Meet the Big Five personality test. When we talk about ‘the big five’, we’re not talking about the lion, the elephant, the buffalo, the rhinoceros and the leopard. Rather, we’re talking about the most effective personality test for recruiters. The Big Five personality test divides people into five categories: extraversion, emotional stability, conscientiousness, agreeableness and openness.
The Big Five personality model helps you find candidates who fit the organization. Does this potential candidate fit our company? Which position would he or she be best suited for? And do the current employees still fit our organization or their current role?
Questions that you as a recruiter or HR manager need to have an answer to. The Big Five personality model, also called the character traits test, can help you with this. The Big Five model is a common personality test that doesn't pigeonhole employees. Based on a questionnaire you score high or low on extraversion, emotional stability, conscientiousness, friendliness and openness.
The Big Five personality test is a common personality test that does not pigeonhole employees.
The Big Five dimensions are extraversion, emotional stability, conscientiousness, agreeableness and openness. We explain the dimensions below for you.
A high score indicates that someone is assertive and talkative. Does a candidate score low? Then he or she is rather introverted.
A nervous person who is guided by emotions scores lower on emotional stability. Is the potential new employee relatively calm and does that person keep his or her emotions under control? Then he or she scores higher on emotional stability.
This pillar says something about how organized someone is and how goal-oriented he or she works. If someone scores high, he or she is punctual and a systematic worker. When the score is lower, someone is rather chaotic.
When someone scores high on friendliness, he or she is accommodating and collegial. If the score is lower? Then the candidate is more competitive and he or she prefers to work independently.
Openness has to do with the extent to which you are open to new ideas and experiences. If someone scores lower on this, he or she prefers to stick with what already exists.
Do you as a recruiter or HR manager use theBig Five personality model? Give your candidate enough time and space to complete the test. Is he or she finished? Then be sure not to forget to go through the results together. This conversation gives you more insight into why someone gave a particular answer.
