Is Social Media the New Personality Test?

Back in the day, personality tests were widely used as one aspect of pre-employment screening. However, in recent years, personality tests have faded in popularity in favor of social media screening. While SMI Aware is not opposed to personality testing, we have observed that the trend continues to favor social media research. Nonetheless, personality testing has not disappeared. Three of the most popular tests are the Caliper Profile, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), and the SHL Occupational Personality Questionnaire, or OPQ32.

Personality Testing

• The Caliper Profile: The Caliper Profile measures the correlation between candidates’ personality traits and their job performance through their responses to various types of questions. The Caliper Profile measures both positive and negative personality traits, which differs from many other personality tests.
• The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI): The MBTI is one of the most widely used personality tests. According to the test’s publisher, the MBTI is used by 89 of the Fortune top 100 companies for pre-employment screening. The MBTI sorts candidates into 16 categories based on Extraversion versus Introversion, Sensing versus Intuition, Thinking versus Feeling and Judging versus Perceiving. The MBTI is commonly used to determine if prospective employees will fit within the culture of a company.
• The SHK Occupational Personality Questionnaire (OPQ32): The OPQ32 test is designed to determine the possible influence of specific behaviors on a candidate’s performance on the job. The OPQ32 describes both strengths and weaknesses and is especially useful for comparing candidates against one another because it produces custom results for each candidate with normed scoring.

The Power of LinkedIn

While personality tests can be useful in pre-employment evaluation, social media screening often yields results that are even more valuable. The professional network LinkedIn represents an especially rich resource for evaluating potential hires. Both profiles and member activity can provide valuable insights about a candidate’s personality and temperament.

Conducting Ethical Social Media Research

The expert analysts at SMI Aware have the expertise to conduct effective social media searches while adhering to ethical standards and avoiding potential discrimination. SMI analysts are accredited in social media research to ensure compliance and produce the highest quality search results. Contact us today to start your investigations.