Should Personality Assessment Be Part of Recruitment? How Can Companies Do It Right?

Do you think assessment of personality should be part of an
organization's recruitment process? How can an organization assess a
candidate's personality during this process?

Hi,
Yes,assessment of personality should be part of an
organization's recruitment process?
You have to make sure that you are selecting the right candidate for the right position.This is very much possible through the handwriting analysis.
I am enclosing a small presentation on the " importance of handwriting for recruitment and personal development ".
Regards,
Sheel
Handwriting analyst / graphologist
9833589787
9833589787

Dear Sir,
First of all I would like to thank you for very interesting post. Can you share some tips or any material on hand writing analysis please!? How to do this analysis?
Kind regards,
Sherjan
Kabul - Afghanistan

Personality testing is very important while recruiting. Why I say this is based on the following concept:

Personality Job Fit: There is a concept of personality job fit, which means that your personality should match what the job requires. Otherwise, in the long run, it would be hard for you and the employer/boss to keep you motivated. Situational motivation is not a permanent feature; hence, it is absolutely necessary that motivation continually comes from within yourself (Self-Motivation). I'll explain this with an example: If you hire a person with an introverted personality for a marketing/selling job, he might adapt for a while (situational motivation), but over time, he would not enjoy his job as he is naturally introverted, unlike someone with an extroverted personality who enjoys communicating with people.

Let's consider another example from a different perspective: If you hire a person with an extroverted personality for a finance position... Confidential Data! No matter how hard he tries to keep the information confidential, there is a significant possibility that he might leak it out as communication with people is ingrained in him.

How to Assess Personality: One easily measurable way is the MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator); you can easily find a free test online. Another method is the FFI (Five Factor Indicator Model).

Suggestion: Even if you have not conducted personality testing during recruitment, it is still important to do it now! This way, you can identify all personality job misfits and gradually restructure the organization for better efficiency on the part of individual employees and the company as a whole. Additionally, the data can be used for future promotions.

Hello Sheel Sir,

Your post is very informative. However, I am surprised how handwriting can reveal so many characteristics. I used to think that handwriting is either good or bad, not beyond that. How do you analyze it?

Regards,
Manju Dhiman

I feel Dawood Qaseem (above) has nicely described the relation between job and personality and the importance of fitting them vis-a-vis each other. However, let's not get carried away by it and turn to the pseudo-science of handwriting recognition. It is like palmistry and Tarot card. Interestingly, the PowerPoint enclosed itself has one slide that says you are what you think. That's what the so-called science is.

Personality tests give some useful clues on how to deal with an employee. But we must be aware of giving too much importance to it. It's a proven fact that people can change and improve on anything if they want to. Under such scenarios, if you start judging the personality by the tests conducted at some point in time, you can make big mistakes and lose a lot of good that could come out of an employee.

I myself, over a period of 30 years, have gone through various personality tests and found no correlation or consistency in them. We have also seen prospective employees fudging the personality test scores, as some of them are coached by experts to reply to questionnaires in a certain way. Armed with personality test reports, when we try to have one-to-one interviews, there is a large gap in the real personality, and the scoresheet is revealed.

So, use the tests, but have a pinch of salt ready by your side!

Hi Wyasser,

I have worked for UK, US, and European companies, and their views are changing. In the past, most Western companies would use Personality Profiling as part of the recruitment process. Profiling tools such as 'DiSC' or 'Myers-Briggs' are readily available online - at a cost!

However, US companies are moving away from using such tools as part of the assessment process. The reason being is that in the US, a person who had all the relevant work experience and qualifications was rejected for a job based on his personality profile. He sued the hiring company for unfair discrimination. He did not win, but it sent a shiver down the spine of US companies.

Hence, US companies are now wary of using personality profiles as part of the recruitment process. Absolutely, they use them for development purposes once someone has joined the firm but not as a recruitment tool.

Personality profiles are not a cure-all. A good HR person should be able to devise other assessment exercises/appropriate interview questions to measure key competences required in the job. For example, if someone needs to show influencing skills for the sales job they have applied for, ask them to do a role play and sell the hiring manager a product or service. If someone has to be proficient in using financial data for the finance role they have applied for, give them some dummy data to analyze and then ask them questions about the data.

If you need more guidance, send me an email.

To advise that analysis of handwriting as a form of assessment for recruitment purposes is not allowed in the US and Europe. Up until recently, some French companies used this technique but had to stop due to changes in European Union law.

No offense, but personality belongs to an individual, so it depends on what you want. An extrovert in a sales job would do well. I don't think in India they measure personality styles and then do recruitment. I thought the handwriting thing was totally irrelevant. Moreover, if you have an introvert in a sales job from a premier institution, there is little you can do. There is conflict in interests as well. If a person has interest in something, he or she might do very well in it. To bring in a balanced view, interest in something along with personality are both equally important for recruitment.

Hi Ranjit,

Even today, there are few pharma companies in India which are using handwriting analysis as a recruitment tool.

Regards,
Sheel

Please find attached the worksheet for personality assessment.

Regards,
Rupa
S&S

Personality is an individual-based concept. It's the person's unique set of mental programs that an individual does not share with anyone. These are traits that are partly inherited and partly learned. The MBTI test would let you know a lot about your personality, but I would prefer to take it from a valid source and not from the internet. The internet is a poor source for verification. Two to three tests can tell you a lot about an individual, and I think that's more than sufficient for selection. IQ tests are as important as anything else, along with a person's communication and behavioral competence for a perfect fit.

Although I agree that personality can be an important assessment tool, these tests alone, without understanding the personality theory that underpins them, could certainly lead to trouble if hiring decisions were based solely on that information. These tests are designed for use by psychologists, who possess the training and background to draw inferences from the results. I hold an MBA and a PhD in Clinical Psychology. These tests are not meant for untrained individuals. There are strict criteria that must be met before one can even purchase them. Please remember that someone's livelihood is at stake in these decisions. It is unethical to utilize such tests without proper training and experience in their application.

MJH

Hi Harsha,

Yes, I do analyze handwriting. You need training and experience for analyzing handwriting.

Regards,
Sheel
Handwriting Analyst
9833589787

Hi All,

There are various aspects to consider while analyzing a personality, and I do feel it's of utmost importance during the process of recruitment and selection. However, we must keep in mind that any tool for analysis must not be used in isolation. It must be followed up with an in-person interview, background checking to a certain extent, and past performance.

I mention background checking because no tool can determine what the person has done in the past or is going to do in the future. It can only identify factors that might pose as a hindrance to other employees (such as bad behavior, egos, aggressiveness, etc.).

Handwriting analysis is a powerful tool in this process, as many personality traits can be specifically classified and customized based on what is required. For example, traits required for a particular job role can be identified using Graphology, and potential weak areas could also be examined.

If there is any area of caution for the employer, that should be communicated. No person can comment on any tool's validity; it's only perception.

If a few people have commented negatively about Graphology, I feel they're just too lazy to accept the fact that such a science exists. They really do comment on what they read from other links and blogs. You have the capability to think on your own and must use it to form a constructive comment rather than make a rash statement about a science that existed hundreds of years before you were born. So think before you speak, as I too have been dealing with Graphology for a few years and have the best Graphologist in the country with over 35+ years of experience in this field and also with management experience at a C level (I think his experience would exceed your current age).

Graphology is certainly an effective tool.

Kind Regards,

Arun
Director
Cursive Logic

Also, to mention a few facts about graphology from my experience that have been widely misinterpreted:

1) Graphology cannot be compared to any sort of occult. It is purely an empirical science like any other mind science and also since Graphology CANNOT predict the future. If someone claims to predict or foretell the future, ignore them; they're an insult to a well-researched science.

2) A graphologist is best with experience, and hence even while dealing with children, it is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED that even a skilled graphologist seek help from a Pediatric Psychologist and NOT counsel kids and their parents on how to make them a "perfect kid."

3) Graphotherapy ideally must not be practiced on children since up to the age of 18, a personality is very vibrant and dynamic changes happen during that time. It is hard to conclude on or comment on their personality at any time during these 16-18 years. Although, certain vital areas pertaining to their counseling for any important personal issues, Graphology could be used.

4) All certified graphologists are NOT necessarily the best available. Their past training and their education background form an important basis for how they deliver the analysis. Unskilled and amateur graphologists are the main reason for ruining the validity of this science, while some religiously try and work out some good from it.

If anyone has any questions or queries relating to this science, please feel free to write to me. Please do not go by what you read on the blogs. Think for yourself. Add Logic.

AND PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT THESE FACTS ON GRAPHOLOGY. YOU WILL BE HELPING THIS RESOURCEFUL SCIENCE SPREAD FOR THE GOOD.

Kind Regards, Arun

Agreed. In my view, personality assessment should be a part of the recruitment process because an employee should be fit to take on challenging tasks. They need to leave a perfect impression on their juniors' minds.