Trait-Based Assessments

Our job-related personality tests help you make better predictions

Over the years we have been conducting research on job-related personality traits needed for success on certain jobs. We have developed different Work Preferences Questionnaires (each containing a different set of personality scales) for hiring employees in the jobs indicated below. We offer both "full-version" and "short-version" WPQs for most jobs.

Work Preferences Questionnaires by job group

Short Version

Non-Exempt Jobs

Jobs involving work in the following areas: clerical, administrative, computer, building and grounds, manual, financial, employee relations, marketing and sales, and dispatching services


Short Version

Full Version

Collections Representative Jobs

Jobs involving interacting with individuals to persuade them to pay their debt according to a prescribed payment plan


Short Version

Full Version

Customer Service Representative Jobs

Jobs involving interacting with customers to provide information, resolve problems, address complaints, and promote products and services (optional)


Short Version

Full Version

Technical Support Jobs

Jobs involving locating and marking underground utilities, inspecting damages to utilities, installing utilities, and installing cable and wireless communications systems


Short Version

Full Version

Appliance Repair Technician Jobs

Jobs involving repairing furnaces, central air conditioners, appliances, and other equipment


Short Version

Full Version

Manufacturing Assembler Jobs

Jobs involving assembling or fabricating components in a manufacturing environment


Short Version

Full Version

Machine Operator / Machinist Jobs

Jobs involving the operation and maintenance of machines in a manufacturing environment


Short Version

Full Version

Product and Material Handler Jobs

Jobs involving receiving, storing, gathering, and distributing products and materials

Complete a free personality test and learn something about yourself

  • Our free personality test takes only about 10 minutes.
  • Learn how our personality tests work.
  • Get some interesting feedback on job-related personality traits.

Skills tests don't tell you everything you want to know

Suppose you gave applicants several ability tests. Would you make your employment decisions based solely on this information? Or would you want to know more about these applicants? If you're like most people, you probably want to know whether or not they would:

  • Come to work on time
  • Work cooperatively with other employees
  • Put in a hard day's work every day
  • Pay attention to their quality of work
  • Stay with the company for a reasonable period of time

When it comes down to it, applicants are really the only source of information

For legal reasons, employers usually are afraid to say anything about their ex-employees. You can't depend on previous employers to give you any kind of meaningful information about job applicants. Therefore, you need to rely almost entirely on applicants for the information upon which you make your hiring decisions. But how good is this information?

The type of information you get from applicants makes the difference

You need accurate, relevant information to help you make predictions about people's chances for job success. The main method used by most companies to get information from applicants is an unstructured job interview. But most interviews conducted today provide limited, and often worthless, information.

Organizations are much better off using structured, sophisticated techniques for obtaining the kind of information they need. It appears that the real trick for getting good information has to do with what you ask for and how you ask for it.

Rely on well-designed personality tests, not luck, to select good employees

Sometimes you get lucky and hire someone who becomes a top performer in your company. Since good luck is so unpredictable, however, you need to rely on something more reliable when you are making an employment decision.

After many years of research, we came up with a simple, fast, and economical solution. We created personality tests that help you predict how well individuals will perform on the job.

Employers may use personality tests legally

Some employers do not realize that personality tests are legal to use when hiring employees. Certain people feel that personality tests have no place in the recruitment and selection process. But using a personality inventory has been found to be as good as or even better than using other types of tests, such as skills tests, for predicting job success.

From a legal standpoint, the bottom line for any selection procedure, including the use of personality tests, is that it does not result in "adverse impact." Personality assessments may be used legally for selecting employees as long as the tests are job-related and do not work to the disadvantage of members of a race, sex, or ethnic group.

Certain personality traits contribute to job success

Research has shown that a person's traits, interests, and motivation contribute significantly to job success. If you knew more about people's personal characteristics, you could make more informed hiring decisions. That's why we developed a special personality assessment, the Work Preferences Questionnaire (WPQ), which measures important personality traits needed for effective job performance.

Our approach for helping businesses is practical, not academic

  • Self-report tests often measure clinical personality traits that do not relate to business objectives.
  • Academic approaches for measuring personality traits usually require people to use rating scales or to interpret the meaning of adjectives.
  • Our approach measures job-related personality traits without using complex rating scales, and our personality testing process provides a practical personality profile for making hiring decisions.
  • Complete a free personality test to find out how our Work Preferences Questionnaires work.