Employment personality tests are valuable tools to gain insight into the personality traits, interaction styles and behavioral tendencies of individuals. Properly designed personality tests are meant to pinpoint personality ‘traits’ (for example, an individual’s level of extroversion) rather than focus on temporary ‘states,’ (such as an individual’s current state of anger.)
When personality tests are given to prospective or current employees, they can define aspects of an individual’s character that are relevant to their job performance. While an aptitude test assesses whether a candidate has the capability to perform well at the job, personality tests determine whether a candidate will actually do the job. Research has shown that personality tests are especially useful in predicting job performance for positions that require frequent social interaction (coordinating with other employees, or the public.)