Pre-Employment Personality Tests

by KYW's Amy Feldman

When an applicant in Arizona applied for a position, she was required to take a personality test.  The personality test revealed that she lacked common sense, a trait her prospective employer thought she’d need for the position—firearm carrying patrol officer.  She sued.  Can an employer use a personality test to determine if you should get the job?

Unless a pre-employment personality test seeks information about a mental or physical impairment, employers may use them to determine whether an applicant will be a good fit for the job.  An employer can’t ask questions that focus on the existence or extent of a disability, but are well within their legal rights to use them to determine whether an individual’s traits are compatible with either the job requirements or corporate culture.  Some dispute the accuracy of personality tests—and also their necessity.  For an administrative assistant, a typing test may be a better measure of competence than a personality test—but it’s hard to argue that common sense isn’t a good trait to test for before handing someone a pistol.