How to interpret the results of a Big 5 (OCEAN) assessment

Personality assessments such as the Big Five (OCEAN) test have become popular in recruitment because they provide deeper insights into a candidate’s behavior, work style, and social interactions. However, HR professionals often struggle to turn personality test results into practical hiring decisions. 

Without proper score interpretation, you can make costly hiring mistakes that impact your team’s dynamics and productivity.

In this article, we focus on the Big Five Personality test score interpretation, explain how personality tests enable better hiring decisions, and share practical tips to get the most benefits from these assessments.

What is a Big 5 (OCEAN) personality type test and how does it work?

The Big 5 (OCEAN) Personality test is a type of screening assessment HR professionals use during the hiring process to better understand their candidates’ personalities. 

The OCEAN model of personality was developed in the 1980s based on an empirical psychological theory relating to five main human personality types from the Five-Factor Model (FFM) theory, which was advanced by renowned psychologists such as Lewis Goldberg, Paul Costa Jr., and Robert R. McCrae.

The five-factor model is the gold standard of personality testing, which means that administering Big 5 Personality tests can help you evaluate traits necessary for a productive work environment.

The goal of this test is for your candidates to self-evaluate their personality and behavior. They have 10 minutes to rank several statements on a questionnaire from one (disagree) to five (agree). 

The answers show how your applicants perform across five personality categories, which form the acronym of OCEAN:

• Openness to Experience

• Conscientiousness

• Extroversion

• Agreeableness

• Neuroticism

The Big 5 (OCEAN) Personality test is ideal for predicting how your candidates can grow and develop in any job role. However, keep in mind that administering psychometric personality tests to evaluate your candidates alone can lead to mis-hires because you aren’t measuring other crucial factors like hard and soft skills. 

We recommend that you use the Big 5 (OCEAN) test alongside other types of skills and personality tests to inform your interview process and gain more information about your candidates.

In fact, that’s exactly what LILAB did to stop making continuous hiring mistakes and improve recruitment efforts. The company was facing a serious issue with high instant turnover, which negatively impacted team performance and company growth.

To solve this problem, the organization incorporated a combination of skills and personality tests, including the 16 Personalities test. This approach helped the hiring team gain a deeper understanding of their candidates’ personalities and how well they align with current teams and the company’s vision.

As a result of holistic career personality test score interpretation, the company managed to make better hiring decisions and boost new hire retention to 90%.

Why Big 5 (OCEAN) tests are important for hiring

In addition to understanding how your candidates’ personalities align with certain projects and tasks, there are two reasons why Big 5 (OCEAN) tests are important for hiring:

1. Discover how your candidates’ personalities align with your company values

Big 5 Personality Test score interpretation helps you determine if your candidates’ behavior aligns with your company culture. For example, if your organization values innovation and creativity, candidates scoring high in openness can be a good fit because they’re typically more open to new experiences and ideas.

Understanding these traits also helps you build and nurture a diverse workplace culture. More importantly, it shows you whether a candidate can fit into your existing team dynamics and thrive in the role.

A recent study discovered that people with certain traits perform better in specific roles. For example, supervisors often score high in conscientiousness, which is associated with being organized, dependable, and detail-oriented.

2. Use the results as a basis for future training opportunities

Once you analyze the Big 5 Personality assessment test score, you can then use the results as a basis to build training and development opportunities to drive workplace productivity. 

For instance, your candidate could score high in neuroticism. Individuals with a neurotic personality type are more prone to stress, anxiety, and other mental health problems, which can sometimes hinder their ability to work effectively in high-pressure environments.

Your training opportunities could be based on building the specific skills that they lack, like building resilience, improving emotional stability, and maintaining team cohesion and collaboration.

TestGorilla's Big 5 Personality test is 100% free

The great thing about our Big 5 Personality test is that you can use it for 100% free. All you have to do is sign up for a TestGorilla account!

Sign up for your free forever plan today!

How to use a Big 5 (OCEAN) personality test the unbiased way

Although experience and education are often seen as the go-to criteria for hiring, they don’t always provide a complete picture of a candidate’s potential. In fact, past roles or degrees often don’t reflect current capabilities.

Skills-based hiring helps evaluate candidates in a more objective way because it measures skills and traits that directly impact job performance.

This strategy reduces implicit hiring bias, which is why 90% of employers improve diversity when focusing their hiring decisions on skills.

Keep in mind that diverse and inclusive companies are 36% more profitable, which emphasizes the importance of administering professional personality tests.

However, you need to use a multi-measure approach to make better, objective hiring decisions. That’s why it’s crucial to use the Big 5 (OCEAN) personality tests with other assessments. 

If you’re hiring a bookkeeper, for example, you can use the Big 5 (OCEAN) test to find out more about your candidates’ personalities and how they approach projects. It’s also vital to learn more about your candidates’ hard skills, such as their understanding of accounts payable or accounts receivable, with a reliable skills test.

In other words, we don’t recommend excluding candidates from your hiring process based on their Big Five personality traits alone. 

How to interpret the results of a Big 5 (OCEAN) personality test

Using a Big 5 (OCEAN) personality test at the beginning of your hiring process is important, but how should you interpret the results? Your candidates are measured across five different traits that make up the main dimensions of personality:

Your candidate can receive a high or low score for each of these five personality categories. Take a look at the Big 5 personality traits explained in more detail below.

1. Openness to Experience

The openness trait reflects how willing your candidate is to explore new opportunities within your organization. The score they receive determines how inquisitive they are in new situations and how open they are to new ideas.

• High openness score – Your candidates are willing to go on adventures, be creative, bring new ideas to the table, and use their imagination to make positive changes in the work environment. A candidate with a high openness score can cope well with changes at work but struggles with repetitive, mundane tasks that lack creativity. 

• Low openness score – A candidate prefers systematic and logical approaches to their work. They are less likely to embrace change and pick to maintain the status quo in terms of their work style. 

2. Conscientiousness

The conscientious personality trait represents your candidates’ attention to detail and diligence. It indicates how well-prepared your candidates are and whether they are likely to follow a structured schedule to meet deadlines.

• High conscientiousness score – Conscientious people prefer structured, ordered approaches to their work. They are ambitious and can use determination and preparedness to achieve their goals. Candidates with conscientious personality profiles are hard workers who prepare strategies and plans to optimize their work. 

• Low conscientiousness score – These candidates tend to be more flexible in their approach to work. Structures aren’t always required for candidates with low conscientiousness scores, and they don’t rely heavily on being organized. This could make it challenging to meet strict deadlines or manage time efficiently.

3. Extraversion

Extraversion measures your candidates’ sociability and how well they perform and gain energy when interacting with colleagues. It also indicates how comfortable they are in social situations, such as sharing ideas with team members.

• High extraversion score – Extroverted candidates are typically energized when interacting with co-workers and tend to be more productive in team discussions. However, these candidates could struggle with solo projects or working in remote environments.

• Low extraversion score – Your applicants have high levels of introversion and prefer working independently on projects, achieving their best work while alone. Introverted employees could struggle to collaborate or discuss ideas with team members.

4. Agreeableness

The agreeableness personality trait indicates the extent to which your candidates assist others. Agreeable team members contribute to a work environment where tasks and interactions with co-workers run like clockwork without problems or errors.

• High agreeableness score – A candidate with a high agreeableness score is likely to assist others with challenging tasks, collaborate with team members, and work towards resolving problems in the workplace.

• Low agreeableness score – Applicants tend to have more assertiveness, meaning they’re more forceful and headstrong in their ideas and opinions. Candidates with low agreeableness scores often need to work on being more sympathetic to others’ views and listening to other team members’ perspectives more.

5. Neuroticism

The neurotic personality trait represents the extent to which your candidates’ emotions influence their decisions and interactions. It also determines whether your candidates can cope well in high-pressure environments and set emotions aside in the work environment.

• High neuroticism score – Candidates find it hard to work in high-pressure situations because they struggle with their emotions and are highly concerned when they make mistakes. They prefer calmer work environments, which make it easier for them to avoid stress and mood swings.

• Low neuroticism score – Applicants can stay calm and work in a more stable, predictable way, despite high-pressure situations. These candidates also have a more positive outlook in terms of challenging projects and are generally better at maintaining their wellbeing.

Learn more about your candidates' personality traits with TestGorilla

Sign up for your free plan and get full use of all our online personality tests.

Try for free!

Why Big 5 (OCEAN) personality tests are beneficial to the hiring process

Now that we’ve explained the Big 5 Personality test score interpretation, let’s explore the specific benefits of using this assessment in your hiring process. This test helps you:

• Understand your candidates’ personalities better in a shorter time frame, reducing your time-to-hire

• Determine or adjust the management style for smoother adjustment and higher job satisfaction of new hires

• Suggest ways that your candidates can improve based on the results of the Big 5 (OCEAN) personality test

Using this test helps your candidates understand their strengths better and enables you to develop strategies to enhance their productivity.

For more questions from the Big 5 (OCEAN) test, check out the preview questions. 

Another key advantage of the Big 5 (OCEAN) test is its ability to make the evaluation process more objective. 

When multiple HR personnel or staff members assess a particular candidate, the test results provide a standardized measure, minimizing subjective biases.

With TestGorilla, administering personality tests is easy and scalable. You can include them across different stages of the hiring process to ensure consistency and reliability in your hiring decisions.

For example, if you’re hiring for a project manager role, you can pair the Big 5 (OCEAN) test with the Project Management test to assess a candidate’s personality traits and their specific project management skills. You can include up to five different tests to get a more objective and well-rounded hiring decision.

Reap the benefits of the Big 5 (OCEAN) Personality test for your hiring process

The insights gained through a Big 5 Personality test score interpretation help you eliminate bias, tailor interview questions, plan management strategies, and enhance training opportunities. 

However, it’s crucial to use this test in combination with other assessments to make well-rounded hiring decisions and avoid biases.

The great news is – the Big 5 (OCEAN) test is free with our Free forever plan. All you have to do is sign up for free and start screening your candidates the right way.

Want to see TestGorilla in action? Book a live demo to explore how our talent discovery platform can help you build a stronger team.

Big 5 Personality test score interpretation FAQs

If you’re curious about decoding the Big 5 personality test score meaning, check out the answers to the common questions below.

What 5 factors does the Big 5 (OCEAN) test measure?

The Big 5 (OCEAN) test measures five key personality traits – openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. These traits provide a comprehensive overview of a candidate’s personality, which helps employers understand their behavior, adaptability, and potential fit for the role. Each factor offers unique insights into how individuals interact with others and approach their work.

What does neuroticism mean in the Big 5 (OCEAN) test?

In the Big 5 (OCEAN) test, neuroticism refers to the extent to which an individual experiences negative emotions like anger, anxiety, and moodiness. A high score in neuroticism indicates a tendency to be more reactive to stress, while a low score suggests a calmer, more resilient personality. This trait helps predict how well a person can cope with pressure and challenges at work.

How do I read the results of the Big 5 (OCEAN) test?

For accurate Big 5 Personality test score interpretation, start by analyzing the score for each trait: openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. High scores indicate strong tendencies in that trait, while low scores suggest the opposite. For example, a high conscientiousness result means the candidate is likely organized and reliable.