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Questionnaire designs
The majority of questionnaires used in a work context are based on the individual choosing or responding to statements or words according to how well they describe them. Typically, you will be presented with a series of words or statements and asked to rate or rank them in some way. On the following pages are some examples of the kinds of questions you might be asked in a personality questionnaire. Such questionnaires are measures of ‘typical performance’ – that is, they are trying to assess how a person usually behaves, not the extremes of how they might behave in extraordinary circumstances. Other tests, either psychometric tests of ability, such as numerical and verbal reasoning tests, or school examination, are tests of ‘maximal performance’, which are designed to measure the best a person can possibly do in a field of performance.
Some questionnaires are very short, with only a single page of questions. However, questionnaires are often much longer and may have 200 or more questions. Longer questionnaires tend to provide more accurate and more detailed results, but they take some time to complete – up to an hour is not unusual. There is a trade-off between the length of the questionnaire and the detail of information about personality that can be gathered and the accuracy of measurement. Short questionnaires generally provide less detailed results but are quicker to complete. Some questionnaires look at as few as four or five aspects of personality, whereas others measure 30 or more. Employers will choose the design that best suits their needs, depending on how they want to use the results.
Some questionnaires are designed specifically for use in an employment context. These have questions or other content that are chosen to be relevant to the way people behave at work. Other questionnaires are designed for more general use, not only employment, and they tend to have broader content, which may include references to topics that are not relevant to work – relating to friends and hobbies, for example, not just employment and work contacts. A further group of questionnaires has been designed for clinical use with people who have psychological problems, and these can have very varied content and may sometimes even seem bizarre. They are not appropriate for use in a mainstream occupational context, and you should not be presented with them during a selection process. Only on rare occasions, such as when an employer refers an employee to a psychologist with some emotional problems, might such a questionnaire be used within employment.
Questionnaires can sometimes feel quite repetitive when you complete them. Some themes seem to be repeated throughout the questionnaire, and you may feel that you have already answered some of the questions. This is, in fact, unlikely, because questionnaires rarely repeat questions exactly. However, they frequently use a few quite similar questions to enhance the accuracy of measurement and the ability to differentiate between people. Repetition can also check the consistency of responses.
Because questionnaires are standardized instruments not all parts of every questionnaire will be relevant to every job. You may become aware of this when you are answering a questionnaire and some of the questions do not seem important for the sort of job you are applying for. Typically, an employer will look only at the relevant parts of the questionnaire in deciding on someone’s suitability for the job.
There are several styles of content in questionnaires. Some ask you to rate or otherwise respond to single words – ‘friendly’ or ‘focused’ – and others use simple phrases and statements, such as ‘Honesty is the best policy’, ‘I will say what I mean’. Some questionnaires use quite long and specific statements, such as ‘When working on a project I need to understand what the main purpose of the work is to help me focus.’ Much of the content of the type of questionnaire you will meet in an occupational context is quite transparent – that is, it is clear what is being asked and what its relevance is to work situations.
Some questionnaire developers feel that this approach encourages people to try to distort their answers. They prefer to use a more opaque style of question, which is difficult to relate directly to performance at work or common personality traits but which has been shown through research to relate to them. For instance, if it were known that introverts had a slight preference to write with a pencil whereas extroverts were more likely to prefer writing with a pen, you might include a question like ‘Do you prefer to write with a pencil or a pen?’ These relationships are usually quite weak, and many questions of this type are required to be sure of a person’s personality. However, because this type of question can appear to be unrelated to any job or employment context, it is not possible to guess what they are measuring or what would be the desirable response. You will see that some of these more opaque questions are included in the examples below.
Example question styles
Some questionnaires ask you to rate statements in different ways. This may be just agree or disagree, true or false, or it may be according to different types of rating scales. Below are some examples of rating question types.
1. Say whether you agree or disagree with the following statements.
I like learning new facts. Agree Disagree
I generally feel confident in company. Agree Disagree
I rarely get emotional. Agree Disagree
It is better to try and fail than not to try at all Agree Disagree
People cannot always be trusted. Agree Disagree
People like me because I am always willing to help them when they have problems. Agree Disagree
One of my favourite things is starting to write in a new note book. Agree Disagree
2. Use the rating scale below to show how accurately each statement describes you.
1 2 3 4 5
Very inaccurate Moderately inaccurate Neither inaccurate nor accurate Moderately accurate Very accurate
RESPONSE
When I meet a new person I am usually the one to start a conversation.
People describe me as friendly.
I am the sort of person who nails my colours to the mast.
I generally do what I am told.
It makes me uncomfortable to have to tell a lie.
I enjoy being in charge of others and telling people what to do.
I sometimes listen to the radio and watch television at the same time.
3. Rate the extent to which you agree or disagree with each of the following statements using the following scale.
1 2 3 4
Strongly
disagree Disagree Agree Strongly
agree
RESPONSE
It is important to me to achieve my targets.
I like to do a good job.
I sometimes get upset.
I enjoy meeting new people.
When I hear a word I don’t know I like to find out its meaning.
I set myself achievable targets, make plans to achieve them and set up milestones so I can tell how I am doing against the targets.
I prefer listening to the radio than watching television.
4. Ask yourself, how frequently do I engage in the behaviour described? The rating scale runs from one to eight; choose the number that best applies to each statement.
1 Almost never 5 Fairly often
2 Rarely 6 Usually
3 Once in a while 7 Very frequently
4 Sometimes 8 Almost always
RESPONSE
Not do something that I have promised to do.
Tell other people honestly what I think of them.
Go out of my way to help someone with their work.
Let my hair down after a hard week.
Set myself challenging goals to achieve.
Do something I have never done before just to experience the novelty.
Check what the weather will be the next day.
Some questionnaires ask you to choose between different options. Sometimes the choices are two opposites – being alone, being with people, for instance – but sometimes the options are a selection of different things – being with people, doing something creative. Here you are be
ing asked what your preference is. For some sets of options the choice may be quite clear for you. At other times you may find that you quite like all the options and sometimes you may not really agree with any of them. Even if you have only a minor preference for one thing over another, choose that. Across all the choices in the questionnaire your real personality should come through. Here are some examples for you to try.
5. Circle the answer that best describes you for each statement.
A B
When I am with other people I tend to be Lively Quiet
When I am working I would rather Start a new place of work Finish something I am doing
I would most like to work with People Animals
When I am upset I am most likely to Find a friend to talk to Think things through on my own
I prefer work that is Stimulating Organized
I am more likely to give feedback if someone has Done something well Made an error
I like to wear clothes that Have a strong pattern Are plain colours
6. Circle the answer that best describes you for each statement.
A B C
I prefer to work On my own With another person In a team
I like work that is Familiar In between Novel
When things are changing I find it Exciting In between Worrying
If someone is rude to me I am most likely to Be angry Ignore it Feel hurt
If I give a presentation I like to Prepare well in advance In between Talk spontaneously
When it is very important to me to achieve a goal I Ask others for help Just do my best Work late
When I go out I am mostly likely to go to A theatre or cinema A restaurant A club
7. Which statement in each pair is most like you?
A B
I am easily bored. I keep my work space tidy.
I am a good listener. I like to beat the opposition.
I always meet deadlines. I want to be surrounded by beautiful things.
I have a lot of creative ideas. I think people should sort out their own problems.
I often take work worries home. I play by the rules.
I look for innovative ways of improving my performance. I persuade people by explaining my ideas clearly.
I always know how much money I have in my bank account. I take time to get some fresh air every day.
8. For each set of four words choose the one that is most like you and the one that is least like you.
MOST LIKE ME LEAST LIKE ME
Lively
Focused
Caring
Outspoken
Trustworthy
Imaginative
Tidy
Soft hearted
Gentle
Dependable
Special
Flexible
Firm
Energetic
Emotional
Curious
Analytic
Competitive
Friendly
Structured
Garden
Lighthouse
Castle
Library
9. For each set of three statements choose the one that is most like you and the one that is least like you.
MOST LIKE ME LEAST LIKE ME
Choosing something from a menu I have never had before
Doing things by the book
Making new friends
MOST LIKE ME LEAST LIKE ME
Lending an ear to someone’s problems
Worrying about the future
Thinking up new ways of doing things
MOST LIKE ME LEAST LIKE ME
Planning a project
Telling a joke
Saying what I think
MOST LIKE ME LEAST LIKE ME
Analysing numerical data
Looking for the flaws in a plan
Focusing on achieving my targets
MOST LIKE ME LEAST LIKE ME
Coordinating the team’s activities
Telling people what I think
Asking other people for their opinion
MOST LIKE ME LEAST LIKE ME
When I make an error I see it as a learning opportunity
I think it is more important to tell people why we are doing something than how to do it
When I make a promise I will keep it, even if it costs me a great deal of effort
MOST LIKE ME LEAST LIKE ME
Sharing a sandwich with a friend
Staying up all night
Worrying about what to wear for work
Other approaches to measuring personality
There are other approaches to measuring personality apart from questionnaires and other psychological tools. The use of the interview to evaluate personality was discussed above and found generally wanting in the hands of most interviewers. However, as a candidate you should be aware that an interviewer may well be looking at your general demeanour and patterns of response to people and situations as well as evidence of your skills, experience and competence that are relevant to the role. In addition to the interview, facets of personality may be assessed through other kinds of exercise. The rest of this chapter reviews the main types of assessment you may meet during recruitment, selection or development activities, which might be being used in part to understand your personality.
Role plays
Many employers use a variety of interactive exercises in assessment, including various kinds of role play, where the candidate must interact according to a given brief. In a development or promotion context these exercises allow participants to show how they might cope with scenarios outside their current responsibilities. The content is typically relevant to the job or employing organization, but not always. For external candidates for a job, role plays can be designed to provide an opportunity to display behaviours that would be relevant to the job but that do not require specific job or organizational information that someone from outside the organization may not have.
The assessment of the candidate is made by an observer who watches how the candidate goes about the task. Typically, a number of different areas of competence are evaluated. Some of these may relate to skills and abilities, but generally some will be related to personality factors. The competencies to be evaluated will depend on the requirements of the role for which the candidate is applying.
Examples of personality-related factors that might be evaluated include:
• Influencing – did the person influence others to his or her point of view?
• Leadership – did the person tend to take a lead in the discussion, coordinating how the group approached the task?
• Team working – did the person promote team working, encourage quiet group members to participate and allow others to speak?
• Organization – did the person approach the task in an organized manner, consider all the issues, use the time effectively and so on?
• Empathy – did the person show an understanding of the perspective and feelings of other people in the scenario?
Role plays may be one-on-one exercises in which the candidate speaks to an individual with a particular purpose. Examples of individual role play exercises include:
• The candidate plays the role of a customer services officer and talks to a customer who has a complaint. The candidate is required to find out the details of the complaint and resolve it, keeping within company policy but leaving the customer satisfied.
• The candidate is given the role of a sales executive who must introduce the product range to a new client and try to gain an initial order.
• The candidate plays the role of a supervisor who must give feedback to a member of staff who has several performance issues.
• The candidate plays the role of buyer who must try to negotiate a more advantageous contract with a key supplier.
Role plays can also involve more than one person. In a group exercise several candidates will be asked to perform a task together. Sometimes all the candidates are provided with the same brief
, but sometimes each candidate is given a slightly different brief. In general, the task of the group is to discuss the matter in hand and reach some conclusions on how to deal with it or the next steps to take. In some group exercises one person is appointed the leader, but more often there is no designated leader. Group exercises might include:
• The group play the role of managers in an organization and are asked to make a recommendation on whether to accept a proposal to introduce a new product line to a factory.
• Each group member is given the results of a customer survey and asked to come up with some ideas to address the issues raised in the survey.
• The group are asked to create a recovery plan after one of the organization’s offices was damaged by fire.
• The group are asked to agree a budget for the organization. Each member is briefed about a different department and must argue the case for their department’s needs.
• The group are asked to agree the design and space allocation for some new offices. Each represents a particular section and is briefed about the requirements of their section.
• The group are asked to decide how to use a given budget to purchase equipment to allow them to survive if they were stranded in the Arctic.
Practical exercises
As an alternative, or in addition, to role plays, some employers ask candidates to participate in a group activity. As with role play, observers evaluate how the person approaches the task and works with the group. In this case, however, rather than playing a hypothetical role, the candidate is just themself performing the task. This type of activity is more common in assessments for development purposes than assessment for selection or promotion. Remember that what is being assessed is how participants go about the task – for example, do they help each other, can they agree a strategy, do they get on with other group members – rather than how well they complete the assignment. However, the members of a group that fails completely with the assignment probably haven’t performed well.
