hiring. I ended up hiring a non-violent first-time offender convicted felon and years later when I left the he took over and managed the hotel because he was the best employee the company ever had!

[mpenduloemmanuelcibi]

I've been honest in these tests. Still unemployed. I'm gonna start lying now and see what happens

[EdiaStanfordBruce]

No personality test can predict accurately how an applicant will do on the job. I am wary of these tests because I think they are rigged to favor certain personality types, so "beating them" may be a no-win situation. Plus, I hear from this video that they are basically fear based. Fear never makes for good decision making. However, I can use the appearance of certain kinds of questions to form a foggy profile of the kind of employee they are looking for.  More questions in the interview to the company would either confirm or deny the conclusions, thus helping the applicant to decide either to keep or drop that company from the target list.

[scratchy]

I think these tests are dehumanizing. Also, why does Walmart, Target, and other big companies still have a high turnover rate? It is because they treat people like a robot right from the beginning with these obtuse tests. All these tests are for is to see weather or not you can think for yourself. They do not want that in the workplace. They do not want someone smart. I am so glad I am self employed.

[daniellogan-scott]

I passed all interview stages and was told I was the best candidate. I had a psych test and watched this video to prepare. I "failed" the test and did not get the job after a month of prep and waiting. Their feedback reasoning was nothing like me.

[Juliana]

These tests DO NOT help the companies who use them to find the best candidate for the job. I've seen people who were hired instead of me... (a certain grocery market that I shop at) and the individuals who were hired are NOT competent or knowledgeable. I am so sick of these stupid personality tests I don't bother with companies once I find out that they use them.

[lindseyhudson]

I really loved the tip about asking the employer to reveal WHAT the test is actually measuring for and if it would stay on your file in the future - I had never even thought to ask this! Wonderful idea. Also, I loved that the video was short but had content that was clear enough to provide some great takeaways. Thanks!!

[HannahFaber]

Literally just got told at my first ever interview for a retail job that I was a “blue” personality and a “major risk” to hire because of my personality. Super annoying.

[SuperBallzee]

FYI I refuse to take a personality test and still got the job. I told the in potential employer that the test would violate my right to privacy under federal law for medical I also told them I was concerned about where these test results would be stored and if they could be breached

[josephberam]

The questions on these personality tests are so ambiguous. If you're a person that thinks Beyond the actual words and looks for the meaning the question can be interpreted in a number of ways.

[yetiyaks]

I didn't realize that some companies use personality tests as a replacement for references - how interesting! Thank you

[toddschmit]

Yes, these tests are extremely stressful and I don't believe are truly accurate to a person's personality or if they're a good candidate for the job!

[laquintamanuel]

I learned 2 things. 1, I wasn't aware that some companies use personality tests in place of references. 2. Understanding that I need to make sure that I think about the particular position & company when answering. I often struggle because at times there might be multiple answers that match my personality based on various situations. Thanks for the tips.

[chanchopelao]

Where is the "beating" factor here?

[jchieffalo]

Thx J.T. I've taken the cognitive and the personality tests a few times throughout my career and while I liked your tip about asking questions prior to taking these tests, in my experience, I've never been able to get anyone to agree to share the results afterwards nor would anyone tell me whether or not it would be in my file. Consequently, I agreed to take the tests, fearing I would be eliminated from further consideration if I objected but I must admit, I never like it when they won't do either. Great tips throughout...keep working it daily :)

[chukschimdi]

"If I am to win, I am going to work it out daily" was the most important lesson for me. I also the need to be honest.

[lesliecartwright]

Some companies do Assessment tests online before you can submit your application. So you may or may not get your application or resume looked at by the hiring manager. To me, it doesn't seem fair to waist all that time and don't have an actual human look at your resume. I got a rejection letter two seconds after I completed an application and test. This was on the weekend after 11pm on a Saturday. I was determined to get my resume to the manager so I went to the location myself to find out. The store manger informed me if you pass the assessment test your application will be in the system. I took the intuitive and gave him my resume. I took a risk, but I hope it works.

[Eyeamsandee]

I've come to the conclusion that I will never pass any of these therefore if a company requests it prior to meeting me then I don't want to work for them. That tells me a lot about their company culture.

[saltyoldwoman]

So my problem with these tests is that I find many of the questions to be confusing. As an example, I’ve seen questions like this: “Any trouble you have is your own fault”. Is that question trying to measure how responsible of a person I am? Or how compassionate I am towards other people? Because the answer is the opposite depending on what I think the question is asking. And I could see it going either way in a call center job. Is this question trying to suss out if I’ll be full of excuses for things like tardiness, or is it trying to suss out if I’ll be patient with customers? Here’s another example question: “I rarely worry about how well I’m doing at my job”. I always answered “strongly disagree” because I felt like anyone who doesn’t worry about their job performance is arrogant. But I’ve recently read that the question is actually trying to assess how well a candidate copes with stress, and that I should answer “Strongly disagree”. That was not at all clear to me, hence the problems I have with these tests. And I don’t think I’m the only one. I really don’t think most of us are trying to be dishonest, but rather we’re trying to understand what the questions are even asking. Some of these questions are really confusing!!