Personality tests are almost always one component of an assessment. Filling in questionnaires gives you an idea of who you are and what suits you.
Questions
In a personality test, you are presented with statements about behaviour or opinions. You then choose which ones are more or less applicable to you. The questionnaire usually consists of sixty to over two hundred statements with multiple choice answers. It takes from twenty minutes to three quarters of an hour to complete the list.
The purpose of the personality test
Based on the personality test, the employer ordering the assessment gets an idea of who you are and whether you will perform well in a particular position. Personality tests are also used when assessing current employees, for example in the case of reorganisation or a development or career assessment.
Advice
When taking a personality test, don’t force yourself to pretend to be someone you’re not. Don’t look for the ‘right’ answers, answer the questions based on your own personality. If you try to answer the questions differently than you are, the test will be unnecessarily difficult and you are likely to end up with a messy, incoherent image of yourself.
Practice taking personality tests
Unlike intelligence test questions, personality test questions have no right or wrong answers. Personality tests also differ from IQ tests in that they really cannot be practised. You can take a practice test to more or less know what to expect. You can also try a short free personality test.
A personality test can give you a lot of information about yourself. It will tell you what you are more or less suited to and what kind of position and environment you would be comfortable in. This can be useful knowledge if you need to choose an education or career, even if the assessment is not in your immediate future. Practising” a personality test before an assessment can help you to calm down, as you already know what is going to happen.
Another type of preparation is to complete a personality strengths and weaknesses analysis. Read more about the personal SWOT analysis.
