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What is Personality Assessment Software? A Detailed Guide
- by Favour Etinosa Ogie
June 17, 2025
Hiring the right candidate goes far beyond resumes and technical qualifications.
Even the most experienced professionals can falter in the wrong environment, while others thrive when their values, behaviors, and communication styles align with a team’s culture.
Unfortunately, traditional hiring methods often miss this mark. Interviews can be misleading, gut feelings can be biased, and resumes tell only a fraction of the story.
That’s where personality assessment software comes in.
In this guide, we’ll explore what this is, why it matters in modern recruitment, and how you can integrate this tool into your hiring process.
What is Personality Assessment Software?
Personality assessment software is a digital tool that evaluates a candidate’s behavioral traits, communication style, and cognitive preferences.
These tools are designed to help employers understand who a candidate is, not just what they can do.
Unlike skills tests, which measure what someone knows, personality tests are a type of psychometric evaluation that focus on how someone naturally behaves in different situations.
The software typically uses psychological models, machine learning, and behavioral science to generate detailed reports that inform hiring decisions.
Why Personality Assessment Software Matters in Hiring
So, why do you need personality assessment tools?
Because a candidate may look perfect on paper but still turn out to be the wrong hire if their personality clashes with your team, values, or work environment.
When used correctly, these tools offer far more than just “personality quizzes.”
They give you real, data-backed insights into how a person thinks, works, communicates, and collaborates.
Let’s break down why that matters:
- Improves Quality of Hire: Hiring someone with the right attitude, work style, and emotional intelligence often matters more than hiring for hard skills alone, especially for roles that require collaboration, creativity, or customer interaction.
Personality assessments help you evaluate these traits before the offer is made, increasing the chances of a great long-term hire. - Reduces Turnover: Bad hires are costly, not just financially, but culturally. When an employee doesn’t align with your team’s values or working style, they’re likely to leave or be let go quickly.
By identifying the best-fit personalities upfront, you lower the risk of early attrition and avoid restarting the hiring cycle again and again. - Boosts Team Performance: Great teams are made up of skilled individuals who complement one another.
Personality assessment software helps you understand how a candidate will interact with your current team, helping you build balanced, collaborative, and high-performing groups. - Removes Bias from Hiring: We all carry unconscious biases, and traditional interviews often amplify them. Personality tests offer a standardized, objective way to evaluate candidates. Everyone answers the same questions and is scored the same way, which can lead to fairer, more inclusive hiring decisions.
Popular Types of Personality Assessments in Hiring
Not all personality assessments are created equal.
Different pre-employment tests measure different traits, behaviors, and cognitive styles, so it’s important to understand which ones align best with your hiring goals.
Let’s explore the most widely used types of personality assessments in recruitment and how they help you make smarter hiring decisions.
The Big Five (OCEAN) Personality Assessment
The Big Five, also known as the OCEAN model or Five-Factor Model, is widely considered the gold standard in personality psychology, and for good reason.
It’s backed by decades of research and used globally to assess personality in both academic and professional settings.
What makes it so powerful is its ability to give a comprehensive, data-driven snapshot of how someone might behave at work, collaborate with others, and respond to challenges.
It measures five key traits:
- Openness to Experience: Think creativity, curiosity, and a willingness to embrace change. Candidates who score high here tend to thrive in innovative roles or dynamic, fast-paced environments.
- Conscientiousness: This trait speaks to reliability, organization, and self-discipline. High conscientiousness is often one of the strongest predictors of job performance, especially in roles that require attention to detail or independent work.
- Extraversion: Social energy, assertiveness, and enthusiasm live here. If you're hiring for sales, customer-facing roles, or leadership, a candidate’s level of extraversion can tell you how comfortable they’ll be in the spotlight.
- Agreeableness: Empathy, kindness, and collaboration are the hallmarks of this trait. It’s key when you're building tight-knit teams or hiring for service-oriented roles.
- Neuroticism: Or rather, emotional instability. Low scores suggest resilience under pressure, a must-have in high-stress roles or high-growth environments where change is constant.
What makes the Big Five especially helpful is that it doesn’t box candidates into a single type. Instead, it shows where someone falls on a spectrum for each trait, giving you a nuanced view of how they might fit into your team and company culture.
DISC Personality Assessment
The DISC assessment is all about how people show up in group settings, how they communicate, handle conflict, and adapt to stress.
It helps companies build more balanced teams by showing how different styles complement or clash with each other. It’s also a go-to tool for managers, helping them lead and coach each team member more effectively based on their communication preferences.
It identifies four primary behavioral styles:
- Dominance (D): Results-driven, assertive, and competitive. People high in dominance often make strong leaders or project owners.
- Influence (I): Social, enthusiastic, and persuasive. These are your natural collaborators. Candidates who score high in this trait are great for sales, marketing, and team-building roles.
- Steadiness (S): Reliable, calm, and team-oriented. Steady individuals thrive in stable environments and are often the glue that holds a team together.
- Conscientiousness (C): Precise, analytical, and process-driven. Perfect for technical, quality-focused roles like engineering or finance.
MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator)
You’ve likely heard someone say, “I’m an INTJ” or “I’m an ENFP”—that’s MBTI talk.
The MBTI is probably the most famous personality assessment of all time. This framework divides people into 16 personality types using four dimensions:
- Introversion (I) vs. Extraversion (E): this points to where you get your energy: solitude or social interaction?
- Sensing (S) vs. Intuition (N): Do you focus on details or big-picture ideas?
- Thinking (T) vs. Feeling (F): Are decisions based on logic or values?
- Judging (J) vs. Perceiving (P): Do you prefer structure and plans, or flexibility and spontaneity?
While MBTI isn’t strongly linked to job performance, it shines when you want to understand how people process information, communicate, and collaborate.
It’s a favorite among HR teams looking to improve team synergy, coaching, or training. MBTI also helps you tailor onboarding experiences and work environments to suit individual personalities, which can go a long way in increasing employee satisfaction and retention.
Situational Judgment Tests (SJT)
Unlike traditional personality tests that measure traits, Situational Judgment Tests (SJTs) focus on real-world behavior.
Candidates are presented with job-related scenarios like handling a difficult customer or navigating team conflict, and asked how they would respond.
Their choices give insight into emotional intelligence, problem-solving, ethical reasoning, and communication skills.
SJTs are especially useful when hiring for people-facing or high-stakes roles. Think healthcare, finance, customer service, or even leadership positions. They help you identify candidates who not only “talk the talk” in interviews but actually demonstrate sound judgment when it counts.
What’s great about SJTs is that they reveal how a candidate applies personality traits in action.
Someone might test high for empathy on a traditional personality scale, but how do they behave when a client is upset?
SJTs help you find out, long before the first day on the job.
Holland Code (RIASEC) Career Typology Test
The Holland Code, or RIASEC model, is a career-oriented personality framework developed by psychologist John Holland.
It classifies individuals based on six personality and work preference types: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional.
Each type reflects how a person interacts with the world of work, whether they prefer hands-on tasks, creative environments, structured systems, or interpersonal collaboration.
In the context of hiring, RIASEC assessments help recruiters identify candidates who are not just qualified but genuinely interested in and aligned with the role’s nature.
For instance, a “Conventional” personality might thrive in a structured finance role, while an “Artistic” type would be more suited for design or marketing.
This makes RIASEC particularly useful for early-career hiring or campus recruitment, where applicants may have limited work experience, and interest alignment becomes a key indicator of long-term success.
How to Use Personality Assessment Software in Your Hiring Process
Personality assessment software can be a game-changer, but only when integrated thoughtfully into your recruitment process.
Here’s how to use it effectively at every stage of hiring:
Define What You’re Looking For
Before selecting or sending out any assessment, clarify the soft skills, behavioral traits, and cultural values that are critical for success in the role.
Are you hiring for a fast-paced startup that requires adaptability and initiative? Or do you need someone who thrives in structured environments and values collaboration?
Create a benchmark personality profile for the role based on:
- Input from hiring managers and team leads
- Insights from top-performing employees in similar roles
- Organizational values and team dynamics
This benchmark will guide which traits you prioritize in the assessment results.
Choose the Right Software for Your Needs
Some focus on workplace behavior (like the DISC model), others on cognitive traits or emotional intelligence.
Some offer gamified, short-form tests ideal for early-stage screening, while others provide in-depth psychometric reports better suited for final-round evaluation.
Consider tools that:
- Are validated by research and widely used in your industry
- Integrate with your ATS or recruitment tech stack
- Offer role-specific insights or predictive hiring scores
- Are easy for candidates to complete on desktop or mobile
Use Assessments Early, But Not in Isolation
The best time to introduce personality assessments is during the screening or pre-interview phase. This helps narrow down the pool to candidates who are not only qualified but also aligned with your team culture and role expectations.
But don’t use personality tests as a hard filter. Instead:
- Combine results with CV reviews and work samples
- Use them to tailor your interview questions (e.g. probing for potential blind spots or strengths)
- Share the insights with interviewers to inform decision-making
Interpret Results Objectively
One of the biggest mistakes teams make is misinterpreting or over-relying on assessment scores.
A low score in one trait doesn’t mean someone isn’t a fit, it just means they may need more support in that area, or the role might require a different approach.
Make sure your hiring team:
- Understands the models and what traits mean in context
- Avoids bias (such as thinking extroverts are always better for leadership roles)
- Reviews results alongside other hiring signals (interviews, experience, portfolio, and so on.)
Many tools like TestTrick also offer tailored reports for hiring managers that highlight how a candidate might contribute to a team, respond to challenges, or fit with a specific role type.
Close the Loop and Improve Your Process
After a hire is made, continue using the data you gathered to:
- Onboard new hires more effectively (e.g. based on their preferred communication styles or motivators)
- Compare predicted traits with on-the-job performance to improve future hiring benchmarks
- Understand what personality traits correlate with long-term success in specific roles at your company
This feedback loop helps you refine how you use assessments over time, and makes your recruitment process smarter with every hire.
FAQs
Can personality tests help reduce hiring bias?
Yes! By focusing on a candidate's behavioral traits rather than subjective impressions or biases, personality assessments can help create a more objective and fair hiring process.
Should I use personality assessments for all roles?
It’s not always necessary to use personality assessments for every role. They are most beneficial for positions that require specific soft skills. Consider whether the role requires behaviors that could be better assessed through personality testing, and tailor your approach accordingly.
Final Thoughts
Great hiring is about understanding the whole person behind the application. Personality assessment software brings that human element into focus, helping you predict how well a candidate will thrive in your work environment, collaborate with others, and adapt over time.
When used intentionally, these tools can transform your hiring process from guesswork to strategy, boosting your team’s overall performance.
If you're ready to take the guesswork out of hiring and build stronger, more cohesive teams, TestTrick is here to help.
Discover smarter hiring with TestTrick. Start your free trial today.
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