It has been found that at the time of interviewing new employees, the traits that are commonly avoided include disagreeableness, neuroticism and introversion.
This fact is reinstated through a published research in 2014 in the journal called Perspectives in Psychological Science, which reveals that out of the five popular personality traits, called the “Big Five”
(namely Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Openness, Neuroticism and Extroversion), the ones that are highly favored by most organizations include Conscientiousness and Agreeableness.
However, there are times when an interviewee does not show calmness or is not as agreeable as you would want him/her to be. Does that mean that the candidate is not right for the job profile? Should you overlook the talent of the candidate simply because he/she seems to be more disagreeable or neurotic than the typical candidates? Before you answer that, take a look at the information provided below on three personality traits that you generally overlook but can be worth reconsidering
The Disagreeableness Trait:
While agreeableness is a measure of an individual’s affinity to work along with other employees as well as be affectionate, sympathetic and kind towards fellow employees, people with low agreeableness levels show more affinity towards their self-interests. How can that be a good thing, you ask? The way this works is that when a team member is disagreeable, it can positively affect the team dynamic, mostly in cases where teams are filled with “yes-men”. On a deeper level, a disagreeable team member will always question something that does not seem right to them and will share their thoughts without any fear or discomfort. Rather that overlooking any insufficiency simply because it will affect their relationships, such disagreeable employees prefer to voice out their opinions respectfully. And this is exactly what will help in the progress of your organization with frequent out-of-the-box thinking coming from a disagreeable employee.
The Neuroticism Trait:
Although, neuroticism finds a place in the “Big Five” traits, it is not something that any employer would look for in a prospective employee. This is because of the exhibition of negative and anxiety feelings made by such individuals. But, you can still make the most of an employee with neuroticism trait in your organization. This is because individuals with healthy neurotics do not get stressed in a situation, and instead handles such stressful situations efficiently. Individuals possessing healthy neurotics can easily combine high conscientiousness levels with high levels of stress. They can make use of stress and chaos to keep their minds focused on productive work. Make sure that you note down this point before you conduct an interview session the next time.
The Introversion Trait:
Introverts are usually considered loners with low energy levels, but that does not mean that they are always shy and resist being part of any team. Introverts will generally look within themselves for energy, and they get tired when called out for group lunches or team meetings. However, that is not an indication of their performance levels, or that they don’t posses required skills for their job profile. Rather, introverts increase their efficiency in performance when left alone in a stimulus-free and quiet environment. Despite the fact that organizations look for dynamic and outgoing personalities, hiring an introvert can prove beneficial to your organization as they have better listening skills, and can remain calm in troubling and stressful times.
Here is how you can quickly identify these personality traits with the help of an online personality test.
We may safely conclude that it is definitely a challenging task to find a great talent, but that does not mean that it is tough to find talented employees. When your organization decides to hire employees the next time, take into consideration the fact that different personalities may prove beneficial to the work culture in your organization.
And importantly, develop a positive attitude towards hires who appear to be disagreeable, introverts or even healthy neurotics as they have the potential to bring a balance to your team apart from being talented in their designated profile.
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