Many readers of MPG articles and newsletters are also users of the eTest online testing platform*. As such, they are familiar with the basic report, The Hiring Manager’s Confidential Interview Guide (described below). However, they may not be aware that there are three other types of reports, available from the initial eTest assessment data that can be of assistance in hiring, developmental and coaching activities. Brief descriptions of each type of report are presented below, but there are also endless varieties of customized reports available for unique jobs or organizational requirements.
The Confidential Interview Guide is a tool primarily for selection. It provides an in-depth analysis of the candidate’s personality and aptitude characteristics as they relate to the workplace. It consists of a narrative description of the individual, a set of Targeted Interview Probes (TIPs) and a profile of scores.
General personality characteristics can offer insights into how a person might thrive in a wide variety of jobs and company cultures. This report includes information on the “dna of personality,” the factors that are consistent and stable over time and that affect our behavior in a wide range of situations. A broad professional consensus is that people can be described effectively using five major dimensions of personality (the Five Factor Theory, or Big Five):
- Extraversion (the orientation towards people and the external world)
- Emotional Reactivity (the tendency to be anxious, high strung or impatient)
- Behavioral Control (which includes discipline, conscientiousness and detail-orientation)
- Agreeableness (the inclination to be affable, harmonious and cooperative)
- Complexity (the orientation towards the world of strategic, conceptual and complex ideas)
The interview guide includes the candidate’s profile on the Big Five personality factors described above and their sub-scores, job functional similarity (administrative, customer service, managerial, sales, technical, etc.); empirically-derived job-related scales (dependability, motivation, stress tolerance, etc.) and observations about the person’s problem-solving approach, interpersonal style and motivational makeup. Sample Customer Service Profile.
The Developmental Report is written for job candidates or incumbents in case you want to provide feedback and or to offer a roadmap for coaching purposes. It provides a narrative description of the candidate’s personality traits, a set of developmental suggestions and a score profile. It is useful as a standalone tool for further self-reflection and personal/career development or as part of a more comprehensive coaching process. It includes the Personality Profile information from the Hiring Manager’s Interview Guide report, a more developmentally-oriented version of the narrative description and several targeted developmental suggestions. Developmental Report
The Leadership Report is designed for use as a developmental tool. It may also be used as another data point in selection, but should not be the sole criteria for a hiring or promotion decision. It is a narrative report providing a description of the person’s general style and likely behavior in a position of influence or leadership, to include probable assets, de-railers and developmental suggestions. Leadership Report
Based on the standard eTest Profile, the Sales Report is the result of rigorous research using real-world data from a wide variety of organizations and sales jobs. There is no one best sales profile for all jobs but there are certain traits and behaviors that increase the chances for success in most sales jobs. Our research indicates that sales people, and sales jobs themselves, can be effectively and usefully described using four major dimensions:
- General Sales Similarity (an overall scale indicating how similar the person is to people in a very wide range of sales jobs)
- Account Acquisition (the traditional hunter-farmer factor)
- Strategic Selling (important in developing complex solutions for clients)
- Team Coordination (necessary for marshalling an array of resources for the client)
In combination with in-depth information about the Big Five personality factors and the empirically-derived scales mentioned in the Hiring Manager’s Guide, the Sales Report describes a candidate’s Interpersonal Style, Motivational Makeup, Problem-Solving Approach, Sales Leadership Style, Probable Assets, Potential Liabilities and Developmental Suggestions. Sales Report
We can develop an almost unlimited number of Customized Reports from the eTest standard battery. Depending on the scope of your hiring needs, you may wish to develop custom reports and job scales. If you’d like to test-drive the system and/or get more information about customizing and validating online assessment tests for your organization, call Cheryl at 800-700-1315 for details. Or email us with a brief synopsis of your needs. One of our licensed psychologists will be in touch shortly to further explore how we may be able to help.
*eTest.net (established in 1996 by the psychologists of MPG) was one of the first online employment assessment companies. The standard eTest battery was developed from interview and testing data of more than 14,000 people over a ten year period. Over 140,000 people have taken the eTest personality inventory in its current form. See this Prezi for a quick overview of the company.