How Accurate Are Personality Tests?

One personality model survived the 20th century. It's called the Big 5 Personality Traits (5-Factor Model). It was developed in 1961 and since have been developed into its modern form.

The Big 5 model takes a holistic approach by compiling every word that could be considered a personality trait and creating simple questions about them. Based on how people answered initial surveys, researchers used statistical methods to group traits that seemed to go together.

The Big 5 model group characteristics into five basic categories. Extraversion, conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism and openness to experience.

• It doesn't sort anybody into a "type," just informs where a person will fall on a continuum.
• You won't uncover anything surprising about yourself.
• At best, you could use it as a comparative tool to tell you how your rank on extroversion compared with others who have taken the test.

Personality assessments targeted toward hiring recruiters and managers assume there is a hidden truth about you that can match you up to a job. But there isn't any hidden truth that a personality test can uncover.

Personality is not that mysterious. If the assessment process seems confusing or if questions deviate into the abstract, that's a red flag.