I imagine that finally getting a job offer will feel like I just walked out onto a balcony under which tens of thousands of people are waiting and cheering for me, their anticipation growing from the wait, each one of them extremely excited, emotional, and happy to be sharing in the glorious moment. I now know for SURE that this job will not be the papacy (Go Francis!)… I am still, however, waiting for the white smoke to rise for me instead of all the black stuff that has been plaguing me for the past months. The anticipation just keeps on growing doesn’t it!
Lately as part of applying and interviewing for a few jobs I have had to take tests. Skills tests and personality tests. I’ve done these before but they have been particularly relevant recently. The skills test I took I don’t even want to talk about because it made me feel like an idiot. I took the personality test for a different position after completing a phone interview with the hiring manager. She said “Great, well the next step is for you to take a personality test and if that goes well we will contact you about an in-person interview.” She said something along the lines of how I shouldn’t be concerned about the personality test and she was sure it would not be a problem for me. I should hope not!
I’ve sensed a pattern of people really stressing “personality” when they are describing their ideal candidate. I’ve heard several people say, “We don’t really care about your experience as long as you have a good personality.” I don’t even know what that means. To me that can sound like they’re looking for a new best friend or significant other. I interviewed with the vice president of marketing at one company and he immediately told me that he hadn’t really looked at my resume yet (interesting), that he likes to judge based on personality. He proceeded to ask me where I would tell him to go if he wanted to go out somewhere on my college’s campus… I understand that a person’s personality is important to know in order to see if they will do a good job, if they will fit in with the culture of the company, etc. In the test I took I could tell by the questions that they want to know how much you like to work on your own or with people, how detail-oriented you are, how you handle stress, blahblahblah.
But unless you are given one of these standardized tests the personality that hiring people see is just you sitting in front of them. You need to be charming, enthusiastic, articulate, convincing and seemingly just the greatest person they have ever met! In reality ya just gotta be yourself. Because trying to put on a different persona will just get you in trouble later. And if they give you a personality test they will REALLY know who you are. If you are trying to hide that you are a crazy person that test will figure it out people! Just kidding. It’s not that big of a deal.
I’ve heard people on the news saying that the first impression that they got from Pope Francis as he walked onto the balcony at Saint Peter’s was that he was old and seemed shy. Why didn’t they pick a younger man or someone who did a cartwheel onto that balcony and told a few jokes?? Because that’s not what it is all about. By looking into his background you will see that he is a strong, compassionate leader and the “shyness” people may have seen in him is HUMILITY. Also, I’m sure that it’s pretty nerve-wracking to just suddenly become the POPE.
So my point is that yes, personality is a good indication for how someone will perform at a job, but so are the actions that a person takes to reflect their character. So please, look at my resume before you interview me. I would be happy to tell you the best bar near campus or whatever but also about what experiences—life or work or education or otherwise—that I have that may be a better indication of whether I will do a good job!
À la missy 