Over 1 million people have taken the PeopleMaps personality test and I was wondering why. I thought I would summarise some of the reasons here and explain what a personality test is in the process.

1. People do personality tests when they are thinking about their careers as often they will have to complete one as part of the recruitment process.
2. People take personality tests to help them verbalise who they are and obtain a deeper understanding of “self”. Understanding what makes us tick makes life a whole lot easier. For some it is a bit like getting the manual for that new surround sound system that you knew was great but never quite figured out how to work.
3. Personality tests are often used by people who are making big decisions in their life as it helps them think things through.
4. People take personality tests for fun. Although PeopleMaps is a professional system we believe in making it easy to digest and fun to do.
5. People do personality tests when thinking about their relationships. Going into our coming out from a relationship is often when we are most introspective.

Here are the common questions I get about personality tests.

Q : What’s the difference between a personality test and a psychometric test?

A: Psychometric testing cover the wider spectrum of numeracy and literacy. People often say “psychometric” when they mean “personality”

Q: What happens if you fail the personality test?

A: It is not a test. It has become known as a “personality test” over the years but it is not a test. There are no right or wrong answers. You are who you are and that’s fine.

Q: Is the PeopleMaps personality test like Myers Briggs?

A: Both PeopleMaps and Myers Briggs are Jungian systems. Myers Briggs requires training to properly interpret what it says. PeopleMaps writes in plain English so that everyone can immediately understand what it says and apply it to their lives.

Q: How accurate is the PeopleMaps personality test?

A: Have a read at our testimonials as this is the real measure of accuracy. Typically you should agree with between 80 and 100% of the statements made. It is always worth sharing your report with someone that knows you as you may have blind spots in your personality, where you do not recognise a behaviour but others do.

Q: More questions means more accurate results right?

A: No. Actually the opposite is true. After 5 minutes or so candidate fatigue starts setting in and accuracy drops. it took PeopleMaps over a year to develop a 7 minute questionnaire; the shortest and most accurate questionnaire online today.

Further Reading

You may also enjoy reading about how we made a Personality Test  that is easy to use.