Recruitment Personality Tests: Complete Guide

The Landscape of Recruitment Personality Tests

Personality assessments have become a routine part of hiring at mid-size and large organizations. While hundreds of tools exist, a handful dominate the market. Each is built on the Big Five personality model but differs in granularity, question format, and the specific traits it emphasizes. Knowing which test you are about to take, and how it differs from the others, gives you a significant preparation advantage.

SHL Occupational Personality Questionnaire (OPQ32)

The OPQ32 is one of the most widely used personality assessments globally, deployed by major employers across banking, consulting, and the public sector. It measures 32 personality facets organized into three broad domains: Relationships with People, Thinking Style, and Feelings and Emotions. The test uses an ipsative (forced-choice) format where you rank four statements from most to least characteristic of yourself.

The ipsative format means you cannot score high on everything; a peak on one facet necessarily creates a valley somewhere else. This design makes it especially resistant to faking. Preparation should focus on understanding the forced-choice mechanic and developing a quick, confident decision-making pace.

Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI)

The Hogan suite actually includes three assessments: the HPI for normal personality, the HDS (Hogan Development Survey) for derailment risks under stress, and the MVPI for values and motivators. The HPI measures seven primary scales: Adjustment, Ambition, Sociability, Interpersonal Sensitivity, Prudence, Inquisitive, and Learning Approach.

What sets Hogan apart is the HDS, which identifies the dark side of personality, traits that emerge under pressure and can undermine leadership effectiveness. Employers using Hogan are not just looking at your strengths; they are assessing your potential risk factors. Self-awareness about how you behave under stress is critical preparation for this test.

ADEPT-15 by Aon

The ADEPT-15 measures 15 work-relevant dimensions that expand the Big Five into finer sub-traits. It uses a forced-choice format similar to the OPQ32 but with pairs rather than quartets. Employers in technology, professional services, and financial institutions frequently use it. Its granularity makes it particularly useful for differentiating between candidates who appear similar on broader measures. We cover this test in depth in our dedicated ADEPT-15 preparation guide.

Saville Wave

The Saville Wave comes in two versions: the Professional Styles questionnaire (long form, around 40 minutes) and the Focus Styles questionnaire (short form, around 13 minutes). It measures 108 facets organized into four clusters: Thought, Influence, Adaptability, and Delivery. A distinctive feature is its integration of personality with competency prediction; the report directly maps your traits to expected workplace behaviors.

Saville Wave uses a normative Likert-scale format, meaning you rate each statement on a scale from strongly disagree to strongly agree. While this format is more intuitive than forced-choice, it also makes impression management easier to attempt and easier to detect. Answer authentically and avoid clustering all your responses at the positive extreme.

Cubiks PAPI

The PAPI (Personality and Preference Inventory) exists in two forms: PAPI-I (ipsative, with forced-choice pairs) and PAPI-N (normative, with Likert scales). It measures 22 scales across seven factors. The PAPI is popular in Europe and is often used for management-level recruitment. Its relatively short completion time of around 20 minutes makes it a practical choice for employers who need a personality snapshot without committing candidates to a lengthy assessment.

How to Prepare Regardless of the Test

Despite their differences, all major recruitment personality tests share common ground. They are all rooted in the Big Five. They all include some form of consistency or validity checking. And they all compare your profile against a role-specific benchmark.

This means your preparation strategy is largely universal. Start by understanding the Big Five dimensions and where you naturally fall on each. Research the role to identify which traits are likely prioritized. Then practice under timed conditions to remove format anxiety. Persona Prep covers the two most common question formats, forced-choice and Likert-scale, so you are ready regardless of which specific test you encounter.

If you know which test your employer uses, read the specific preparation guide for that assessment. If you do not know, a solid understanding of the Big Five and comfort with both question formats will serve you well for any of the tests described above.

Key Takeaway

The specific test matters less than your general readiness. Candidates who understand personality psychology, know their own profile, and have practiced the mechanics of personality questionnaires perform consistently better across all major assessments. Invest your time in building that foundation and you will be prepared no matter which test lands in your inbox.