Which personality do you show at interview?

A desire for employer approval drives over half the workers in Europe to adopt a different personality at work than in their home lives (according to a recent survey by psychology consultants OPP). The research highlights the fact that many of us, perhaps rightly, lie about our personality, our strengths and our weaknesses at interview. Are we right to do so, or should we be more open and honest about our failings when asked?

Picture the scene: You are at an interview and you are asked if we have any weaknesses? “Oh no”, you say, “if I do have a weakness, it is that sometimes I am too tenacious and do not know when to give up”. Does this type of answer sound familiar? Many people tell ‘white lies’ about their personality at interview, only to find that when they get the job there is a significant mismatch between what they are expected to do and what they are willing to do. Nearly half those polled in a recent OPP study (49 per cent) claimed that they have adopted a different personality to their normal one during an interview. The trait is more prevalent among Irish workers than other European workers, with 61 per cent of Irish employees saying that they lead a double life.

The reasons why workers wear personality masks at interview and at work are varied, but chief among them are that they feel it makes them more appealing at interview; positions them as being more effective in their jobs; helps give the impression that they will fit in better with their future team; and enables them to project and image that fits in with the organization’s culture.

While the advantages of adopting a different persona are obvious, it can also lead to a great amount of stress: Imagine you a naturally introverted, shy and reserved person, but convince someone at interview that you are an outgoing, gregarious person who loves nothing better than selling and driving a bargain. You subsequently get a job offer for a sales position, with an attractive base salary and a new company car. Then, during the first three months of the job you spend the day driving around, under-performing in sales presentations, losing out on commission, and coming bottom of the office league when monthly sales targets are released. Would you be happy in this situation? Probably not, so the obvious answer is to balance selling your strengths with over-selling your potential at interview.

Research indicates that the trait most Irish employees suppress is their fun-loving side while the trait that is most accentuated is their decisive side. Interestingly, studies of why Irish people are hired internationally often show that interviewers consider our fun-loving side to be our key advantage over other nationalities, which suggests we may be selling ourselves short!

Candidates who lie about their personalities can pose a problem to potential employers: The cost of hiring a person with an inappropriate personality can be as much as three times annual salary, so recruiters and interviewers need to be aware of masks skewing the interview results. Psychometric and other tests can help, but many of those who can wear personality masks at interview can usually adapt to other tests too.

The important thing, for interviewers and interviewees alike is to be honest in their dealings with each other when it comes to describing the personality traits they are seeking and which they can provide.