The Big Five model is increasingly demonstrating its effectiveness in applications for human-resource assessment. Learn more about using personality factors during the interview stage of the recruitment process.
An interview is one of the most important steps in the recruitment process. After screening and selecting several candidates who meet the stated requirements, the interview is the final selection stage before candidates enter the probationary period.
Some organizations may use tests to assess professional competence and work capability before candidates enter the interview room. Test results provide a basis for supporting the recruitment process and learning more about candidates. They can also inform questions or points to explore during the candidate interview.
Learning about candidates in advance enables recruiters to identify discrepancies or alignment between what candidates demonstrate and what they present to the recruiter.
I. Understanding the Big Five Model
The Big Five is the most widely accepted and used model for describing personality in modern psychology. It focuses on five personality traits: (1) emotional stability, (2) extraversion, (3) agreeableness, (4) conscientiousness, (5) openness. These five factors represent the most common and fundamental characteristics of human personality.
Personality is an internal tendency, while behavior is influenced by many other factors such as skills, motivation, circumstances, and perception.
The Big Five model aims to determine which personality type a person tends toward. It examines, in certain situations, how their thoughts and actions are more likely to be expressed. There are no right or wrong personality results. Instead, the model helps us understand a person’s behavioral tendencies.
The Big Five factors are described through 25 underlying personality traits.
1. Emotional Stability
Includes traits such as:
Emotional control/Calmness/Health management/Optimism/Self-confidence
2. Extraversion
Assertiveness/Persuasiveness/Liveliness/Relationship development/Activity level
3. Agreeableness
Altruism/Cooperation/Critical thinking/Individualism (determination)/Competitiveness
4. Focus
Leadership (ambition)/Methodicalness/Attention to detail/Seriousness/Consideration
5. Openness
Progress/Creativity/Abstract thinking/Aesthetic awareness/Observation
II. Some common issues during interviews:
Although candidates have passed through several stages before reaching the interview round, each stage may involve issues that reduce the quality of the candidates selected.
To ensure a high-quality recruitment process, candidates need to undergo a comprehensive competency assessment. This should cover not only their current expertise but also their ability to meet job requirements, develop, and continuously adapt to innovation. Assessing fit is important: fit with the job, the environment, the organizational culture, and the organization’s evolving direction.
In addition to focusing on candidates’ capabilities, interviewers need to identify common issues that may cause the results to fall short of the original objectives.
- Recruiters select candidates based on emotion rather than suitability for the job.
- There is no clear scoring scale or standard for evaluating the gap between a candidate’s capabilities and personality and the requirements of the job.
- Interviews focus only on assessing competence without evaluating the candidate’s suitability for the position. Meanwhile, a lack of fit with the organizational culture causes many candidates to leave during probation or the early adjustment period.
So how can these issues be addressed by applying the Big Five model to understand its underlying factors?
III. Applying the Big Five Model in Interviews
Depending on the recruiting department and position, select relevant factors for evaluating candidates. Each position has its own functional characteristics and therefore its own measurement requirements.
Recruiters must determine which personality traits each function requires and in what direction. They can then match candidates’ personalities with the functions within the organization and compare the degree of fit—or gap—between the candidate and the requirements of the position.
1. The first application of the Big Five model in developing a scale for factors related to the position being recruited.
Job descriptions are typically developed with a focus on professional competencies, with less emphasis on professional personality.
HR and the hiring department need to work together to define requirements related to professional personality and fit with the company culture.
For example:
You are recruiting for the customer service department. Which personality traits would suit the characteristics of this job?
Under the factor Emotional Stability, select the following personality traits for the assessment scale:
- “Emotional control”: Would someone who always openly expresses all their emotions, both positive and negative, be suitable for this position? What level of emotional control is appropriate?
- “Calmness”: Does this position require employees to remain calm under pressure? How tense are they likely to become on important occasions?
- “Optimism”: This position requires someone who can view issues positively rather than focusing too heavily on the risks of a situation.
Under the factor Extroversion,
- “Relationship building” is very important for this position. A candidate with a positive disposition who can easily build relationships with others would be suitable, rather than someone who struggles to form new relationships.
From the 25 personality traits, select those most relevant to the position being recruited. Then develop a scale with scores and levels to establish specific standards.
2. Applying the Big Five model during interviews
Use the scale developed from the Big Five model during the interview process.
This scale serves as a standard for comparing candidates and identifying the size of the gap between each candidate and the standard. The candidate with the smallest gap will be the best candidate for the position.
In practice, however, direct interviews are usually short. You cannot assess every factor in the scale that has been developed.
Candidates should take a test based on the Big Five model and 25 personality traits. The recruiter will then have a personality assessment report for the candidate. This is an important step for gaining an overall understanding, rather than focusing only on the traits required for the position.
- The recruiter compares the candidate’s test results with the established scale.
- Ask questions, present situations, or raise issues that allow the candidate to reveal more about themselves.
- Compare what the candidate demonstrates during the interview with what they demonstrated in their own test.
- Compare the candidate’s direct performance with the existing scale.
The recruiter and relevant department will use the available analyses to select the most suitable candidate to enter the probationary period.
Using personality factors from the Big Five model for direct assessment:
- Calmness and confidence: assessed through the candidate’s demeanor and conduct during the interview.
- Persuasiveness and critical thinking: assessed through the candidate’s answers and reasoning.
- Method: demonstrated through how the candidate organizes and handles situations, as well as how they arrange ideas and formulate appropriate answers.
- Assess the candidate’s attention to detail and observational ability.
- Seriousness: identify the candidate’s seriousness through how they prepare for the interview, including their time management, conduct, knowledge, and understanding of the company they are applying to.
- Creativity: demonstrated through the candidate’s perspective, particularly in how they handle situations.
However, you may find that the trait “Cooperation” is difficult to assess, even though this factor has a significant impact on future internal harmony.
Recruiters need to know which situations should be presented to bring out a candidate’s personality characteristics.
Some factors can be assessed simultaneously through a candidate’s actions, words, and approach to handling situations. Taken together, these create an overall impression and assessment for the recruiter. However, assessments based on intuition may be right or wrong. Using a clear scale produces the clearest results.
IV. Current professional personality tests applying the Big Five model.
Trait-Map – Germany’s Human Personality Trend Test.
Trait-Map Test Based on the Big Five model, the results help identify participants’ personalities, personality types, life perspectives, and working styles.
Understanding personality can help you through the following two strategies:
- Long-term strategy: the Trait-Map® report helps you adjust or choose a job or environment, allowing you to use all your strengths and optimize the fit between your personality and your work.
- Short-term strategy: the Trait-Map® report can draw your attention to areas where you can improve your behavior to better meet the requirements of your current job. It may prompt you to address these areas by establishing new habits, introducing new tools, learning new skills, or redistributing your tasks.
The Trait-Map test is particularly effective for team assessment. Managers can identify which personality traits are most prominent and which are less expressed in each employee. They can recognize each individual’s strongest role within the team and identify the roles and positions they are capable of taking on. This enables suitable workforce arrangements to maximize work effectiveness, while providing timely support and training where limitations remain and improvement is needed.
Learn more about the Trait-Map Test: https://vienquest.com/trait-map/
Some effective personnel assessment tests that support recruitment include:
Capability and Job Performance Test Uchida-Kraepelin: https://vienquest.com/uchida-kraepelin/
Motivation Questionnaire Test (MQ) – A set of motivation questions from Germany.
Fingerprint Biometrics
Personality Identification Test D.I.S.C
Test EQ, IQ,…
V. When Should Personnel Competencies Be Measured?
There is no single precise point in time at which human-resource capabilities should be measured. At each stage, a business needs to base its assessment on a specific measurement criterion. At another point in time, it may need to use a different criterion.
Continuous development requires regular measurement of human resources to understand their potential and establish an appropriate direction. It can take a great deal of time to recover energy after falling behind the broader business market.
Moving toward the use of tools that support businesses in comprehensively measuring and developing employee capabilities is essential. This begins with recruitment and continues through workforce development and growth. The products provided by VienQuest Institute help businesses understand and manage their workforce quickly, conveniently, and effectively based on scientific analysis.
Contact Quest Now for Consultation on Competency Measurement Solutions!
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