Initial Reliability and Validity for the Critical Hire - Personality Assessment

ABSTRACT The use of personality testing during the hiring process has become a common practice in general business settings. However, their use has been rather non-existent in the field of corrections. This limited use may stem from a lack of awareness about preemployment personality tests in corrections, as well as a lack of measures normed and validated for use with correctional applicants. The present study outlines reliability and validity for the Critical Hire – Personality Assessment, a Five Factor Model based assessment of personality developed for probation, parole, and other correctional officer job applicants. This study provides initial empirical support for the Critical Hire – Personality Assessment’s internal consistency, test-retest reliability, convergent validity, and criterion validity when measuring job performance ratings. Results provide practical application of the Critical Hire – Personality Assessment for correctional agencies as a tool complementing existing hiring practices.