Conscientiousness
In order to get a complete look at a candidate it is important to assess various aspects of their personality and what strengths or weaknesses that may bring to a role.
Conscientiousness is a term that many of us would have heard in passing, but many do not fully understand what it means or how important it can be. Conscientiousness is a key trait that can define whether a candidate is well suited for a role or not. But first, what is conscientiousness and the sub-scales beneath the surface.
What is Conscientiousness?
Conscientiousness refers to a person’s ability to be careful and diligent, undertaking tasks with a level of care and precision. This is often the case because conscientiousness is a trait that signifies good organisational skills paired with a high level of efficiency, a combination that allows for tasks to be completed effectively and with a high level of professionalism. It is common that a conscientious person acts this way due to an internal need for achievement.
A conscientious person may also display:
- Thoroughness (ensuring a task is completed at every stage to protocol)
- Deliberation (planning how a task should be carried out)
Whilst conscientiousness is thought of as a positive trait, there are some benefits to scoring low in this scale. Those that are low in Conscientiousness tend to be more flexible and not usually married to a plan. As a result of their flexibility they tend to respond well to changes in their environment and are good at reacting in a emergency and or last minute situation.
Why is Conscientiousness Important?
Conscientiousness is a very important trait to search for in candidates as it comprises of 5 sub-scales that can have a huge impact on determining the success of a candidate in a role.
Intensity
Intensity showcases persistence, urgency and work-rate. A person with a high level of intensity is likely to want to be involved in a project throughout each stage of its lifecycle, and would likely prefer a key role.
Diligence
The diligence sub-scale is a scale used to reflect how important it is for an individual to complete a task or obligation. This can showcase if an individual has a strict or casual approach to tasks.
Ambition
This reflects how much a person is striving for an achievement. Achievement can be a huge determiner and a massive driving force behind not only working hard, but working well. This is ensuring that a task is not only completed but completed to a high standard in order to reach recognition or an achievement. This can show a high level of persistence and stamina, as we all know, during a project or task there are many ups and downs and require a huge amount of drive and focus to stay true to the cause.
Self-Discipline
Self-discipline is a skill that will be required for any job, in any industry. The ability to keep working and keep your focus even when distractions present themselves. This sub-scale really helps to show how well an individual is able to motivate themselves to keep working and can be even more important if the role requires work that can be seen as repetitive. This is a scale that becomes increasingly important in roles where supervision is scarce.
Decision Making
This shows the ability to adopt a strategy and the process that goes into deciding on a strategy. Of course, in order to strategise it is key to be decisive, analytical and open minded to new concepts or plans.
When you split up conscientiousness in this manner you can see that it really is a hugely important scale that measures many important characteristics.
Assessment
Conscientiousness, and the 5 previously mentioned sub-scales, are traits that can be tested using psychometric testing.
At Inpsyght Consultancy we believe the best way to test for conscientiousness is through psychometric testing. When combined with a structured interview we are able to target and observe the various sub-scales of conscientiousness among candidates.
To learn more about the psychometric tests we provide, use the following link: https://www.inpsyght.co.uk/solutions/
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