The rights and the wrongs of personality profiles

Personality tests, or profiles, are still used as part of the act of application process by some employers. I'm often asked the right way to fill them in. Well, let me tell you a secret, there isn't one. But there is a wrong one. Such tests are designed to find out what you really think about yourself, and they also check for inconsistencies. Why? Because if you're lying it is much more difficult to be consistent and this will be high-lighted. So here is my advice. Be yourself, instinctively you will know most of the answers straightaway. If you really want to impress, put yourself in a confident, in control, decisive frame of mind. And then take the test. I had a candidate recently who decided (wrongly) that the client was looking for a very detail minded, highly organised, disciplined individual. Except that was just not him, so he came across as dangerously in need of psychiatric care. Which was not the impression they were trying to create. Personality profiles are rarely used now as a Pass/Fail mechanism. They are much more used to influence the interview process. So relax about them, answer them confidently, instinctively and you will be fine.