Here are a few things I know about myself:
I’m high-energy.
I thrive on change.
I can be (very) direct.
Sometimes I talk over people.
I didn’t learn these things from the comment section of my grade-school report card or because a friend diplomatically pointed them out. I learned them by clicking boxes in a variety of assessments.
While some view interview personality tests as a waste of time, the truth is that the right personality assessment can give you in-depth knowledge about a potential employee. A good assessment will also tell you where your potential hire’s strengths and interests lie, which helps you identify tasks that truly excite and interest them.
We’re all a little fascinated with the inner workings of our own brains, right?
I mean, there’s a reason those ‘Which Disney Character Are You?” online self-assessments are so popular. Luckily for us, those personality quizzes, intelligence assessments, Spotify promotion and employment tests can actually make us better business owners and managers.
Here’s how you can use assessments:
1. They make us aware of our own habits.
Now that I know my high energy and love of change can tire my team out, I can share that information with potential hires. I can ‘prepare’ them and let them know that it’s totally okay to ask me to slow down or tell me that they need a break or more turn around time. When we spend all this time hiring someone, we want to make sure they’re totally prepared for what they’re getting into and the quirks of everyone they’re working with – including us!
Here are 2 quick and inexpensive assessments you could take right now! StandOut and Now, Discover Your Strengths. Each of these books comes with an access code for an online assessment. If you want to take the test right now, buy the Kindle version and get access to your code immediately. (Curious what these reports look like? You can see my StandOut report here!)
2. They tell us more about our hires.
Some tests include a Manager’s Report. This version of the test results is written for a manager who is considering hiring someone. It gives insight into their issues, struggles, and personality so you can see how you match up. Even better, with this information you can create behavioral interview questions based on these assessment results.
Questions like:
It sounds like you like being the leader. Tell me about a time when you weren’t the leader and how that went.
It looks like you’re very meticulous and detail oriented. Tell me about a time you had a very tight deadline and how you dealt with that.
3. Turn high potential into high performing.
A good assessment will also tell you where your potential hire’s strengths and interests lie, which helps you identify tasks that truly excite and interest them. If they’re super social, one up mushroom bar give them more public-facing duties. If they’d like to do more creative work, put them in charge of designing images for social media.
When you give employees tasks related to their interests they’re so much more likely to stay engaged and give you more value for your payroll dollar.
4. They help us hire better.
Most tools have a “success profile” built in for a wide variety of roles, but some let you test your top performers to build your own success profile. When I recruited for a National Window and Door company they used the Profile XT for all their Sales and Sales Management Hires. I’ve administered thousands of them. But, Cary Gray at Assessments-USA knows even more than me.
You can connect with him here – be sure to tell him Rikka sent you for a discount!
Assessments I particularly love:
Disc – This link offers a free test, with an option to upgrade the $29 version with an in-depth report. Want to see an example? Click here to see mine. Forewarning, I am a bit extreme, most people have scores a bit more in the middle range.
Profile XT – You can talk to Cary Gray to learn even more.
Now, Discover Your Strengths and Standout – These are books that also include a code for an online test with an in-depth report. You can see my StandOut Report here.
Wonderlic – This is a mini-intelligence test and it measures how quickly you process information correctly. It is also used by the NFL for everyone in the draft.
Do you like helping people? Me Too!
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P.S. Want more help hiring the right people? You might like my (free!) Hiring Hacks ebook.
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