It can come as a bit of a surprise if a candidate or a client disagrees with something in their personality report. The initial reaction is often, “the report must be wrong or the system must be broken somewhere.”. This is not the case.
Will a candidate disagree with something in their report?
Will a candidate disagree with something in their report?In a word “yes”. Of course, they will.
There are several reasons for this. The first thing to remember is that personality behaves more like a wave than a digital point. Profiling systems pick points on the curve and most of us will be at one side of the point or the other.
Never feel you have to defend the report. Don’t get into an argument; instead, get into a revealing discussion.
It’s All About Good Data
Good hiring decisions are based on good data. The only source of data you have is the candidate, so the interviewer’s job is to get the candidate to willingly provide good data, in order that the interviewer can make a well-informed decision.
Soft Data and Hard Data
The reason you interview candidates is to collect more data from them. This may be “hard” data; factual things that may not have been mentioned in their application but more likely it is “soft” data you collect during the interview.
“Soft” data is the more subtle type of data. It’s the kind of data that leaves you more with a feeling than a fact. It is also likely to be the most influential data when it comes to making your hiring decision. The more “soft” data you can gather, the better.
Unfortunately, the traditional interview environment is not that good at gathering “soft” data. This is where the personality report can really help.
How To Gather Soft Data Using The Personality Reports
The report range you should use when interviewing candidates is Interview Pro. Each report in the range is designed to guide you through an interview and get you and the candidate to talk about the right things.
It is not recommended that you simply hand over the personality report to the candidate, as it is better to identify specific extracts to quote to them and discuss.
Each report contains several PeopleMaps Gauges. Pick a handful (3 to 5) of gauges that intrigue you. This is usually because they have scored high, scored low or because the behaviour that it is scoring is of particular relevance to the job. Don’t just talk about low scores.
Quote a score from a PeopleMaps Gauge and ask them whether they think it is too low, too high or about right.
What you find is that candidates will talk more openly about the Gauge score than they would if you simply asked a direct question. They are usually less defensive and speak more openly. The discussion reveals more “soft” data.
It is important to note that you are not trying to trick them or catch them out. instead, you are trying to make them feel safe and relaxed so that they are comfortable to share. Be genuine and honest with them.
Using The Text Based Topics Properly.
Identify some content that intrigues you from the text and read some extracts to the candidate. Ask them what they think of the statement. Do they agree with it or disagree? If they disagree with it, then you are in luck. Now you have something to work with.
You see the personality report is merely the beginning of the conversation. Use it as a key to open a door and get the candidate to talk more openly. If they disagree then ask them, how would they say it? Then ask them to justify this and provide examples from their previous work. Now you are getting into some useful conversation with the candidate.
It’s Good If Candidates Disagree
An individual should agree with about 80% of the report. Discussions about the 20% they disagree with, will help reveal what’s unique about them and will provide you with a deeper insight into the candidate.
So be delighted if a candidate disagrees with something you quote from their personality report. This subsequent conversation will reveal even more about the candidate and help you make a better hiring decision as a result.
Use the interview questions included in the report to spark further discussion as the more you talk, the more soft data you will gather. Used properly, the personality report will enable you to dig deeper than the superficial surface layer that most interviews never get past.
Remember, good hiring decisions are a result of good data. Make sure you are gathering good data.
