Linking personality with job fit: A case study analysis

Abstruct: Personality is a congregation of an individuals psychological orientation and belief system. Personality is unique for each individual person. Therefore, it accounts for the varied differences between individual behaviors. In the organizational context, management theories have always been eluded by the dilemma posted in terms of conceptualizing a standardized model to understand prospective employee personalities and how it compliments with the required job expectation. In my study, I have tried to explore the domain of personality-job-fit literature. The objective of my project is to put forth the existing person-job-fit models and eventually develop a new model relating personality and recruitment process.

The word "personality" originates from the Latin persona, which means mask. Significantly,
in the theatre of the ancient Latin-speaking world, the mask was not used as a plot device to disguise the identity of a character, but rather was a convention employed to represent or typify that character. The pioneering American psychologist, Gordon Allport (1937) described two major ways to study personality, the nomothetic and the idiographic. Nomothetic psychology seeks general laws that can be applied to many different people, such as the principle of self-actualization, or the trait of extraversion. Idiographic psychology is an attempt to understand the unique aspects of a particular individual. Personality may be defined as the sum total of ways in which an individual reacts and interacts with others (Robbins, 12th Edition). According to Ryckman (2004), Personality can be defined as a dynamic and organized set of characteristics possessed by a person that uniquely influences his or her cognitions, motivations, and behaviors in various situations. "Personality is not an existing substantive entity to be searched for but a complex construct to be developed and defined by the observer." (Smith & Vetter, 1982, p.5) A contemporary definition for personality is offered by Carver and Scheier (2000, p.5): Personality is a dynamic organization, inside the person, of psychophysical systems that create a persons characteristic patterns of behavior, thoughts, and feelings. Carver & Scheier (2000, p.5) Dynamic Organization: suggests ongoing readjustments, adaptation to experience, continual upgrading and maintaining Personality doesnt just lie there. It has process and its organized. Inside the Person: suggests internal storage of patterns, supporting the notion that personality influences behaviors, etc. Psychophysical systems: suggests that the physical is also involved in who we are Characteristic Patterns: implies that consistency/continuity which are uniquely identifying of an individual Behavior, Thoughts, and Feelings: indicates that personality includes a wide range of psychological experience/manifestation: that personality is displayed in MANY ways. Carver & Scheier (2000, p.5) suggest that the word personality conveys a sense of consistency, internal causality, and personal distinctiveness. This issue of personal distinctiveness is very important. There are certain universal characteristics of the human race and particular features of

individuals. We all for example experience stress and the elevated cortisol that goes with it, and we all suffer the immune suppressive effects thereof. BUT each of us is unique too.

Measuring Personality Traits: Personality traits are labelled as the enduring characteristics that describe an individuals behavior. The early researchers made a number of futile attempts to conglomerate the different primary personality traits, but it only resulted in generating a pretty long list of traits with no practical utility. With time, however, several authentic and dependable scales for personality measurement have been developed successfully. Some of these methods include, 1. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI): The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) assessment is a psychometric questionnaire designed to measure psychological preferences in how people perceive the world and make decisions. These preferences were extrapolated from the typological theories originated by Carl Gustav Jung, as published in his 1921 book Psychological Types (English edition, 1923). The original developers of the personality inventory were Katharine Cook Briggs and her daughter, Isabel Briggs Myers. They began creating the indicator during World War II, believing that a knowledge of personality preferences would help women who were entering the industrial workforce for the first time identify the sort of war-time jobs where they would be "most comfortable and effective". The initial questionnaire grew into the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, which was first published in 1962. The MBTI is a hundred question personality test that asks people how they usually feel or act in particular situations. On the basis of the feedbacks obtained, the respondents are classified as, y Extroverted or Introverted (E or I): The preferences for Extroversion and Introversion are sometimes referred to as attitudes. People with a preference for Extraversion draw energy from action: they tend to act, then reflect, then act further. If they are inactive, their level of energy and motivation tends to decline. Conversely, those whose preference is Introversion become less energized as they act: they prefer to reflect, then act, then reflect again. People with Introversion preferences need time out to reflect in order to rebuild energy. The Introvert's flow is directed inward toward concepts and ideas and the Extravert's is directed outward towards people and objects. There are several contrasting characteristics between Extraverts and Introverts: Extraverts desire breadth and are action-oriented, while introverts seek depth and are thought-oriented. y Sensing or Intuitive (S or N): Sensing and Intuition are the information-gathering functions. They describe how new information is understood and interpreted. Individuals who prefer Sensing are more likely to trust information that is in the present, tangible and concrete: that is, information that can be understood by the five senses. They tend to distrust hunches that seem to come out of nowhere. They prefer to look for details and facts. For them, the meaning is in the data. On the other hand, those who prefer intuition tend to trust information that is more abstract or theoretical, that can be associated with other information. They may be more interested in future possibilities. They tend to trust those flashes of insight that seem to bubble up from the unconscious mind. The meaning is in how the data relates to the pattern or theory.

Thinking or Feeling (T or F): Thinking and Feeling are the decision-making functions. The Thinking and Feeling functions are both used to make rational decisions, based on the data received from their information-gathering functions. Those who prefer Thinking tend to decide things from a more detached standpoint, measuring the decision by what seems reasonable, logical, causal, and consistent and matching a given set of rules. Those who prefer Feeling tend to come to decisions by associating or empathizing with the situation, looking at it 'from the inside' and weighing the situation to achieve, on balance, the greatest harmony, consensus and fit, considering the needs of the people involved. As noted already, people with a Thinking preference do not necessarily, in the everyday sense, 'think better' than their Feeling counterparts; the opposite preference is considered an equally rational way of coming to decisions. Similarly, those with a Feeling preference do not necessarily have 'better' emotional reactions than their Thinking counterparts. Judging or Perceiving (J or P): Myers and Briggs added another dimension to Jung's typological model by identifying that people also have a preference for using either the Judging function (Thinking or Feeling) or their Perceiving function (Sensing or Intuition) when relating to the outside world (extraversion).Myers and Briggs taught that types with a preference for Judging show the world their preferred Judging function (Thinking or Feeling). So TJ types tend to appear to the world as logical, and FJ types as empathetic. According to Myers, Judging types prefer to "have matters settled." Those types ending in P show the world their preferred Perceiving function (Sensing or Intuition). So SP types tend to appear to the world as concrete and NP types as abstract. According to Myers, Perceiving types prefer to "keep decisions open."For Extraverts, the J or P indicates their dominant function; for Introverts, the J or P indicates their auxiliary function. Introverts tend to show their dominant function outwardly only in matters "important to their inner worlds". For example: Because ENTJ types are Extraverts, the J indicates that their dominant function is their preferred Judging function (Extraverted Thinking). ENTJ types introvert their auxiliary Perceiving function (Introverted Intuition). The tertiary function is Sensing and the inferior function is Introverted Feeling. Because INTJ types are Introverts, the J indicates that their auxiliary function is their preferred Judging function (Extraverted Thinking). INTJ types introvert their dominant Perceiving function (Introverted Intuition). The tertiary function is Feeling, and the inferior function is Extraverted Sensing.

2. Cattells 16 PF Test: The 16 PF scale is based on 16 source traits put forth by Raymond B. Cattell in 1946. These 16 traits are based on the research of a set of some 18000 adjectives that described people. Using a statistical technique called Multiple Abstract Variance Analysis, Cattell identified clusters of surface traits, Consistent behavioral responses and temperament and ability source traits, which had indirect influence over variables which determine the surface traits.

3. Rorschach Ink-Blot Test: The Rorschach inkblot test is a method of psychological evaluation. Psychologists use this test to try to examine the personality characteristics and emotional functioning of their patients. The Rorschach is currently the second most commonly used test in forensic assessment, after the MMPI, and is the second most widely used test by members of the Society for Personality Assessment. It has been employed in diagnosing underlying thought disorder and differentiating psychotic from nonpsychotic thinking in cases where the patient is reluctant to openly admit to psychotic thinking. There are ten official inkblots. Five inkblots are black ink on white paper. Two are black and red ink on white paper. Three are multicolored. After the individual has seen and responded to all the inkblots, the tester then gives them to him again one at a time to study. The test subject is asked to note where he sees what he originally saw and what makes it look like that. The blot can also be rotated. As the subject is examining the inkblots, the psychologist writes down everything the subject says or does, no matter how trivial. Methods of interpretation differ. Rorschach scoring systems have been described as a system of pegs on which to hang one's knowledge of personality. The most widely used method in the United States is based on the work of John E. Exner. In the Exner system, responses are scored with reference to their level of vagueness or synthesis of multiple images in the blot, the location of the response, which of a variety of determinants is used to produce the response (i.e., what makes the inkblot look like what it is said to resemble), the form quality of the response (to what extent a response is faithful to how the actual inkblot looks), the contents of the response (what the respondent actually sees in the blot), the degree of mental organizing activity that is involved in producing the response, and any illogical, incongruous, or incoherent aspects of responses. Using the scores for these categories, the examiner then performs a series of calculations producing a structural summary of the test data. The results of the structural summary are interpreted using existing research data on personality characteristics that have been demonstrated to be associated with different kinds of responses. 4. Thematic Apperception Test: The Thematic Apperception Test is an example of a projective test. Historically, the Thematic Apperception Test or TAT has been amongst the most widely used, researched, and taught projective psychological tests. Its adherents claim that it taps a subject's unconscious to reveal repressed aspects of personality, motives and needs for achievement, power and intimacy, and problem-solving abilities. The TAT is popularly known as the picture interpretation technique because it uses a standard series of 30 provocative yet ambiguous pictures about which the subject must tell a story. In the case of adults and adolescents of average intelligence, a subject is asked to tell as dramatic a story as they can for each picture, including:
y y

what has led up to the event shown what is happening at the moment

y y

what the characters are feeling and thinking, and what the outcome of the story was.

For children or individuals of limited cognitive abilities, instructions ask that the subject tell a story including what happened before and what are happening now, what the people are feeling and thinking and how it will come out. The 30 cards are meant to be divided into two "series" of 15 pictures each, with the pictures of the second series being purposely more unusual, dramatic, and bizarre than those of the first. Suggested administration involves one full hour being devoted to a series, with the two sessions being separated by a day or more. Several cards in the test are present in order to ensure that the subject is able to be provided with cards picturing individuals of the same gender. Eleven cards (including the blank card) have been found suitable for both sexes, by portraying no human figures, an individual of each sex, or an individual of ambiguous gender. 5. Big 5 Personality Traits: In psychology, the "Big Five" personality traits are five broad factors or dimensions of personality developed through lexical analysis. This is the rational and statistical analysis of words related to personality as found in natural-language dictionaries. The traits are also referred to as the "Five Factor Model". The model is considered to be the most comprehensive empirical or data-driven enquiry into personality. The first public mention of the model was in 1933, by L. L. Thurstone in his presidential address to the American Psychological Association. Thurstone's comments were published in Psychological Review the next year. The five factors are Openness, Conscientiousness, Extroversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism. y Openness: Openness is a general appreciation for art, emotion, adventure, unusual ideas, imagination, curiosity, and variety of experience. The trait distinguishes imaginative people from down-to-earth, conventional people. People who are open to experience are intellectually curious, appreciative of art, and sensitive to beauty. They tend to be, compared to closed people, more creative and more aware of their feelings. They are more likely to hold unconventional beliefs. People with low scores on openness tend to have more conventional, traditional interests. They prefer the plain, straightforward, and obvious over the complex, ambiguous, and subtle. They may regard the arts and sciences with suspicion, regarding these endeavors as abstruse or of no practical use. Closed people prefer familiarity over novelty. They are conservative and resistant to change. y Conscientiousness: Conscientiousness is a tendency to show self-discipline, act dutifully, and aim for achievement. The trait shows a preference for planned rather than spontaneous behavior. It influences the way in which we control, regulate, and direct our

impulses. Conscientiousness includes the factor known as Need for Achievement (NAch). The benefits of high conscientiousness are obvious. Conscientious individuals avoid trouble and achieve high levels of success through purposeful planning and persistence. They are also positively regarded by others as intelligent and reliable. On the negative side, they can be compulsive perfectionists and workaholics. y Extroversion: Extroversion is characterized by positive emotions, surgency, and the tendency to seek out stimulation and the company of others. The trait is marked by pronounced engagement with the external world. Extroverts enjoy being with people, and are often perceived as full of energy. They tend to be enthusiastic, action-oriented individuals. In groups they like to talk, assert themselves, and draw attention to themselves. Introverts lack the exuberance, energy, and activity levels of extroverts. They tend to be quiet, low-key, deliberate, and less involved in the social world. Their lack of social involvement should not be interpreted as shyness or depression. Introverts simply need less stimulation than extroverts and more time alone. y Agreeableness: Agreeableness is a tendency to be compassionate and cooperative rather than suspicious and antagonistic towards others. The trait reflects individual differences in concern for social harmony. Agreeable individuals value getting along with others. They are generally considerate, friendly, generous, helpful, and willing to compromise their interests with others. Agreeable people also have an optimistic view of human nature. They believe people are basically honest, decent, and trustworthy. Disagreeable individuals place self-interest above getting along with others. They are generally unconcerned with others well-being, and are less likely to extend themselves for other people. Sometimes their skepticism about others motives causes them to be suspicious, unfriendly, and uncooperative. y Neuroticism: Neuroticism is the tendency to experience negative emotions, such as anger, anxiety, or depression. It is sometimes called emotional instability. Those who score high in neuroticism are emotionally reactive and vulnerable to stress. They are more likely to interpret ordinary situations as threatening, and minor frustrations as hopelessly difficult. Their negative emotional reactions tend to persist for unusually long periods of time, which means they are often in a bad mood. These problems in emotional regulation can diminish a neurotic's ability to think clearly, make decisions, and cope effectively with stress. At the other end of the scale, individuals who score low in neuroticism are less easily upset and are less emotionally reactive. They tend to be calm, emotionally stable, and free from persistent negative feelings. Freedom from negative feelings does not mean that low scorers experience a lot of positive feelings. Frequency of positive emotions is a component of the Extroversion domain.

6. Holland Personality Typology: According to leading career-theory expert Dr. John Holland, career choices are an expression of personality, ability, and appropriate environment. (Gottfredson G. and Holland J., Dictionary of Holland Occupational Codes, 3rd Edition) Attribute Preferences for activities and occupations Realistic Manipulation of machines tools and things Investigative Artistic Social Exploration, Literary, Helping, understanding, musical or teaching, and prediction artistic activities treating, or control of counseling natural and or serving social others thru phenomena personal interaction Material rewards Development Creative Fostering for tangible or acquisition expression of the welfare accomplishments of knowledge ideas, emotions, of others, or sentiments social service Enterprising Persuading, manipulating or directing others Conventional Establishing or maintaining orderly routines, application of standards

Values

Sees self as

Others see as

Avoids

Material Material or accomplishment financial and social accomplishme status nt and power in social, political or business arenas Practical, Analytical, Open to Empathic, Having sales Having conservative, intelligent, experience, patient, and and persuasive technical skills and having skeptical, and innovative, having ability lacking in business or manual and having intellectual interpersona scientific ability productionmanipulative academic lacking clerical l skills lacking artistic skills lacking talent or office skills lacking competencies interpersonal lacking mechanical skills interpersonal ability skills Normal, frank Asocial, Unconventional, Nurturing, Energetic, Careful, intellectual disorderly, agreeable, gregarious conforming creative extroverted Interaction with Persuasion or Routines and Scientific, Ambiguous or people soles activities conformity to intellectual or unstructured established rules abstruse topics undertakings

Case Study: In light of the above discussion let us now discuss the following case where the personality has been introduced as one of the basic filtering device for the recruitment process. The structured interview was a standard component of the process used to select professionals at a major transportation company. In 1996, the organization began using a five-factor personality assessment as part of its process for selecting Train Engineers and Conductors.

Management Skills

Personal Attributes

Business Skills

Job Performance

Interpersonal Skills

Cultural Attributes

Figure 1: Linking the personality attributes with job performance. A primary driver for this decision was the fact that this personality assessment had little or no adverse impact and it improved selection decisions. For example, implementing the personality assessment lowered absenteeism and turnover, and improved overall job performance as rated by supervisors. Given the positive results at the Engineer and Conductor level, the organization considered using personality assessment at the professional level. The challenge was to determine a method to use this type of data to augment the decision-making process, rather than using simple cut off scores to screen applicants without involving the hiring manager. The selection process was redesigned to incorporate two new components. First, a process was designed to generate interview questions from a personality assessment that could be incorporated into a structured interview. The interview questions were based on a model that included such behavioral competencies as leadership, business, and interpersonal skills. The scales associated with five factor personality inventory were initially aligned with the competencies to determine how the interview questions might best be structured. Questions were then created to address the personality factors, while remaining aligned with the competencies. The following illustrates this alignment at the level of behavior domains with sample interview questions. Second, Human Resource professionals were trained to interpret personality data. They were also given a range of interview questions that hiring managers could use in a structured interview to explore the findings of the personality assessment. Because these questions were aligned with the competencies, they extended the traditional structured interview questions. This approach was implemented by assigning Human Resource professionals to hiring managers on a case-by-case basis. This ensured that trained professionals would support introducing personality data into the hiring process. Applicants for a position completed the personality assessment. Human Resource professionals interpreted the results for hiring managers and provided them with interview questions based on the results of the assessment.

After the structured interviews were conducted (with Human Resource professionals responsible for at least one interview) the results were used to make a final hiring decision.

Figure 2: An interview questionnaire using personality attribute filter. The results typically included assessment data, interview results based on assessment data, and interview results derived from competency based questions. Human Resource professionals facilitated the entire process. Incorporating personality assessment (and interview data based on the results of the assessment) added an important dimension to the hiring process. The organization identified five direct benefits based on this approach: y More comprehensive review of candidates y Additional decision making information for the hiring manager y Enhanced information for future development of successful candidates y Enhanced skills for the HR professionals involved in the process

y Positive impact on the quality of new hires The success of the approach has made it a standard practice for hiring at the professional level. Managers and HR professionals throughout the organization have come to appreciate the quality of data produced by this approach and use them effectively in making their hiring decisions.

References: Myers, Isabel Briggs with Peter B. Myers (1980, 1995). Gifts Differing: Understanding Personality Type. Mountain View, CA: Davies-Black Publishing. Myers, Isabel Briggs; McCaulley Mary H.; Quenk, Naomi L.; Hammer, Allen L. (1998). MBTI Manual (A guide to the development and use of the Myers Briggs type indicator). Consulting Psychologists Press; 3rd ed edition. Myers, Isabel Briggs; Mary H. McCaulley (1985). Manual: A Guide to the Development and Use of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, 2nd, Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press. Russell, M.T., & Karol, D. (2002). 16PF Fifth Edition administrators manual. Exner, J.E. (2002). The Rorschach: Basic Foundations and Principles of Interpretation: Volume 1. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Westen, Drew. Clinical Assessment of Object Relations Using the TAT. Journal of Personality Assessment, Volume 56, Issue 1 February 1991. Goldberg, L. R. (1993). The structure of phenotypic personality traits. American Psychologist, 48, 26-34. Jang, K., Livesley, W. J., Vemon, P. A. (1996). Heritability of the Big Five Personality Dimensions and Their Facets: A Twin Study. Journal of Personality, 64, 577-591.