Recruitment can be challenging, particularly when evaluating the personality traits of candidates for jobs. Even though they may possess all the necessary qualifications for the role they are applying for, their personality or work style may not mesh well with the company culture or the position being sought out. Here we explore how personality assessments can aid recruitment by helping identify candidates who are the best fit for the job.

What Are Personality Assessments?

Personality assessments for recruitment purposes are tools used to evaluate an applicant's personality traits, characteristics and work style. Usually, this involves asking questions to assess communication style, problem-solving abilities, work ethic and other traits essential for the job at hand. It’s also to determine which applicants are ideal for the position. 

Types of Personality Assessments

There are various personality assessments, such as:

* Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI): This assessment examines four areas of an individual's preferences and tendencies: extraversion vs. introversion, sensing vs. intuition, thinking vs. feeling, and perceiving vs. judging.

* DiSC: This assessment analyzes an individual's dominant personality traits according to four parameters: Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and Conscientiousness (DIASC).

* Big Five Personality Traits: This assessment evaluates a candidate based on five dimensions: openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism.

Benefits of Personality Assessments in Recruitment

Personality Assessments offer several advantages when recruiting, such as:

· Increased Hiring Accuracy: Personality assessments can help assess a candidate's fit with their role and company culture, minimizing the risk of hiring the incorrect individual.

·   Increase Employee Retention: Hiring for fit can increase employee retention by matching candidates to job requirements and company culture.

· Personality assessments can help your team become more cohesive and productive by hiring candidates that complement one another regarding personality traits and work styles.

Challenges of Using Personality Assessments in Recruitment

·  Personality assessments provide many advantages in recruitment, yet can also present several obstacles. One such challenge is their lack of standardization. No single assessment tool or interpretation method yields uniform results.

· *Potential for Bias: Personality assessments can be subjective and risk introducing bias due to the interviewers’ preferences.

·  Cost and Time: Personality assessments can be expensive and time-consuming. Not all companies may have the resources available for administration.

Tips for Effective Use of Personality Assessments in Recruitment

To utilize personality assessments effectively in recruitment, take note of these strategies:

·  Employ a Standardized Assessment Tool: Choose personality assessment tools widely recognized in the industry to guarantee consistent and reliable results.

·  Train Interviewers: Make sure your interviewers understand how to objectively interpret and use personality assessment results in their decision-making to eliminate biases and ensure impartial decision-making processes.

· Personality Assessments Should Be Part of a Holistic Recruitment Process: Assessments should be part of an overall recruitment strategy, including resume screening, interviews and reference checks.

·  Present Results to Candidates: Communicate the personality assessment results to candidates and explain how they impact your team's hiring decisions.

·  Apply Personality Assessments Ethically: Make sure that when conducting personality assessments ethically, by ensuring the tool used does not discriminate or break any laws or regulations.