This article summarises the evidence that personality tests help people learn and improve their performance. It found little evidence to support their wide-scale use as development tools (as opposed to recruitment tools), suggesting that people professionals should use them with caution.

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Reviewed by

Jonny Gifford, Senior Adviser for Organisational Behaviour | Interim Head of Research, CIPD

Jonny’s work centres on conducting applied research in employment and people management, and strengthening links between academia and practice. His research interests include job quality or ‘good work’ and what works in driving employee performance and wellbeing. He leads the CIPD’s work on evidence-based HR and academic knowledge exchange.

Jonny has been conducting applied research in the field of employment and people management for about 20 years, with previous roles at Westminster Business School, the Institute for Employment Studies and Roffey Park Institute. He is an Academic Member of the CIPD, a Fellow of the Center for Evidence-Based Management (CEBMa), Associate Editor at the Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance (JOEPP), and a PhD candidate at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.

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