Occupational Personality Questionnaires
Fernanda Rabbe
I'm doing an online Occupational Personality Questionnaire (OPQ) followed by an interview. I'm simply going to answer the online test as straightforwardly as I can. I'm more concerned about the interview, however.
I've been happy fielding technical questions in the previous interviews for this company: it's my job after all, and I have no complaints if I get a tough question and mess it up. On the other hand, I have little or no experience of the kind of questions I'm likely to get in the forthcoming OPQ interview. Should I be preparing for this interview? If so, how?
The OPQ measures 32 different personality traits that are relevant to occupational settings. Ultimately the test measures traits with the purpose of determining your behavioural style at work. Employers often use this personality test to see how well job applicants fit the role they are applying for.
Practicing for the OPQ personality test will ensure that you are confident and free of stress when taking this personality test. It will also ensure that you are capable of demonstrating your relevant personality characteristics and demonstrate your fit against the job requirements to your potential employer. To learn more about how to effectively prepare for the OPQ, try a free sample personality test.
When taking an ability test or completing the OPQ, it is vital that you maintain a quiet, non-interrupted environment all the way through the process. Check that you will be comfortable for the duration of the test/questionnaire before starting.
Have a few pieces of paper and a pen to hand should you wish to write something down whilst you are on-line. For some Numerical Reasoning tests, a calculator is allowed, so ensure you have one of these beforehand.
If you are likely to be sat completing several tests and/or questionnaires, you may want to consider having a drink to hand before starting and taking appropriate breaks between these tests/questionnaires to ensure you maintain full concentration.
You don't need to prepare in any special way for such interview. It'll probably look like any other behavioral interview in which the recruiter will ask you to describe various situations from you past. This will help him/her understand how the way you've presented yourself in the questionnaire corresponds to the way you act.
You can expect questions like "Please give me an example of a situation in which you had to make a difficult decision? What were you trying to achieve in that situation? How did it end? etc. Perhaps the interviewer will describe briefly your results in some of the dimensions measured by the OPQ and will ask some follow up questions.
Assuming that the interview will be conducted professionally, you shouldn't expect anything else (like the need to "defend" or "explain" your answers in the QPQ), so it should be a pleasant experience.
As Arek Dymalski wrote, the interview is a lot like a regular behavioural interview, except that it's tailored to the answers you give in the questionnaire, so if you're concerned about these kinds of interviews it makes sense to record your answers somehow, identify the areas you're liked to be asked about, and make sure you've got your answers down pat in those areas.
SHL OPQ assessments are self-reported personality questionnaires requiring candidates to select the most appropriate response based on how they perceive a workplace situation or prefer to behave in the given scenario. Questions cover a range of personality traits, with the results being collated into a report that aligns with a framework.
The OPQ32r, also known as the shorter ipsative version, is a shorter version of the OPQ. This questionnaire comprises 104 questions. The evaluation is untimed but generally takes around 20 minutes to complete.
The OPQ32i is also known as the ipsative version. In this questionnaire, candidates complete around 300 questions. Questions are given as blocks of four statements. Candidates select which of the four statements most closely represents them and which statement least represents them.
The length of the SHL OPQ varies according to the type of questionnaire. Employers have a choice of three questionnaires according to the type and focus of the role they are looking to fill. Questionnaires can take between 20 - 60 minutes to complete.
Make sure you understand the assessment and its purpose. The OPQ measures 32 personality traits that are relevant to work performance, such as conscientiousness, emotional stability, and openness to change. Knowing what the assessment measures can help you better prepare and understand what the employer is looking for when recruiting for the role.
A systematic approach to completing the questionnaire is essential to accurately represent your workplace behavior and personality traits. This could include reading each question to ensure you understand what is being asked of you and make sure you consider the broader context of each situation.
Understanding your personality traits and behavioral tendencies will help you answer each question more accurately. Take the time to reflect on your personality and behavior before answering each question.
There are three types of SHL OPQ. It is essential to familiarize yourself with the format of the test you will be completing. Make sure you have read the instructions and know how to answer each question.
Practicing sample questions such as SHL style assessments, situational judgment tests, and personality questionnaires. This ensures you are familiar with the style of questions and how you react when under pressure. By practicing, you become more confident in taking the questionnaire, meaning you can answer the questions truthfully to provide an accurate picture of your workplace characteristics and behaviors.
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Business psychologists have kindly helped us produce this free personality questionnaire. It is based on the classic 'five-factor' model: the most popular system of classifying personality traits and as used by employers in their selection processes.
Personality questionnaires have become a commonly used recruitment tool, and candidates may come across them at both the early stages and the late stages of the recruitment process. Research has shown that personality tests are highly robust predictors of job performance, and are used for both selection and development as a result. Candidates will be likely to encounter personality questionnaires in all industries and all sectors, however candidates are most likely to undertake these tests in graduate schemes and recruitment for larger companies with high recruitment volumes. These tests may be online and unsupervised, they may be online and supervised and they may be pencil and paper tests at an assessment centre.
A personality questionnaire is used for recruitment to highlight personality traits and competencies which are valued in the workplace. Personality questionnaires are in multiple choice format, and will not have a time limit, allowing candidates to decide on their responses in their own time. An example personality/competency question would be "I like to identify new business opportunities" or "I am likely to made decisions based on facts and figures alone", requiring the candidate to rate on a given scale (often 1-7) how much they agree or disagree with the statement.
Personality tests in general are based on a small number of broad personality traits, such as the big 5 model of personality (openness, agreeableness, extrovertism, neuroticism and conscientiousness). Personality questionnaires used for recruitment will follow a similar format, assessing for a small number of broad traits, and subsequently breaking down each broad trait into separate sections and individual competencies.
For example a broad trait may be "influence", within influence a subsection may be "assertiveness", within "assertiveness" may be "ability to take on responsibility". Competencies are a set of an individual strengths, and employers may be looking for a set of key competencies, i.e. analytical ability, for that position These tests will assess your preferences towards these competencies in the workplace, getting an idea of where your strengths, weaknesses and areas for development are.
As with all recruitment tools, recruiters in the assessment stage of recruitment are unlikely to base their recruitment decision purely on one tool. Instead the decision will be made based on the mixture of results based on numerous tools, such as competency interviews, aptitude tests and group/role-play exercises. However, if a personality test is used at the start of the recruitment process, it is likely to be used as a screening tool, screening out candidates who do not express the key competencies of the role. In this case, an unsuitable report may cause a candidate to be screened out at an early stage, regardless of performance on other measures. Although there are no right and wrong answers, there are good and bad profiles for a particular position/organisation.
We surveyed job applicants on the type of personality test they encountered when sitting their assessments. Explaining each format to them, over 50% of candidates faced some sort of likert scale:
Now you may be familiar with a lot of those formats, but confused at what a likert scale is. A likert scale is a scale with varying intensities of answer allowing the user to select a particular value for how much they agree or disagree with the statement.