The Value of Pre-Employment Personality Test Practice in Recruitment Process - Coursework Example

Correct selection and appointment of personnel become increasingly important, as terminations of unsuitable appointees may become a costly process in terms of both organizational moral, image as well as litigation procedures. Therefore, all organizations, irrelevant to the scale and levels of recruitments made should seek to improve their selection process through a combination of selection techniques, which will enhance the selection decisions. In this context, the use of personality testing in organizational settings is gaining in its popularity.

Although only a small percentage of companies are currently using this technique in the selection process, the advantages of applying a personality test on prospective candidates may lead to widespread use in future times. While personality tests carry its obvious advantages, which are discussed within the report, they also pose disadvantages, which the companies seeking to adopt such techniques should take into account. The report aims to provide a comprehensive overview of personality testing and its usage as well as analyzing the benefits and disadvantages of using such techniques in the selection process.

The most common practice in the employment selection process is to assess the qualifications of the candidate in line with the job specifications. However, there is an increased awareness of the crucial role an individual’s attitudes and personal characteristics play upon the performance levels of recruits being employed. Such heightened awareness has lead Human Resource (HRM) personnel, who engage in the selection process to incorporate measures of personality such as the Myers Briggs scale and Holland’s RIASEC model or custom made personality tests, which take in to account the core business activities of the company.

Such tests allow gauging the type of personalities of the prospective candidates and their compatibility with the jobs in context.