Five Factor Model

Personality Testing has been carried out since the 1990’s, there have been a series of studies carried out over the years to determine its effectiveness. Such studies have resulted in both positive and negative findings therefore arguments can be made for and against the effective-ness of personality testing in the job selection process. This essay will provide arguments in favour of using personality testing as part of an organisation’s selection process. “Personality refers to an individual’s unique constellation of consistent behavioural traits” (Beau Beaz III 2012, p.1). Our personalities can influence how we think, act, react and interact. Personality is stable across situations and over time, each person is unique. It has been suggested

Conscientiousness seems to have the highest predictive ability of job performance, it is related to integrity and ethical behaviour. Openness to experience pre-dicts training/learning proficiency. Extroversion is highly associated with leadership. Agreea-bleness is associated with transformational leadership and group performance. Barrick and Mount (1991) explain that personality traits vary by occupational group and job performance criteria, their results show the benefits of the use of the 5-factor model in personnel selection as it accumulates and communicates empirical findings. The 5-factor model can therefore be useful when it comes to distinguishing who is the right fit for a particular job i.e if they have the right characteristics needed ‘Studies indicate it is beneficial to hire people who already have characteristics and attitudes that are in line with the core values of the organization and with its culture, Teaching a person the details of a job is easier than teaching him or her to change deeply held attitudes or change personality characteristics.’ (Lewis et al 2007, p.246) ‘Employment testing must meet acceptable professional and legal standards and should be carried out by professionals who are knowledgeable about tests and testing procedures. Only those tests that are psychometrically sound should be used for employment purposes.’ (Cata-no et al 2005, p.408-409). For personality testing to be valid and effective in the job selection process it is important that it be conducted properly, otherwise they become ineffective and of no use to the process. Personality testing can be costly if it is not done correctly then it be-comes a hindrance to the organisations finances. Glendon et al (2006) identifies that although personality testing in the job selection process has faced many criticism over the years, it has also received strong