Just as not sharing enough about yourself can negatively affect your chances of getting a job, the same goes for oversharing. If you’ve ever taken a valid personality test, it is reasonable to wonder if you should add your personality type to your resume.
The truth is, there’s no ultimate answer to this question. In some cases, it could be very beneficial to add your personality type to your resume, while in others, it may put your potential employer off.
Read on to find out where this might be considered a pro and where it might be a disadvantage for your candidacy.
What Are Personality Types?
According to the Myers-Briggs type indicator, there are 16 established personality types, each one a result of the combination of these four personality dimensions:
- Introversion/extroversion: explains how you restore your energy, by spending time alone or with other people.
- Sensing/intuition: indicates whether you rely primarily on your 5 senses or on your intuition to examine situations at hand.
- Thinking/feeling: tells how you process information, and whether you are more emotional or more rational in your decisions.
- Judging/perceiving: reveals whether you like structure or prefer to stay flexible.
Dimensions are actually scales, and the personality test results show where exactly you stand on each of the four scales. You can for example be 60% extroverted, 80% intuitive, 75% thinking and 55% percent judging, which would mean you are an ENTJ (extroverted, intuitive, thinking, judging)
Should You Add Your Personality Type on Your Resume?
Many candidates like to add their personality type to their resume, either because they find it very accurate or because they believe information like this provides them with a competitive advantage.
However, sometimes adding your personality type to your resume can do more harm than good, and here is why:
#1. Not Everyone is Familiar With Personality Types
For people who are not familiar with these kinds of personality tests, four letters on your resume may seem confusing. Your potential employers will not take the time to learn about the 16 personality types but will likely move on to the next job application without thinking twice.
#2. Accomplishments Are Important for Resumes
Adding your personality type to your resume may lead your potential employer to conclude that you don’t put enough focus on your accomplishments but rely more on your personal traits.
#3. The Hiring Manager Knows Too Much About Personality Types
Remember that all the descriptions you’ll read online about your personality type are primarily focused on presenting your personality type in the best light, but every type has important flaws as well.
If your employers have extensive psychology knowledge, they may know more about your type than you do. And what they know might not be to your benefit.
#4. Wrong Interpretation Is Always Possible
Maybe your hiring manager had some bad experience with people of your personality type and therefore believes your personality type is only trouble, regardless of how great your resume is.
#5. It Makes You Look Unprofessional
Many people don’t take personality tests seriously and are prone to doubting even the scientifically backed, certified personality tests. To them, such information in your resume may give off the impression that you are not a mature, serious person.
#6. The Employer May Doubt Your Honesty
Finally, why would an employer trust you to share accurate information about your personality type? After all, it is only natural that you want to make a favorable impression, and maybe you’ve just added the personality type you believe fits the best with the job requirements.
When to Add Your Personality Type to Your Resume?
The only time when it is totally safe to add your personality type on your resume is when the employer directly asks for it (this would be extremely rare since they’d test you if they wanted to know).
However, there’s also another rare situation in which it might be good to add a personality type to your resume.
When applying for a job that involves creating, marketing, or selling personality tests, listing your personality type on your resume could give the hiring manager the impression that you have a passion for working with personality tests.
In all other cases, think carefully before you add your personality type to your resume.
Key Takeaways
In general, adding your personality type to your resume is not a good idea, as it poses many risks that could potentially decrease your chances of being called for an interview.
Instead, focus on the skills, knowledge, and experiences that match the job requirements. What you should also bear in mind is that you don’t have a clue which personality type might be reading your resume!
Good luck in your job search!
Main pic source: Photo by Sora Shimazaki
HR Future Staff Writer
