Personality Test
Personality Tests in the Workplace Mark Twain once described a man who died and met Saint Peter at the pearly gates. Knowing that Saint Peter was very wise, the man asked the question that he had wondered about throughout his life.
He said, “Saint Peter, I have been interested in military history for many years. Who was the greatest general of all time?” Saint Peter quickly responded, “Oh that’s a simple question. It’s the man right over there.” “You must be mistaken”, responded the man, “I knew that man on earth and he was just a common laborer.” “That’s right my friend”, assured Saint Peter. “He would have been the greatest general of all time if he had been a general.” (Rath 29).
Twain’s example illustrates a truth that many people are spending their time going in the wrong direction. Numerous studies show that companies that invest the time, effort and resources into properly using personality tests during the hiring process have lower turnover and higher profits. These same companies will utilize the knowledge gained from these tests to motivate and lead their employees. Companies that desire to be better should utilize personality tests as a part of their hiring process and seeing their hiring success increase (Sirabasku). Who knows how many companies have the greatest general of all time working as a common laborer because they haven’t taken the time to conduct a personality test that would have shown them how he could best help the company and himself be successful.
Personality tests have been around for a long-time with Sir Francis Galton of England using a dictionary in 1884 to show that human personality contains a specific number of group able traits. In 1915 personality tests were put to real world usage when the Carnegie Institute of Technology created a Division of Applied Psychology and the following year a Bureau of Salesmanship Research that looked scientifically out how to hire salespeople. Eventually the government with
He said, “Saint Peter, I have been interested in military history for many years. Who was the greatest general of all time?” Saint Peter quickly responded, “Oh that’s a simple question. It’s the man right over there.” “You must be mistaken”, responded the man, “I knew that man on earth and he was just a common laborer.” “That’s right my friend”, assured Saint Peter. “He would have been the greatest general of all time if he had been a general.” (Rath 29).
Twain’s example illustrates a truth that many people are spending their time going in the wrong direction. Numerous studies show that companies that invest the time, effort and resources into properly using personality tests during the hiring process have lower turnover and higher profits. These same companies will utilize the knowledge gained from these tests to motivate and lead their employees. Companies that desire to be better should utilize personality tests as a part of their hiring process and seeing their hiring success increase (Sirabasku). Who knows how many companies have the greatest general of all time working as a common laborer because they haven’t taken the time to conduct a personality test that would have shown them how he could best help the company and himself be successful.
Personality tests have been around for a long-time with Sir Francis Galton of England using a dictionary in 1884 to show that human personality contains a specific number of group able traits. In 1915 personality tests were put to real world usage when the Carnegie Institute of Technology created a Division of Applied Psychology and the following year a Bureau of Salesmanship Research that looked scientifically out how to hire salespeople. Eventually the government with
Cited: Barrett, James. Career, Aptitude, and Selection Tests: Match Your IQ, Personality and Abilities to Your Ideal Career. 3rd. London: Kogan Page, 2009. Print. Bates, Steve. "Personality Counts." HR Magazine Feb. 2002: 28. Print. Cameron, Esther, and Mike Green. Making Sense of Change Management: A Complete Guide to the Models, Tools & Techniques. London: Kogan Page, 2004. ISBN: 9781417515295. 2004. Web. 14 Jan. 2011. Clifford, Stephanie, et al. "The New Science of Hiring." Inc. Aug. 2006: 90. Print. Harris, Todd, Dr. "Science of the Predictive Index." PI Worldwide. N.p., 1 Jan. 2011. Web. 12 Feb. 2011. <http://www.piworldwide.com/Products/Predictive-Index-System/Science-of-the-Predictive-Index.aspx>. Hoffman, Edward. Ace the Corporate Personality Test. New York: McGraw-Hill Professional, 2001. ISBN: 9780071415873. 2001. Web. 14 Jan. 2011. Kislik, Liz. "A hire authority." Catalog Age Apr. 2005. Print. Lundberg, Thomas, and Lynn Tylczac. Slash Your Workers ' Comp Costs: How to Cut Premiums Up to 35% --and Maintain a Productive and Safe Workplace. New York: AMACOM Books, 1997. Print. Lynott, William. "How to Hire The Right Person." Greenhouse Grower Jan. 2006: 156. Print. McIntosh, Lindsay. "Personality Tests could keep out teachers with poor social skills." Times of London. Times of London, 14 Jan. 2011. Web. 2 Feb. 2011. Minter, Steve. "Identifying Your Future Leaders." Industry Week Sept. 2010: 24. Print. Rath, Tom. Strengths Finder 2.0. 2. New York: Gallup Press, 2007. Print. Schneider, Benjamin, and Brent Smith. Personality and Organizations. Mahwah: Erlbaum Associates Inc., 2004. Print. LEA 's Organization and Management Series. Shybut, Sandra Sirbasku, Jim. "Secrets of finding and keeping good employees." USA Today [New York] 1 Jan. 2002: 32. Print.