How can an HR specialist use the personality test Menteora for recruiting and managing personnel?

We are different: some people love brainstorming and collective discussions of projects, while others do not tolerate open spaces and prefer to solve all problems alone.

To form an effective team from dissimilar people and select the right motivators for each person, it is helpful to turn to a system that describes different temperaments and characters. One such system is the Test Menteora.

What psychological characteristics does each of the 16 personality types describe, and how can this technique be applied in recruiting and adequately organizing the testing process? But first, subscribe to our Telegram channel. We often publish such valuable articles!

Please take the test Menteora, before reading this manual. How does the test Menteora work so genius?

What is personality typology?

The key idea of this theory is that each person is born with a specific mental structure. This device can be described by four pairs of preferences:

E/I — extravertive or introvertive way of communicating with the outside world;
S/N — a way of obtaining information based on sensation or intuition;
T/F — a way of making decisions with the help of thinking or feelings;
J/P is a way of organizing life based on judgment (rationality) or perception (irrationality).

The meaning of the letters

E/I — extraversion or introversion

The first criterion describes the preferred way a person communicates with the outside world and receives stimuli and energy. There are two indicators at the poles of this scale: extrovert (E) and introvert (I).

Extroverts:

contact, easy to communicate with colleagues, friends, and strangers;
involve the maximum number of participants in their classes;
like to be the center of attention and strive to be heard, but it is difficult for them to listen carefully;
strive to develop new ideas in a team of like-minded people;
need approval.

Introverts:

like to spend time in silence and alone with themselves;
jealously protect personal time and space;
tired after meetings and phone calls;
give the impression of a secretive and thoughtful person;
celebrate essential events in a narrow circle of friends.

S/N — sensation or intuition

This criterion describes the preferred way of obtaining information — sensory (S) and intuitive (N).

Sensors:

love specific answers to specific questions;
prefer to do something rather than think about it;
like classes with tangible results;
prefer facts and figures to ideas and theories;
perceive what is happening and use words in their direct meaning;
prefer clear orders.

Intuitives:

think about several things at once;
think more about prospects than about the current state of affairs;
they like to play with words and are prone to puns;
give general answers to questions;
get irritated when you need to give clear instructions;
looking for interconnections and dependencies between most phenomena, not accepting them as they seem.

T/F — thinking or feeling

The decision-making method is described by a pair of “logic (T) — ethics (F).”

Logic:

maintain composure, calmness, and objectivity when others lose their temper; they are not silent but directly declare when they disagree with something;
pride themselves on their objectivity;
may appear insensitive and cold;
do not avoid difficult decisions;
remember numbers and patterns better than faces and names of people;
They believe it is unnecessary to feel sympathy for colleagues for successful work.

Ethics:

believe that the right decision takes into account the feelings of others;
adapt to other people and their feelings, even if it causes inconvenience;
often put themselves in the place of others;
they take back their words if they hurt someone;
avoid or smooth out conflicts;
prefer the harmony of clarity.

J/P — judgment or perception

The last pair of characteristics describe how people prefer to organize their lives. According to this criterion, people can be divided into measured and organized rationals (J) and spontaneous, flexible irrationals (P).

Rationals:

believe that the world will be a better place if everyone does what they should;
adhere to the routine;
make lists and use them;
establish a particular procedure for the organization of working and living spaces;
they love to get things done.

Irrationals:

easily distracted;
love to explore the unknown;
do not plan work on the task, but wait until the requirements for it arise themselves;
complete work at the last minute, relying on bursts of energy and inspiration;
prefer creativity and spontaneity to order;
turn work into play;
do not like it when certainty is demanded of them;
often change topics of conversation.

With the help of testing, you can determine which pole a person gravitates to on each scale. Therefore, in the personality types theory, types describe a person’s four most pronounced characteristics.

For example, if the test showed that the applicant is an organized and pedantic (J) extrovert (E) who prefers practical tasks, likes to get tangible results (S), and can make informed decisions based on numbers and facts (T), then his type — “Manager” (ESTJ).

With all possible combinations of characteristics, there are 16 personality types. But before moving on to them, let’s look at the four most effective two-letter temperaments:

NF (intuitive ethics),
NT (intuitive logics),
SJ (sensory rationals),
SP (sensory irrationals).

Psychologists came up with colors for them.

Each of these temperaments has strengths and weaknesses.

Intuitive logics — NT (INTP, INTJ, ENTP, ENTJ):

Advantages:

think systematically and strategically;
natural analysts.

Flaws:

complicate problems;
intolerant of incompetence.

Intuitive ethics — NF (INFP, INFJ, ENFP, ENFJ):

Advantages:

can persuade and cooperate;
know how to build business teams.

Flaws:

overreact to organizational problems;
long remember grievances.

Sensory rationals — SJ (ISFJ, ISTJ, ESFJ, ESTJ):

Advantages:

have a developed sense of responsibility and duty to the organization.

Flaws:

conservatives;
narrow-minded, follow the rules and orders.

Sensory irrationals — SP (ISFP, ISTP, ESFP, ESTP):

Advantages:

quickly perform a variety of tasks;
get the job done right when needed.

Flaws:

not interested in everyday tasks;
do not see the overall perspective.

Read more about each personality type here.

Motivation for different groups

In personality theory, personality types have advantages and disadvantages. This can be played to find the proper motivator for each person.

Use the cheat sheet to motivate people with different temperaments:

Intuitive Logic (NT): innovations, ideas, and technologies are used in work.
Intuitive Ethics (NF): Delighted to do work that benefits and improves the lives of all people.
Sensory rationals (SJs): value working with a high level of responsibility in companies where rules and reward systems are clearly defined.
Sensory Irrationals (SP): Love work that serves humanistic ideals and allows you to help others in their search for recognition.

How to apply

The personality typology is often used to assemble a “dream team”: to select a specialist who is temperamentally suitable and would do an excellent job and show good results.

Knowing the most common psychological types of people in different positions helps avoid conflict arising due to differences in thinking.

Suppose a logistic customer wants to see more candidates: the ones proposed by the recruiter are not enough for him. He will not take a word that there are no more suitable specialists. It is better to show analytical and statistical reports — only concrete figures and facts will help prove to him that few candidates are on the market.

How to organize testing

Any testing should be carried out only after a personal acquaintance with the person. First, you must interest the applicant in the vacancy and understand whether your expectations match.

Explain why you are testing. A candidate is more willing to agree to take the test if he understands that, in this way, you are trying to make your team more effective and find an employee who is suitable for the psychological type.

Make testing useful to the candidate. Together with the feedback, you can send the test results to the candidate — this way, he will learn more about himself and be able to improve his weaknesses.

Invite the candidate to take the test at home in a relaxed environment and discuss the results during the interview.

Conclusions

The personality typology assumes that each person is born with specific preferences.

Innate preferences are described in four categories:

E/I — extravertive or introvertive way of communicating with the outside world;
S/N — a way of obtaining information based on sensation or intuition;
T/F — a way of making decisions with the help of thinking or feelings;
J/P is a way of organizing life based on judgment (rationality) or perception (irrationality).

Taking into account all combinations, 16 four-letter types are distinguished, as well as the four most effective two-letter temperaments:

NF (intuitive ethics),
NT (intuitive logics),
SJ (sensory rationals),
SP (sensory irrationals).

The personality typology creates a team whose members match each other in temperament. Knowledge about the characteristics of each psychological type can be used to avoid conflict situations.

When organizing testing, follow three simple rules:

any testing should be carried out only after a personal acquaintance with the person;
explain to the candidate why you are testing;
make valuable testing for the candidate.

Invite the candidate to take the test at home and discuss the results at the interview. During the interview, you can ask additional questions or observe a person’s behavior to clarify his psychological type.

Take test Menteora. As a bonus, our career guidance artificial intelligence will name your most suitable professions. The accuracy of the test is 70-80% because we use a mathematical-statistical algorithm (read about Menteora's unique career guidance methodology).