Integrity Test Guide 2024: Revealing Morality and Honesty in the Workplace
How honest are you? What would you do if you caught someone stealing? Would you argue to prove your point? Are you prone to explosive or uncalculated reactions? Would you steal something small given the chance? Would you lie to your boss? Would you rather slack off at work and let someone else do your job?
These, and a lot of other questions, are important for your employer.
A lot of companies, in their hiring process, give integrity tests to their candidates.
Why?
Well, in the long run, it can save them from an employee that is prone to lying, stealing, manipulating, or wreaking havoc in the workplace.
So, if your employer (or possible employer) wants you to take an integrity test, they want to check your personality traits about morality, honesty, wanting to do the right thing, etc.
Read on, and this article will tell you everything you need to know about integrity tests. It will also help you ace your integrity test and make sure that your integrity lands you a job!
Table of Contents
What is an integrity test?
An integrity test is a sort of personality test designed to measure ones’ honesty or integrity.
There are numerous integrity tests used within different organizations and for different purposes. Most of the time, Integrity tests are used to measure a person’s truthfulness and honesty as part of the interviewing hiring process.
In the workplace, integrity tests are important for employers since they can predict whether a candidate is prone to lying, stealing, manipulating, etc. Lack of integrity in an employee can compromise the company’s reputation.
There are no right or wrong answers on the integrity test. But some answers are, of course, preferred to others. An integrity test itself is not the only test that can determine whether a person is a good fit for a job position or not. That is why most employers give the integrity test in the finishing stages of the interviewing process.
After all of the bigger testing and interviewing of candidates is done. The integrity test is used to simply underline a candidates’ competence.
What does an integrity test measure?
An integrity test measures the following personality traits:
- Work behavior
- Interpersonal interactions
- Satisfaction with different work aspects
- Ability to cooperate, help, and work in teams
- Relationship with authorities and authoritative figures
- Willingness to follow orders
- Dependability on others
- Willingness to do the right thing
- Reliability
- Taking responsibility for your actions
- Conscientiousness
- Honesty and fairness
- Trustworthiness
- Likelihood to manipulate or lie
- Likelihood to steal
- Willingness to take risks and display risky behavior
- Predispositions for addictive personality traits
What are the two types of integrity tests?
The two types of integrity tests are divided based on the types of questions.
Covert
Covert (personality-based) tests are subtle and try to conclude certain integrity issues.
An example of these types of questions would be: “How often do you make your bed in the morning?” This is not a strictly work-related question, but the answer provides a good idea about the candidates’ ability to keep to a schedule, do things as they should be done, and ability to follow the rules.
Overt
Overt integrity test questions directly ask about counterproductive or dangerous behaviors like lying, stealing, aversion towards authority, etc.
An example of an overt test question would be: “Do you think that taking a paper or a pen from your office is considered stealing?”
In an integrity test, these two types of test questions are mixed.
Sample questions for an integrity test
- Have you ever argued with your manager over a task?
- True or False: I like to take chances.
- Have you ever lied to a manager before?
- Would you report a colleague who stole from the workplace due to financial struggles?
- How likely are you to cover for a coworker if an emergency comes up?
- Would you return a small, inexpensive item that isn’t yours?
- How much do you dislike doing what someone tells you to do?
- Do you consider taking small items/supplies from work home as stealing?
Who uses integrity tests?
Integrity tests are used by different kinds of companies as part of the hiring process.
They could be given to job candidates to measure how prone they are to stealing work inventory. Or, when working with people and teams, how easily a person can work with someone they disagree with in private.
An integrity test can also be very helpful when determining management teams. A manager with a high integrity score can easily appeal to their team and keep them focused and productive while making sure that everyone is happy.
It’s important to note that some job positions will require different kinds of scores. As an example, an integrity test can measure a candidates’ willingness to take risks. The accountant of a company should not be someone willing to take risks. But, if you are choosing the new creative director for a start-up, you most definitely need someone who is a risk-taker and wants to think outside the box.
The problem with integrity tests
There are two main issues with the integrity test.
The scoring system is complicated
The first one is connected to the types of questions and what the answers actually measure. For example, let’s say that to the question “Have you ever stolen something from your workplace?” the candidate’s answer is “Yes.”
If the candidate clearly states that they’ve stolen something in the past, their integrity score will be lowered, right? But that person could have lied and said that they hadn’t.
This candidate clearly chose to be honest and tell the truth, even though that truth makes them look bad. So, what is it? Will we give this person a positive or a negative point? He has stolen, but he is telling the truth.
Candidates can be dishonest when answering
The other problem with integrity tests is the simple matter of lying. It’s very easy to read a question and know which answer your employer will prefer. So, candidates can easily lie to increase their integrity scores, right? Well, the integrity test, like a lot of other personality tests, has a lying scale included in it.
The point of this scale is to measure how often a person lies throughout the test. It is usually done through so-called “bait” questions where a similar question is asked in different ways. Diametrically opposite answers to these questions can indicate that the person is trying to manipulate their integrity score through lying.
Can you practice for an integrity test?
Even though you can never know the exact questions that will be on an integrity test, you can get familiar with the testing material. With that, you can practice the types of questions that will be on the integrity test.
While it is difficult to practice for an integrity test at home, job test preparation companies have devised ingenious practice tests and preparation resources. We highly recommend accessing the testing material from Job Test Prep, one of the most respected prep companies out there.
Using the kinds of questions you find as a guide, you can then take time to practice the behaviors that are necessary for a job position. Those might include: getting along with team members, being honest and speaking the truth, being able to leave personal dislike towards a person while working with them, etc.
Getting ready for an integrity test is important if you want to leave the impression of a competent candidate.
What will you get at Job Test Prep?
- 3 Full-Length Integrity Test Simulations
- 18 Specific Practice Tests
- A Full Study Guide
- Detailed Report – Specific for Each Practice
By using the practice materials at Job Test Prep, you can learn the format of the questions and the type of possible answers. Also, you can practice your consistency in answering, as well as your ability to attend to details.
Conclusion
Integrity tests are used by a lot of companies for their hiring process. It allows them to measure the honesty of their candidates, their abilities to collaborate, and how well they follow instructions and take orders. It also measures if they are prone to manipulation, lying, or stealing.
By including “bait” questions throughout the test, the test also measures how truthfully you answer.
Use the help of Job Test Pep for exercising and getting used to the testing questions. With that, you can better your chances of obtaining the right mindset and behavior that the company needs. Thus, you will increase your chances of getting the job.
Read More
- How to Prepare for Anglo American Online Assessment?
- Cut-e (Aon) Assessment – A Complete Study Guide with Sample Tests
- Workplace Readiness Skills Test – Practice Questions Included
Written by Victoria Todorovska
Victoria (or Viki) is a Freelance Writer, Psychologist, and Gestalt Therapy Consultant. With years of experience in higher education as well as counseling others, she is well-placed to offer expert advice on guiding others up the career ladder.
Sarah is an accomplished educator, researcher and author in the field of testing and assessment. She has worked with various educational institutions and organisations to develop innovative evaluation methods and enhance student learning. Sarah has published numerous articles and books on assessment and learning. Her passion for promoting equity and fairness in the education system fuels her commitment to sharing insights and best practices with educators and policymakers around the world.
