Can the 16 Personalities test be used for hiring?

Personality tests can be a great way of identifying how candidates might fit into your company. One of these – the 16 Personalities test – can be used for hiring, but recruiters should be wary of relying too much on it.

Overreliance on a single candidate assessment can lead to bias in hiring, imbalanced teams, a lack of diversity, and more. However, if you use the 16 Personalities test responsibly, your workplace and existing teams can thrive when you hire new people.

In this article, we’ll show you how to use the 16 Personalities test in your hiring campaigns, covering benefits, best practices, and pitfalls to avoid.

What is the 16 Personalities test?

The 16 Personalities test is a self-reporting assessment that categorizes people into 16 different personality types based on four dichotomies:

• Extraversion (aka Extroversion) (E) vs. Introversion (I): This measures where people gain energy. Extraverts (aka extroverts) are social butterflies who thrive on interactions with different people, while introverts work more independently and prefer to “recharge their batteries” alone.

• Sensing (S) vs. Intuition (N): This scale is about how individuals process information. Sensing types are detail-oriented, focusing on what's right in front of them. Intuitive types are big-picture dreamers, always thinking about what could be.

• Thinking (T) vs. Feeling (F): Thinkers like to analyze data and use facts for decision-making. Meanwhile, feeling types prioritize empathy and always consider how their decisions affect those around them.

• Judging (J) vs. Perceiving (P): The final of the four scales indicates how people approach their lives. Judgers are planners who like structure and organization. Perceivers are more spontaneous, keeping their options open and going with the flow.

Combining the letters gives you a four-letter code as a personality type. 

So, an introvert with a preference for intuitive information processing, making decisions with feeling, and a judging approach to life would be INFJ. Meanwhile, the opposite – ESTP – is an extravert who processes information via their five senses, analyzes data using facts, and approaches life with more spontaneity. 

Each has its own strengths, weaknesses, and preferences. For instance, an INFJ is empathic and value-driven but can be perfectionistic and conflict-avoidant. An ESTP is very adaptable and hands-on but can also take risks and be quite blunt in communication.

Benefits of using 16 Personalities for hiring

The 16 Personalities test can be a useful tool in the right hands. Recruiters can use the test to:

1. Gain greater insight into candidates

16 Personalities offers valuable insights into candidates’ soft skills, like teamwork, adaptability, and leadership – which aren’t always immediately evident with traditional assessment methods like resume screening and interviews. 

It also highlights how candidates prefer to work – including whether they thrive in collaborative environments or enjoy being “lone wolves,” how they process information, and how they make decisions.

Ultimately, the test may show how well a candidate fits the job – especially when hiring managers can use the results to tailor more specific, probing interview questions. 

2. Build great teams from the ground up

The 16 Personalities test offers a perfect foundation for recruiters who have to build teams from scratch rather than expand existing ones. 

As mentioned, each type has unique strengths and weaknesses that hirers can tap into and learn to harness – such as ISFPs’ harmonious way of working or ENTJs’ bold vision. Recruiters who understand the different types can build diverse teams with members who truly complement each other. 

Plus, they can avoid creating imbalanced teams where just a few particular types are overrepresented. For example, ESTJs can be very effective, but too many people trying to manage people or processes in one team will probably create tension.

3. Improve existing teams

Using the 16 Personalities test can also help recruiters address existing imbalances or ongoing tensions within existing teams.

For example, say the recruiter knows their hyper-organized, ISTJ-heavy team needs creative injection from an ENFP to really excel. They can find candidates with these traits to help make the team stronger.

More diverse and dynamic teams mean better problem-solving, communication, and decision-making in the long run. New hires complement and enhance existing team dynamics rather than disrupt them.

4. Nourish company culture

The 16 Personalities test can also help recruiters find candidates who are great culture adds – meaning they contribute to (and not just fit with) the spirit of the company and its employees. 

For example, a company that prizes a startup environment where innovative thinking matters more than anything will be a natural home for many ENTP individuals.

This has a domino effect: People who feel like they gel with their company’s culture are more likely to be engaged and, therefore, less likely to quit.

5. Encourage self-reflection

When used as part of a comprehensive hiring process, the 16 Personalities test can help new hires explore their strengths, weaknesses, and communication styles and perhaps even uncover blind spots. 

Within existing teams, different members can use the test results to better understand each other’s perspectives and preferences, contributing to a stronger sense of togetherness and harmony. 

Potential limitations of using the 16 personalities test during recruitment

The 16 Personalities isn’t a replacement for the hiring process. You should use it as part of a comprehensive hiring process and watch out for the following limitations:

1. Personality type doesn’t always correlate with performance or behavior in the workplace

You might be tempted to use personality types as a short-hand for job roles, such as INTJs as the perfect analysts or ESFJs as great sales managers. However, this is misleading because personality type frequently doesn’t predict how someone will do on the job. 

For example, a sales team of smooth-talking ESTPs and personable ESFPs won’t necessarily outperform one with INFJs and INTJs. Introverts can be talkative when they need to be! 

Similarly, because it’s a self-reporting questionnaire, the test isn’t always consistent with people’s actual behavior in the workplace. For example, just because someone is an ENTJ doesn’t mean they’ll always be organizing and improving workflows as soon as they step foot in an office.

2. Over-hiring certain types might lead to imbalanced teams

Sometimes, recruiters make hiring decisions based on a narrow profile of how they expect a candidate to behave and perform at work. 

For example, imagine a company hears that INTPs make the best developers, so they hire only these types to build a development team. This company would end up with a team of perfectionists who experience ongoing misunderstandings. A few feeling and sensor types in the mix would likely have kept the team on track and in harmony.

3. The 16 Personalities test might encourage biases

If some recruiters are used to favoring certain personality types over others, they might end up thinking that only those types can fulfill the roles for which the company is hiring. 

It can also be easy to overlook the nuance of different work environments, job requirements, and company culture when assessing the suitability of candidates for certain roles. Of course, personality tests like 16 Personalities can help hirers find great cultural-add candidates, but bias can sneak in in some situations. 

For example, a recruiter in an ESTJ-dominated company culture may instinctively feel that an INFP candidate wouldn’t be a good fit. However, that same INFP could’ve spent years exceeding expectations in a company similar to the one they’re trying to join. Should they be written off as a viable candidate? Of course not. Assess candidates on the strength of their whole candidacy.

Being mindful of the diversity of strengths and weaknesses across the entire 16 Personalities model helps break down stereotypes and minimize natural, creeping bias during hiring – keeping teams vibrant.

How to incorporate the 16 Personalities test into your hiring strategy

To get the most out of the 16 Personalities test and avoid unsavory pitfalls, follow these best practices:

1. Build it into the hiring process

Don’t replace your entire candidate evaluation process with the 16 Personalities test. While it’s useful for predicting how someone might work and behave on the job, it’s far from being a shortcut. 

A comprehensive recruitment strategy includes personality tests, competency-based tests, and traditional assessments like interviews. 

When used alongside other tests – like the DISC personality test and role-specific tests – the 16 Personalities can improve your overall hiring process by painting well-rounded, comprehensive candidate profiles that showcase what they can do in the workplace. 

In other words, use the 16 Personalities test to help inform your hiring decisions but never as the sole deciding factor.

2. Focus on skills first

While you shouldn’t ignore candidates’ personality traits, their skills are a better indicator of whether they can do a job. Assess candidates’ abilities first – for example, by using role-specific tests – and then check for personality and culture add. 

This approach is particularly useful when deciding between two equally qualified candidates for a single role. You will have already evaluated their skills, but perhaps one candidate’s personality type would be a better fit for your current team dynamics.

3. Guide candidates with constructive feedback

Personality assessments are helpful for hirers, but fundamentally, they’re tools that allow people to understand themselves better. Offer to help candidates interpret their test results to understand their strengths and weaknesses better – and how they can grow and improve. 

For example, when making a job offer, give candidates a tailored plan for how they might improve certain aspects of their performance when they’re on the job.

Hire with the TestGorilla 16 Personalities test today

The 16 personalities test is an invaluable tool for recruiters looking to enhance their hiring process. 

While it can encourage bias and doesn’t necessarily indicate job performance, recruiters who effectively build 16 Personalities into the hiring process and focus on skills-first hiring can build great teams while avoiding imbalances that can disrupt workflows and cause tension.

TestGorilla offers the 16 Personalities test alongside several other personality tests – and hundreds of skills, cognitive abilities, and aptitude tests – you can use in your hiring processes. Assessments are scientifically backed, customizable, and quick to complete.

Explore TestGorilla’s test library and sign up for a free account to start making smarter hiring decisions today.