When a candidate scores as “distortion,” this means simply means that the test wasn’t able to arrive at a valid fit score. This is because the system determined a lack of consistency, or even in some cases a lack of honesty, in the candidate’s answers to the questions on the test (i.e. perhaps a candidate may be trying to present a “socially acceptable” view of themselves rather than their true selves).

That being said, it’s usually worthwhile to retest these individuals if you like. Around 15–20 percent of those who test do get categorized as “distortion” the first time around, but 60 percent of those who retest won’t distort again.

Where to Go from Here?

Have a look at our other articles in the series on fit scores, including “An Overview of What the Test Results Mean,” “Strong Fit,” “Fit,” and “Weak Fit” to get a full explanation of what each of the results really means and how you can use it to better inform your hiring decision.

About 5–10 percent of all candidates who take our personality assessment end up scoring as a “strong fit.” These are quite rare; however, not necessarily automatic shoe-ins of course. Consider:

Strong Fit — Snapshot:

• Candidate satisfies at least seventeen of the twenty Attribute Requirements, and
• Candidate satisfies all five of the five Most Important Attributes for the position.

Strong Fit — Summary:

There are few to be found in the “strong fit” category, with only 5–10 percent of candidates meeting the stringent requirements to qualify. The benefit of these candidates is that the interview process will likely be a lot easier. You’ll have fewer questions to ask, and you’ll be able to spend more of that time focusing on the individual’s skills rather than their personality.

A strong fit doesn’t mean an instant hire, however. Though these candidates may be predisposed to be successful in the job role, this doesn’t 100 percent mean that they will be. To get further insight into how well they’d work in your company, pay close attention to the outliers in the test results (i.e. where they ranked very high and very low).

Where to Go from Here?

Have a look at our other articles in the series on fit scores, including “An Overview of What the Test Results Mean,” “Fit,” “Weak Fit,” and “Distortion” to get a full explanation of what each of the results really means and how you can use it to better inform your hiring decision.