People ask us all the time about how to either A. Find the perfect person for a role they need filled, or B. How to get hired for their dream job. Well there is actually one crucial and surprising thing that everyone does need to know in either situation: your own personality.
As the founder of the business, I am a classic entrepreneur and have some specific personality traits. When looking for someone to manage the back office, my #1 task was to make it known the personality that I needed. In this case it was someone steady and methodical that would complement my dominant and influential style.
What has led us to use these tests, as well as invest in leadership training (which is one of our 10 beliefs), is that when you’re unhappy at work it’s often because you’re simply not in the right role or culture for your personality. Knowing who you are and what you value can give you a huge leg up in finding that perfect job and company for you.
Here are the four personality tests we think you need to take:
1.Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
This test is one of the most common you can take. It measures four preferences for each person’s personality: sensation, intuition, feeling, and thinking. These preferences are what drive our interests, needs, values, and motivations.
The MBTI results are:
• Extraversion or Introversion
• Sensing or Intuition
• Thinking or Feeling
• Judging or Perceiving
Someone that is an extrovert prefers being surrounded by people and their energy – that is what fills them up. Introverts get their energy while alone, and although can be very social, may not enjoy crowds much.
2.DiSC
This test is probably our favorite, and measures your dominance, influence, steadiness, and conscientiousness. We find your scores on this test are not only incredibly accurate and crucial for your own self-awareness, but they also help your manager know what will motivate you and how you’ll prefer to get work done.
“Dominance” shows how much of a driver you are. How confident and strong is your personality in terms of accomplishing results.
“Influence” shows how much you rely on personal relationships, persuasion, and charm to get things done – this is a common trait for sales people.
“Steadiness” shows how methodical you are. This is a sincere and rule-follower type of personality that is very dependable.
“Conscientiousness” shows your attention to detail, and your commitment to accurate information and results.
3.Strengthsfinder
You can easily buy this book and take the test – and note that your results will vary over time. What is great about strengthsfiner is how it will help you identify what your true strengths are, so you can focus on making those even stronger. This is also a great way to walk into an interview and instead of saying, “I love paying attention to detail” (which everyone says), you can instead say, “I recently took a Stregthsfinder test and the analysis of detailed information is actually one of my strongest suits”.
Themes for Stregthsfiner are things like “intellection”, “achiever”, “input”, and “developer”.
If “input” is one of your strengths you could be someone who thrives reading the written word, digesting and comprehending information and then relaying it to others.
4.The 5 Love Languages
This one may seem weird/silly, but it’s actually really beneficial and you can take a test online to see where you fit. The Love Languages are the five most common ways people like to have love shown to them.
They are: words of affirmation, acts of service, receiving gifts, quality time, and physical touch. In a work setting we highly recommend you avoid physical touch, but can tell you that knowing what you and your co-workers appreciate can be really helpful in terms of giving and receiving feedback, bonuses, and praise.
While personality tests are incredibly helpful to supplement any search for a candidate, it is not the end all be all. People are highly nuanced, so I recommend you use this info to better know yourself, and better evolve as a leader in whatever role you play.
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