A Guide for How to Pass the Kolbe Personality Test 2024
Updated November 14, 2024
It is very common for companies to include personality tests as part of its recruitment process to help discover if the candidates are a good fit.
These tests commonly measure how an individual would react to different scenarios, in addition to seeing if they will fit the culture of the company.
One of the commonly used personality tests is the Kolbe assessment tests, which is what will be discussed in this article. It will look at what the Kolbe personality assessment is, the different variations of the test, who is likely to take it and tips on how to prepare for it.
What Is the Kolbe Personality Test?
This test was developed first by Kathy Kolbe of the Kolbe Corporation. Her team has worked on it for the last 20 years.
The Kolbe Personality assessment measures the individual’s conative strengths over 36 questions, rather than focusing on the cognitive and emotional traits or learned skills that are tested in other personality assessments.
Conative strengths are a person’s instincts and intrinsic impulses for taking action in certain situations. These are areas very much part of the personality of a person, but are not often explored or measured.
The Four Types of Kolbe Personality Assessment
The Kolbe test focuses on four particular areas of the conative skills, and the questions are set with these in mind.
Below the four areas are explored in more detail. Each of these conative types is then divided into three degrees, which are preventative (will try to avoid or prevent the given scenario), accommodating (manage the situation if it arises) and initiation (create the situation).
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Kolbe Test – Fact Finder
This area looks at how the individual collects and disperses information – for example, would the person being assessed read all the instructions and watch a demonstration video before assembling something, or would they just skim the instructions and go for it themselves?
Kolbe Test – Follow Thru
This part of the test looks at the person’s instinct to organise things – how they structure, arrange and design something, whether it is people in a team or tasks.
Kolbe Test – Quickstart
The quickstart section looks at the individual’s way of dealing with uncertainty or risk, and how likely the person is to take uncalculated risks. Do they avoid and get stressed at the thought of taking risks, or will they take them if they need to?
Kolbe Test – Implementor
The final section looks at one’s way of handling tangibles and space, and if they’re likely to create solutions themselves.
Kolbe Personality Assessment Format
The Kolbe test can be presented in a few different ways. Below are the common formats you may see.
The tests last approximately 20 minutes and there are some other formats that other employers use, such as PAPI 3, Sigma and Caliper Test.
Kolbe Index Tests
The Kolbe Index Test comes as a trilogy called A, B and C.
The Kolbe A Index assessment examines how the candidates would deal with work-related problems, adapt to change and initiate problem-solving responses through their instinctive traits.
Kolbe B Index focuses on the instinctive interests and expectations of the person. By then comparing Indexes A and B, it offers a view of the way the individual will measure in Kolbe C.
Kolbe C Index identifies the instinctive skills the candidate possesses necessary for effective performance of the job.
Example Question From the Kolbe Index Test
Please select which sentence below best describes how you would react to a problem within your team at work:
a) I try to avoid situations like this and would leave it to someone else in the team.
b) If a problem happened, I would speak to my superior on how to manage it.
c) I love problem-solving so would embrace the situation and tackle it myself.
d) I would work with the team to see how we can best manage it.
Kolbe RightFit Test
The Kolbe RightFit uses the Kolbe Index system and is administered as an online multiple choice test.
The objective is to highlight those candidates who are best for the job and should go on to the next stage of the hiring process.
Example Question From the Kolbe RightFit Test
If a deadline at work was suddenly brought forward, I would:
a) Rush through to do it for the new deadline.
b) Still stick to the original deadline.
c) Discuss why the deadline was brought forward and if there were any solutions.
d) Speak to other co-workers to see if they can help.
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How Is the Kolbe Assessment Test Scored?
With all personality tests, there are never black and white answers, which is the same for the Kolbe assessment test. There are no right or wrong Kolbe test results.
Different employers will look for different answers as they search for the right fit. For example, one company may want an instigator, whereas one might need someone who accommodates in scenarios.
The rule of thumb is that whoever’s Kolbe A results best matches Kolbe C (the characteristics needed for the business) is the best candidate for the job.
How to Prepare for the Kolbe Test
As mentioned in the previous section, there is no right answer and therefore no ‘good’ score.
However, there are ways you can prepare for the Kolbe test.
Understanding the format and how the test works is a good start in preparing for this test. By knowing the type of questions you’ll be asked, you will be able to think about how you will answer them and what your characteristics are.
There are free Kolbe tests online that you can access to help prepare you in terms of the time constraints, format and different sections.
Be honest in the test. There’s no point in trying to put when you think the business would want you to put, because in the long run you and the employer will realise you’re not a good fit for the company.
Doing this test may also make you decide if the job is really what you want.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Kolbe Index test consists of 20 multiple choice questions that measure the conative skills of a candidate’s personality. Over the four sections, it studies the instinctive skills of the individual to see if they are the right fit for a specific role.
Taking free Kolbe Index tests online is a good way to learn more about the test and what the questions entail.
There is no ‘good score’ on the Kolbe free personality test, because there’s no right or wrong answer. The objective of the test is to see if the candidate is the right fit for a certain role, so it is specific to each role.
You can prepare by taking free Kolbe personality tests online.
The questions asked on the Kolbe test are multiple choice, and consist of questions mainly focussed on the characteristics of the candidate. This means they're situational or hypothetical.
The Kolbe test is timed; it is commonly 20 minutes long.
The Kolbe test is ment to measure the conative skills of the individual applying for the job. Conative skills mean the instinctive characteristics when applying it to certain scenarios. These skills are then tested against the skills needed for the specific role.
The Kolbe test is $55 to take.
The HIGH5 test could be argued as being an alternative to the paid Kolbe Index test, but this does not exactly replicate the Kolbe Index test.
You cannot fail the Kolbe test, because the answers will be unique to the individual taking it. The questions assess whether you are the right fit for a specific business – so, although you may not be the right match to the company assessing you, the answers are authentic to you.
Taking free Kolbe assessments online will give you a better idea of what you’ll be asked, so you can prepare in the run-up to the test.
Final Thoughts
The Kolbe Personality Test is a common assessment used by many employers to see if someone is the right fit for their business.
It is slightly different to other personality tests, because it assesses conative skills rather than cognitive skills.
Though there are no right or wrong answers in the Kolbe test, it is a good idea to prepare for it by taking free Kolbe tests online tests and understanding the format and set of questions.
