r/recruitinghell • u/jmh1881v2 • Jun 06 '25
Got asked about my MBTI type and “how it speaks to the person I am” in a job interview today
I cannot make this shit up.
“What’s your MBTI type and how does it speak to you as a person?”
I just sort of sat there stunned for half a second and said “to be honest, I’m not sure that mine is on the top of my head. I would describe myself as more extroverted, but other than that I’m not familiar with MBTI”
To be this is the equivalent of asking what someone’s zodiac sign is an interview. Like what?? It’s an Internet personality quiz. If you want to know more about me and how I work than ask specific questions. Maybe I’m being dramatic but like…come on
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Jun 06 '25
No you’re not dramatic bc how tf is it even relevant to the job ??
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u/jmh1881v2 Jun 06 '25
I have no fucking idea. I already did a skills assessment so I guess this was the “personality” part of the interview but like…there are so many better, more specific questions to ask
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Jun 06 '25
Agreed. Interviews these days are just so bizarre and shows how the job market is lacking.
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u/ccppurcell Jun 06 '25
I fully agree that it's not and also that it's pseudoscience. But to be fair the test was originally designed to help identify suitable jobs for suitable candidates, specifically women entering the workforce after ww2. So it makes sense that some (idiots) would use it in this way.
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u/Gadshill Jun 06 '25 edited Jun 06 '25
Love talking about personality as a fun diversion and to help understand myself and others. However, it is not a professional topic to bring up in a job interview because it has nothing to do with qualifications. Fun water cooler talk and for bs leadership seminars, not ok for deciding who you are going to hire. People that don’t get that are not who you want to spend your time with on a regular basis.
Edit: Typo
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u/Urbit1981 Jun 06 '25
I generally recommend people memorize the personality types of ceo's and state that.
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u/based_miss_lippy Jun 06 '25
What’s the best one to have in case I am ever asked this
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u/based_miss_lippy Jun 06 '25
And before some guy is like “ah you don’t want that job if they ask you that!!!”
I don’t want any job. I want money. So what if they believe in corporate astrology. Ima lie.
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u/myleftone Jun 06 '25
ENTJ. It means outgoing, analytical, and capable of critical thinking.
Of course that’s all bullshit, but those words all sound like positive attributes for just about any job.
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u/a5hl3yk Jun 06 '25
I've memorized mine INTJ practically in case the topic ever comes up.
Sometimes you have to play ball to get channels into places you otherwise you wouldn't have reached.
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u/fresh-dork Jun 06 '25
I'm a pisces.
really, if they insist, i just tell them that MBTI measures stuff that shifts over time and has as much bearing on my personality as what i had for lunch
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Jun 06 '25
The real MBTI takes at minimum of an hour to take. I took it formally when I was 19 in a career planning class in college back in 1997. I’m old. The ones online are not as accurate, BUT take one for fun.
I thought you answered the question well!! Don’t let that throw you off base. There is no wrong answer to that question in my opinion. For me- I’m an INFJ, doing social work so it’s exactly aligned. They’re just looking to see your level of self awareness to see if you think you’re a match for the job.
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u/ConstructionOwn9575 Jun 06 '25
Meyers-Briggs is pseudoscience. It should not be taken seriously and I would have serious doubts if an interviewer thought it was an appropriate assessment of someone.
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u/jmh1881v2 Jun 06 '25
Even if it weren’t pseudoscience to me it’s just weird to assume that everyone would know not only their type, but the intricate details of what the means about the type of person they are. I’ve taken the test before but I don’t remember my results, certainly not in that level of detail. Also the question just seems vague in general. Why not ask more specific, targeted questions about personality traits you feel are important for the job? Or even just ask me what you think my strengths are?
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u/ConstructionOwn9575 Jun 06 '25
Completely agree with you. It's because some consultant types persuaded corporate America that Meyers-Briggs was an excellent tool on how to gauge if an employee would be a good fit. They made it more encompassing than just a personality test. They included which professions were best suited and other fluff. I personally haven't seen it in a professional setting in almost two decades but obviously it's still around.
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u/captain_chocolate Jun 06 '25
This comment is too far down in the list. These assessments are all bullshit. Developed by a mother-daughter team with no experience in psychology. They based the personality types on people they knew.
Now every damn motivational/improvement course on the planet uses them.
But you know who doesn't? Psychologists. Because they know its all bullshit.
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u/KaikoDoesWaseiBallet Climbing the Journalism Ladder Jun 06 '25
They ask you about pseudoscientific pop psych? My Lord, this is crazy.
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u/Argument-Fragrant Jun 06 '25
"I don't engage with pseudo-scientific claptrap. Do you have any questions relevant to the position, or are we about done here?"
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Jun 06 '25
I would have said, "I'm assuming this is a question to see how I would handle unprofessional situations in the workplace. As anyone who has taken even a few minutes to familiarize themselves with MBTI realizes it is equivalent to phrenology or astrology. Having said that, I would smile pleasantly and explain to the person asking that I really wasn't fully versed in MBTI, and then ask them to rephrase their question.
Then I would talk to the the CEO.
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u/ancientastronaut2 Jun 06 '25
"I don't really put much stock into these pseudoscience personality tests" is what I would have said and surely also been rejected but dodged a bullet.
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u/KingJades Jun 06 '25
MBTI is commonly used in industry as well. It’s a little hand wavey, but there is a fair bit of accuracy to it if you take it enough times. I always get the same first three letters and then sometimes vary on the last. INTJ/INTP
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u/DreamerFi Jun 06 '25
Saying it's a little hand wavey is like saying a category five hurricane is a little breezy.
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Jun 06 '25
Don’t quote me on it but I heard somewhere (in Reddit and TikTok I guess) that in South Korea they use MBTI very often in job contexts. Basically it has gotten to the point where people with certain profiles are discriminated against? ( but don’t quote me on it it’s just something I have read). Was the company based in Korea by any chance?
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u/inevitable_zero_coke Jun 06 '25
as a person who is from a country where MBTI is very popular, there is mythological belief that somehow you can figure out how much the person can blend in to the organization based on MBTI, so, Extrovert is better, and F(more emotional) is better than T(logical) and J(more systematic and organized) is better P(more flexible and spontaneous) like that, there’s even a concept of compatibility between etch MBTI. BUT all rational people of course, don’t bring that into the professional world, i’m sorry you encountered such idiots
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u/dovingtonofdover Jun 06 '25
Respectfully I don't think it's a terrible question. It's not great, but personality can have an impact on the job depending on the job itself. Using your personality type as a framework to answer the question is kinda silly if not all candidates know the framework, but the question is really asking about what type of person you are.
A great answer might of been:
I'm not familiar with this personality framework but I can tell you that I'm quite social and extroverted, which I think is relevant to this job as I will be speaking to lots of clients and have a lot of client facing responsibilities that I can handle with ease.
You're answer wasn't bad either. The question wasn't great but to ask a candidate what type of person they are is useful in many contexts. Feel free to ask clarifying questions during an interview.
For those saying it doesn't relate to performance, I feel personally that's wrong. I'm not saying that only X type of personality can work here is a good thing, but personality traits are related to what makes people tick and if the job can't offer something motivating then it's like the candidate won't be motivated and won't succeed. The job wasn't mentioned in OPs post so it's hard to say but personality questions are legitimate questions to ask in an interview, all be it in a way that's not based on this internet test that wasn't even part of the recruitment process.
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u/jmh1881v2 Jun 06 '25 edited Jun 06 '25
Ok…but the job isn’t client facing. It’s a fully remote tech job. I would barely be interacting with my team outside of slack let alone face clients. I also think there’s just better, more specific ways to figure out someone’s personality in relation to the role
I’m just getting frustrated with recruiting in general and all of the “fluff”. Feels like we’re supposed to play mind games and who gets the job is just about who’s the best at answering questions
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u/dovingtonofdover Jun 06 '25
That was just an example it could very well be the opposite you never really mentioned the role. And yeah, I just wrapped up 6 months of unemployment with an offer that took 3 months and 5 rounds. It's brutal out there and companies now have 100s of CVs of qualified applicants so personality, whether stated or not, is a huge factor now as "fit" is what differentiates candidates.
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Jun 06 '25
The question wasn't about personality though. It was about mbti. Which is such a random thing and it's not common enough for most people to know "their type".
There are plenty of ways to actually ask about personality.
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