Extrovert vs. introvert – does it matter during recruitment process?
TLDR; – do personal traits (so called Big 5) influence our choices regarding recruitment process? If they do, maybe we are all wrong about the way we are hiring people. If you want to jump directly to survey, click here.
There are studies that show extroverts perform better at some types of the job. For example, they perform better as a salesman. There are jobs, where introverts perform better. For example – accounting. Some IT jobs, require more focus and isolation – for example sysadmin. There are jobs in IT where you should be definitely an outgoing person – for example business analyst. However, we rarely test what are personal traits of candidates (it’s not easy to do so), but what’s even worse, we don’t even think about the recruitment process in terms of personal traits.
This is exactly what I plan to study. I want to know, whether there is a significant correlation between personal traits and types of recruitment processes.
How this study was planned? First of all, I have decided to use already existing research and survey to decide what your personal traits are. I will combine these results with a MaxDiff analysis. Here, I am asking about your preferences towards recruitment processes. There is a research that shows estimated accuracy of various recruitment techniques. I have decided to aim at most promising ones only. Numbers in parenthesis tell you to what extent can you assume there is a chance a candidate will perform at work. The most promising methods are: General Mental Ability (.65), Employment Interviews – structured and unstructured (.58), Job Knowledge Tests (.48), Job Tryout Procedure – homework (.44), Knowledge-Based Situational, Work Sample Tests (.33), Judgment Tests (.26). Eventually, I have decided to drop GMA tests – they are controversial. First of all, there is no way one can force candidates to take them, second – you need a psychologist on board. Not every company can afford that.
So, these are the key components of the survey: Big 5, MaxDiff, most promising methods of recruitment. Now, to the survey itself.
I can’t tell whether this is a rule of thumb, but I find a typical study to be little bit “raw”. This is why I have built simple page around the topic: https://big-five-hr.org. The plan here was to give as little explanation as needed but not less. And a little of human touch as well. I hope I made it – with the only two sentences on the page. From there, you can jump directly to the survey: Survey. Now, all I can do is to wait for results and see what can I read out of it.
What’s in it for you? You will be able to learn about results as soon as they are ready – you will be able to learn about your personal traits, and how they affect your recruitment preferences. This might be a plus. You can, for example, learn what kind of recruitment processes you really don’t like, and why.
THERE IS NO WAY I CAN IDENTIFY RESPONDENTS IN ANY OTHER WAY THAN BY
UNIQUE SURVEY ID
I plan short time quarantine for the final report (1-2 months long). People who participated in the research will the first to get complete results. I plan to release results somewhere around May 2024. In addition to that, you will contribute to a psychological research that may, in a way, affect the recruitment processes in IT.
So, if you have some time to spare, I will appreciate your effort. If you want to answer questions in the survey, click the link below.