Big Five Personality Test

What is a Big Five personality test?

A Big Five personality test is a scientific tool that measures five key traits of personality. These traits are Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Emotional Stability. Together, they are called the Big Five. This model is also known as the Five-Factor model or the OCEAN model. Because the Big Five personality test is based on sound science, many organizations use it to help with hiring and personnel selection.

The most used Big Five personality test: The Bridge Personality

The Bridge Personality is a popular Big Five personality test that helps understand employees or job applicants. It takes about 45 minutes to complete, and participants receive a report on their scores in 34 different skills right away. This test is reliable and useful for career development and hiring. It uses algorithms to adjust questions based on relevance, which helps prevent people from trying to manipulate their answers or respond in ways that they think are more socially acceptable.

Order a Big Five personality test

• Available only for businesses and organizations;
• You can order a Big Five personality test at the order page for online assessments;
• We will set up the personality test within 30 minutes;
• The Big Five assessment report is available immediately after completion;
• For large volume usage, consider getting your own account on The Bridge Assessment Platform.

Sample report of the Big Five personality test

You can view a sample report of the Big Five personality test here. This report shows the scores on the 34 Big Five competencies. These competencies can be used for almost any job profile. This report is very suitable for use in recruitment, selection, and HR.

Sample page from the Big Five report

Buying tests from TestGroup: individual purchase or subscription

At TestGroup, you can order tests in different ways, either individually (per candidate) or through your own account (with credits or unlimited use).

• If you test occasionally, opt for individual test purchases. This is cost-effective if you need fewer than 10 tests per year.
• Want a competitive rate without high upfront costs? Consider an account with credits.
• If you want the lowest price per test and unlimited testing throughout the year, go for an account with unlimited usage.
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• In your account, you will find all tests and online assessments from TestGroup.
• No mandatory training. Our TestGroup consultants are always ready to provide free advice.
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The Big Five Personality Test: 34 competencies

The Big Five theory is an important model for understanding personality, recognized by many psychologists. Studies show that we can describe personality using five main traits: extraversion, agreeableness, emotional stability, conscientiousness, and openness. In The Bridge Personality, these traits are organized into four groups: Directing, Output, Attitude, and Inspiration. Each group includes three subcategories, making a total of 34 competencies based on the Big Five test. This test can be used for almost any job type and provides scores for all 34 competencies.

What are the Big Five personality dimensions?

The Big Five are 5 personality traits (character traits) which have been scientifically proven to predict future work behavior. For this reason, Big Five personality tests are widely used for recruitment and selection. The Big Five personality facets are:

• Openness to Experience - The extent to which one is open to seeking new experiences. People who score high on this scale are curious and imaginative. Those who score low are practical and value the facts of the here and now.
  
• Conscientiousness - The degree to which someone works in an organized and focused manner, or unstructured and aimlessly.
• Extraversion - The amount to which someone needs social interaction. Extroverted people have a strong need for interactions and are social, energetic, talkative, person-oriented, and optimistic. Introverted people prefer to work alone or in a quiet environment.
• Agreeableness - The extent to which a person typically behaves in a compliant, tolerant, and helpful manner, or conversely, competitive and less cooperative.
• Emotional Stability - This is the opposite extreme of neuroticism. Neurotic people worry a lot, are insecure, and nervous. Emotionally stable people are satisfied with themselves, relaxed, and less emotional.

Why do organizations use Big Five personality tests?

There are various reasons why companies and organizations administer Big Five personality tests. Below are a few examples:

• Personality, intelligence, and education influence how someone feels and performs at work. By administering personality tests, one can find the best possible match between an individual's personality and the requirements of a specific role or company culture.
• For example: extremely introverted people will likely perform better in roles or companies with less personal contact, while extroverted people might be better suited for commercial roles.
• Some roles require a high degree of precision and carefulness, while other roles demand creativity and flexibility. Personality tests can help identify these traits.
• Some people enjoy working in a team and are therefore more accommodating, while others are more of a leader type and less accepting, or extroverted. Personality tests can help identify these traits.

How to use the Big Five personality test for recruitment and selection

The Big Five personality test is the most widely used personality test for recruitment and selection within organizations. This guide describes in 3 steps how to properly implement this test in your organization.

The Big Five personality test provides valuable insights into the intrinsic properties of applicants. When integrated properly into the selection process, it can be a powerful tool for determining the best match for your organization.

1. Preparing for the administration of the test

• Order the Big Five personality test: you can order the test individually (per candidate) or take an advantageous subscription.
• Transparency: clearly communicate the purpose of the test to candidates.
• Confidentiality: maintain the privacy of the test results.
• Legal considerations: use only tests that are valid, reliable, and scientifically substantiated.

2. Using multiple selection methods

Although the Big Five personality test provides valuable insights, it should not be the sole determining factor. It is essential to:

• Combine it with other selection methods, such as a cognitive ability test;
• Use the selection interview to discuss the scores on the test and structure interview questions around these scores for deeper insights. You can do this with a STAR interview.

3. Drawing conclusions from test results

For recruiters and managers, the Big Five test is an essential tool for optimizing recruitment and selection. To maximize its benefits:

• Be aware of potential biases and limitations of the test. A Big Five personality test can predict up to 25% of a candidate's work success.
• The Big Five personality test is, therefore, only a tool that you can use as a supplement to your other recruitment tools, such as the interview, the resume, and other tests.
• Ensure your assessment remains free of biases. Be aware of halo effects.
• Combine the test result with an interview to get a broad picture of a candidate.

The difference between the Big Five personality test, the 16 Personality test and the 4-color personality test

The Big Five personality framework and the 16 Personality test categorize people differently. The Big Five does not put individuals into set types. Instead, it measures five main personality traits: Openness, Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, Extraversion, and Neuroticism. Everyone has these traits, which affect their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. The Big Five uses a scale for each trait, giving a percentage score that shows where someone falls on each trait's spectrum.

The 16 Personality test sorts people based on four main traits: Introversion vs. Extraversion, Intuition vs. Sensing, Feeling vs. Thinking, and Perceiving vs. Judging. These traits show tendencies, so a person might act 'Feeling' or 'Intuition' but can also show 'Thinking' or 'Sensing' at times. The test gives a four-letter code that matches one of the 16 Jung Types. This is different from the Big Five, which rates people on high, moderate, or low levels across its five areas without labeling them as a specific type.

The 4-color personality test is popular for team-building. It uses four colors – Blue, Green, Red, and Yellow – to represent different personality styles. This simple model helps improve team performance and communication through a 4-color team report. Red stands for assertiveness, Blue means analytical traits, Green shows empathy, and Yellow represents energy. While this test is useful for initial assessments, it is not as detailed as the Big Five or 16 Personality frameworks