For as long as I’ve worked in this field, I’ve been fascinated by the dance that occurs between job applicants and employers. Candidates aim to present the best version of themselves, while employers seek to reveal the real person beyond the well-crafted CV. To bridge that gap, organisations often turn to assessments — including personality questionnaires — to make better hiring decisions.
But in the age of AI, it is important to consider:
Can candidates fake personality tests? And if they can… does it even matter?
What Do We Mean by ‘Faking’?
When we talk about faking in personality tests, it usually refers to two types of behaviour:
- Impression management: Most candidates will naturally want to put their best foot forward. That’s normal — and expected. Good tests are built with this in mind and account for some degree of self-enhancement in their design.
- Deceptive faking: This is more intentional. It involves responding in a way that doesn’t reflect reality, often based on assumptions about what employers want to see. This may be guided by online advice or even AI tools like ChatGPT.
While deceptive faking might seem like a smart shortcut, it rarely works — and can backfire. A candidate who fakes high safety-consciousness, for instance, might land a job where genuine safety awareness is critical. That’s a mismatch with serious consequences.
In fact, studies suggest that while 30–50% of candidates say they’ve tried to distort their results, the impact on hiring outcomes is surprisingly small.
Why Faking Doesn’t Actually Undermine Good Testing
Despite concerns, there are several reasons why faking has limited impact, particularly when well-designed tools are used as part of a broader selection process.
1. It’s harder to fake than people think
Well-constructed tests contain built-in checks, complex scoring mechanisms, and many sub-scales. Candidates trying to game the system often leave inconsistent or contradictory responses that well-trained interpreters can spot. Even AI tools don’t do much better — research shows that AI-generated responses tend to fail at faking convincingly.
2. Good tests detect faking
Reputable personality assessments include built-in checks. These detect inconsistent patterns, overly positive self-descriptions, and response styles that don’t align. Some go even further, providing trained interpreters with an abundance of clear information about response styles that make it easy to spot potential deception.
3. Personality tests are never used alone
Even if a candidate manages to inflate certain traits, they’re unlikely to fool the rest of the process. Structured interviews, reference checks, and other assessments will quickly highlight gaps between test scores and real-world behaviour. Big gaps raise questions about candidate’s honesty (and self-insight).
4. Robust tests predict performance
Ultimately, the best tests are backed by decades of research and proven validity. They work, even when test-takers try to outsmart them, because they’re designed with these challenges in mind.
What This Means for Candidates
If you’re a candidate completing a personality assessment, the best advice is simple: be honest. Faking might seem like a smart move, but it can easily backfire, leading to poor job fit, a mismatch in expectations, or even being ruled out of the process.
Personality assessments are designed to benefit candidates and employers alike, creating fairer and more data-driven hiring processes. Genuine responses give everyone the best chance of finding the right fit.
What Employers Can Do to Minimise Faking
While faking isn’t a major threat, it’s still worth taking steps to reduce the likelihood of it happening:
- Use well-designed assessments: Look for tools with in-built validity checks and forced-choice formats that limit faking opportunities.
- Provide feedback: Let candidates know they’ll receive or discuss their results. This increases honesty and accountability.
- Optimise test order: New research shows that placing cognitive ability tests before personality assessments can reduce faking.
- Don’t rely on assessments alone: Always pair test results with interviews, reference checks, and a robust selection process.
- Set expectations: Remind candidates their answers may be discussed or verified — this simple prompt reduces dishonest responses.
Faking exists, but it doesn’t undermine well-run assessment processes. When personality testing is used thoughtfully, interpreted skilfully, and combined with other hiring tools, it remains a powerful predictor of job performance and cultural fit.
Looking to add reliable psychometric testing to your hiring process?
Get in touch to learn how I can help.