Preparing for the SHL Occupational Personality Questionnaire
Screening Personality Tests are a common practice for small and large companies alike. The Occupational Personality Questionnaire, also known as OPQ or OPQ32, is a popular personality assessment designed and distributed by SHL Group LTD and used by companies across various industries.
The purpose of the SHL Personality Test is to rank job candidates on a series of personality traits of interest to employers, such as: Management and leadership potential, initiative and creative thinking, problem-solving approach, and interpersonal communication skills.
On this page, we will explore the skills needed to pass this test while being genuine and true to yourself.
The SHL Occupational Personality Questionnaire is a measure of relationship style, thinking style, and feelings and emotions. It is commonly used to screen candidates for jobs that require high interpersonal abilities and emotional intelligence.
The test is administered by SHL, which is also known for its pre-employment cognitive exams. The OPQ is SHL's own personality test and is considered a reliable predictor of job performance and role fit. It is used by many big-player companies including Honeywell, Chevron, and Barclays.
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The OPQn (normative) and OPQr (response theory) are the two variants of OPQ in use today.
The OPQr is the more common of the two, mainly because it contains fewer questions and thus provides the candidate with a friendlier experience.
Aside from the number of questions, the two versions of the Occupational Personality Questionnaire also differ in the way the questions are formatted. OPQn presents candidates with a statement about themselves and asks them to rate it on a five-point scale from Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree.
OPQr uses forced-choice questions, requiring the candidate to choose between two or more equally desirable (or undesirable) traits. Scroll down to see examples of this in action.
In summary:
| Question Type | Question Number | Test Duration | |
| OPQn | Likert scale (Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree) | 416 questions | Appox. 60 minutes |
| OPQr | Forced-Choice (Which of the following statements is most like you?) | 104 questions | Approx. 20 minutes |
The SHL OPQ Test contains questions in the forced choice format. This means that rather than ranking yourself on one trait at a time, you have to choose which personality trait is more like you out of two or more behavioral statements that all seem like good choices. These questions force you to make a trade-off, hence their name.
For example, the SHL OPQ may ask you which of these statements describe you most:
I usually give myself deadlines for important tasks and I am receptive to other people's input in my work.
Both of these represent desirable personality traits, but you must choose only one statement.
Personality assessments may use a forced choice questionnaire to make it harder for the candidates to choose answers they think their recruiters want to see. This allows your responses to be a more truthful representation of your personal behavioral preferences. The OPQn, which doesn't have forced-choice questions, instead uses a social desirability scale, which ranks each candidate by the degree to which their responses appear to be socially desirable rather than honest.
The SHL OPQ is considered challenging among other personality tests. Since both SHL OPQ tests contain no right or wrong answers, it can be a difficult and anxiety-inducing experience for candidates to tailor responses and highlight their positive personality traits.
The OPQ test's length and sheer number of questions do not help candidates remain calm throughout the exam. Practice tests can help mitigate this issue on the actual test.
Let's look at an example that could appear on the SHL OPQ:
Each OPQ32 Personality Test question begins with three behavioral statements that reflect your interpersonal skills, workplace behavior, and problem-solving skills.
For example:
Which statement describes you the MOST?
I usually resolve conflicts by listening to all sides, then making a decision.
I believe having a positive outlook can influence work performance.
If I hear about new technologies that can streamline my work, I usually check them out.
All three statements represent positive personality traits. Choosing the first might indicate you have a good analytical thinking style. The second might reflect optimism and the third represents adaptability.
On the SHL OPQ tests, after selecting your first choice, you are presented with the two remaining statements and asked to indicate your second choice.
For example, if your first choice was "I believe having a positive outlook can influence work performance", your next choice will be:
Which statement describes you the MOST?
I usually resolve conflicts by listening to all sides, then making a decision.
If I hear about new technologies that can streamline my work, I usually check them out.
One of the challenging aspects of the OPQ Personality tests is the need to balance between honest answers on the one hand, and maintaining an image of professionalism and emotional stability on the other.
This can be achieved by separating your Work Self from your Home Self.
You may feel that it is honest to have your responses reflect your tendency to procrastinate tasks on the weekends or your hobby of pranking your friends, as these are real personality traits you have. However, this information is outside the scope of what the SHL Personality Test aims to measure and is therefore irrelevant.
Instead, focus on your workplace behavior and behavioral tendencies during work hours. How are your team dynamics? Do your personality traits align with the organizational culture? Do you like using your analytical skills to tackle problems?
Focusing on your work personality will help you be honest and ace your OPQ Personality Tests.
Here are a few tips that can help you optimize your performance on the SHL OPQ assessments:
Many test takers assume ranking the highest on as many traits as possible would yield the ideal test result. This is a mistaken approach, as some of the traits measured on the OPQ can be negative or destructive.
For example, one of the traits measured by the questionnaire is tough-mindedness, which is desirable in moderation but can lead to aggression in excess.
Aside from the OPQ dimensions and traits measured by the exam, the SHL personality test also has a hidden consistency scale, which measures whether your responses are aligned with each other. Being inconsistent can affect your hiring process!
There is no single way to take the SHL OPQ. Different traits can be desirable for different job roles. Ask yourself whether your desired role requires you to be a team player or a lone wolf, a decision maker or a rule-follower?
Let these factors inform your choices.
If you are about to take an SHL OPQ assessment, practice can help you turn an average report into a glowing report!
Gain insightful tips and answer SHL OPQ practice tests.
Are you taking other SHL Tests along with the SHL OPQ? Learn about our all-inclusive SHL Preparation Course, which contains 1000+ sample questions covering the numerical, inductive, deductive, and other SHL tests.
JobTestPrep is a leading provider of preparation for pre-employment psychometric tests: both aptitude tests and personality tests.
The SHL Personality Questionnaire ranks candidates on a total of 32 qualities, giving the test its name: OPQ32.
The traits are divided into three dimensions, which are further divided into sub-dimensions. Here are all 32 traits divided into their groups:
| Relationships with People | ||
| Influence | Sociability | Empathy |
| Persuasive, controlling, outspoken, independent-minded. | Outgoing, affiliative, socially confident. | Modest, democratic, caring. |
| Thinking Styles | ||
| Analysis | Creativity & Change | Structure |
| Data-rational, evaluative, behavioral. | Conventional, conceptual, innovative, variety-seeking, adaptable. | Forward-thinking, detail-conscious, conscientious, rule-following. |
| Feelings and Emotions | |
| Emotion | Dynamism |
| Relaxed, worrying, tough-minded, optimistic, trusting, emotionally-controlled. | Vigorous, competitive, achieving, decisive. |
The following are answers to questions many test takers have about the SHL OPQ assessment.
Though there are pen-and-paper versions of the OPQ test, it is most commonly taken online. Your hiring company will send you an email invitation with a link to the assessment and inform you when you have to complete it by.
The deadline is usually a few days to a week, giving you time to prepare by taking SHL OPQ practice tests.
Your email may also contain invitations to take other SHL assessments.
The best way to take the SHL OPQ test is by desktop computer. If you are unable to find a quiet place with a PC, the test is also compatible with mobile devices.
Yes. The SHL OPQ assessment is available in 37 different languages. If you would like to take the OPQ test in a different language than the one offered to you, you can ask your recruiters for a new invitation, this time with correct questionnaire.
If you've been asked to take the SHL OPQ test, the human resources team at your hiring company probably uses Talent Central, SHL's online software used for all SHL assessments.
The Talent Central program allows your recruiters to view your report. This report assigns a personality profile to each candidate, detailing valuable insights like what their future performance is likely to be like, their suitability for leadership positions, and their likely relationship with their co-workers.
It is generally up to the recruiting company to decide whether or not to share SHL OPQ test results with candidates.
More often than not, they choose not to. However, in some countries or organizations, you may file a Freedom of Information request, especially for public bodies.
On the SHL OPQ Test, you can go back to the previous question to adjust your answer, but no further. This is to allow candidates to fix any errors they may have made by moving forward too quickly.
