The Big Five Personality Traits Model

Comparing Personalities With Roles

Compare your personality with your job role.

© iStockphoto/Bet_Noire

Have you ever worked in a job that just didn't fit with your personality? Or have you recruited people in the past who weren't successful in their roles, even though they had the skills required?

Many of us have taken jobs that weren't a good fit. For instance, picture a quiet, thoughtful and shy person stepping into a high-pressure sales position, where they have to make lots of telephone calls. Or someone who is extremely ordered and detailed, taking a job at a start-up software firm, where everyone has broad roles, and all are encouraged to be flexible in how they approach tasks.

When a person's personality doesn't fit the job, everyone loses. Not only will they be unhappy with their unsuitability for the role, But the organization will probably also suffer from increased absenteeism, low productivity, and loss of any investment in training when that person leaves.

This is where the Big Five Personality Traits Model can help, as a way of measuring the most important personality dimensions. With an understanding of these dimensions, you'll better understand what roles fit you best, and you'll be able to hire people who properly fit the positions you're trying to fill.

Understanding the Model

The Big Five Personality Traits model is based on findings from several independent researchers dating back to the late 1950s. But the model as it is now didn't begin to take shape until the 1990s. Lewis Goldberg, a researcher at the Oregon Research Institute, is credited with naming the model "The Big Five", and it is now a broadly respected personality scale, which is routinely used in business and in psychological research.

The Big Five Personality Traits Model measures five key dimensions of people's personalities (note it is sometimes also called the OCEAN model, after the first letters of each dimension):

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