No matter your age and profession, it is helpful to know who you are, your strengths and weaknesses as well as how to work on your weak parts. This will allow you to improve at a personal level but also to be more successful professionally by being better prepared for interviews than other candidates. There are various personality tests which can help you discover more about your personality.

Personality tests are instruments composed of questions or tasks designed in a way to measure the characteristics which make an individual distinct of another. Through a quick search, you can discover that there are many personality tests. However, some stand out thanks to the quality of their design, their reliability and popularity. Here is the top three from the most used by the Human Resources.

Myers-Briggs Test Inventory (MBTI)

The MBTI is a test that you can take online or with certified practitioners who help you interpret your results. A free version is also available at www.onlinepersonalitytests.org. The MBTI uses personality types to measure your preferences as an individual. These personality types are put into groups of two opposites:

1. Extroversion (E) or Introversion (I)
2. Sensing (S) or Intuition (I)
3. Thinking (T) or Feeling (F)
4. Judging (J) or Perceiving (P)

By combining them, sixteen personality types can be found. ISTP, ESFP, ESTJ, etc. are examples of what you can get as a result.

When taking the MBTI, you must answer 93 forced-choice questions which means that, for each question, you choose one of two answers. The choices are word pairs and short statements. Your MBTI test result is given as a report divided in different chapters. For example, the profile chapter which provides only basic information about your personality type and its description. On the other hand, the interpretive chapter describes more in detail your personality type. It also emphasizes your strengths and your potential areas of development. Finally, the interpretive report for organizations, describes your work style, communication style, as well as problem-solving approach. It is ideal for organizations when they need to develop leadership, improve communication and problem-solving.

The MBTI Career Report will first reveal what is your four-letter personality type. Then, it focuses on your potential career choice by explaining your preferred work tasks and work environment, your strengths and challenges. This report provides a list of occupations corresponding to your personality type classifying them as most attractive, moderately attractive, and least attractive. Analyzing the report with the help of a practitioner can help you make better choices in your career and take more informed decision if you are thinking about changing career. As for organizations, they can use the test to reach various goals like improving communication and teamwork or providing training.

Big Five Personality Inventory or NEO-PI-R

This test is available at no cost on the Sapa Project website and comprises 60 to 240 questions with answers ranging from 1- Strongly Disagree to 5- Strongly Agree. You will choose between different versions of the NEO-PI-R depending on their lengths. The NEO-PI-R is useful to know your strengths and weaknesses. So, you can work on them with the purpose of getting a specific job or working in a specific organization. As for Human Resources, they use it as a tool to assess various aspects of a worker’s personality or to make a good decision when hiring an individual.

Personality and Preference Inventory 3 (PAPI 3)

It is a test which identifies various interpersonal skills and fundamental performance qualities. Human Resources often administer this test during a recruitment process. It helps them better understand the candidate’s personality and how they navigate the workplace. Therefore, they are able to select the candidate who fits a position best. It is possible to prepare for the test in order to improve your answers for the aspects related to the position you are applying for. If you are interested in taking a free version of this test, you have to go online on the Job Test Prep website.

There are two parts on the PAPI test: PAPI I (Ipsative) and PAPI N (Normative). PAPI I contains forced-choice questions and for each question, you must select one answer which describes you most and one which describes you least. There are seven personality traits evaluated by the PAPI test:

• Composure
• Engagement
• Impact and drive
• Organization and structure
• Ideas and change
• Interaction
• Work momentum

For PAPI N, you must rate statements from a scale of 1- Strongly Disagree to 7- Strongly Agree. This section assesses your working style as well as your unique workplace behaviors.

Whether you want to discover yourself, or switch career, the tests above will help you fulfill your quest. After taking you tests, additional thinking or even a career diagnosis with one of our Career Advisors could be useful to take more informed decisions. Don’t hesitate to contact us through our website!