The Work Preferences Questionnaire (WPQ) measures people's job-related personality traits in important areas. Individuals complete the WPQ by indicating "agree" or "disagree" to a wide variety of easy-to-understand statements.

Responses to our personality inventory are used to develop a personality profile that helps to identify individuals best suited to jobs of interest.

We have developed different Work Preferences Questionnaires for different jobs. Our "full-version" WPQs usually contain five or six of the personality scales indicated below. Our "short-version" WPQs contain three of the personality scales indicated below. Personality scales measure essential personality traits contributing to job success.

This scale assesses people's willingness to exert a high level of energy on one's job to satisfy organizational expectations regarding productivity. Individuals who score high on this scale:

• Tend to demonstrate a high degree of energy and to work faster than other individuals
• Are inclined to produce work results in a timely manner
• Emphasize efficiency when performing job tasks
• Are motivated to remain committed to job activities and to complete them even when obstacles impede progress
• Are characterized as being diligent, efficient, energetic, enthusiastic, expeditious, and persevering

This scale assesses people's inclination to produce work outcomes that are accurate and complete. Individuals who score high on this scale:

• Have high personal standards of performance
• Are interested in completing tasks that require attention to detail and thoroughness
• Generally demonstrate work behaviors that reflect an appreciation for quality
• Tend to use a systematic approach for achieving job objectives
• Are characterized as being detail-oriented, focused, methodical, organized, precise, and thorough

This scale assesses people's commitment to the values, goals, and policies of their employer. Individuals who score high on this scale:

• Tend to believe that organizations who compensate and treat individuals fairly deserve commitment from their employees
• Are highly motivated to meet or exceed productivity and quality standards on their job
• Are willing to help co-workers in order to achieve organizational objectives
• Are more likely to maintain an acceptable attendance record and to remain employed longer than their less-committed counterparts
• Are characterized as being accountable, adaptable, content, dedicated, dependable, and team-oriented

This scale assesses people's willingness to assume full responsibility for their own actions and decisions. Individuals who score high on this scale:

• Tend to use work time conscientiously
• Consistently follow through on promises and agreements
• Typically provide truthful answers to questions
• Understand the importance of maintaining professional and business ethics
• Are characterized as being conscientious, dependable, ethical, honest, responsible, and trustworthy

This scale assesses people's beliefs and attitudes regarding the importance of assuming personal responsibility for one's own decisions and actions. Individuals who score high on this scale:

• Have a strong conviction that people are ultimately accountable for their own behavior
• Tend to be outspoken proponents of responsible behavior regarding financial matters
• Believe that people who do not pay their bills need to act more responsibly and should be expected to address problems they have created
• May not demonstrate much sympathy for people who refuse to pay their debts since they view this negligence as a form of social injustice
• Are characterized as being conscientious, creditworthy, ethical, fair-minded, high-principled, and straightforward

This scale assesses people's interest and willingness to establish and maintain friendly relationships with customers. Individuals who score high on this scale:

• Tend to relate to customers in a friendly and courteous manner
• Usually demonstrate appreciation and respect for customers' values, ideas, and perspectives
• Prefer to work with others in a "team environment" to achieve organizational objectives
• Are more likely to remain calm and use tact when resolving problems with customers
• Are characterized as being cooperative, extroverted, friendly, helpful, patient, and self-controlled

This scale assesses people's interest and willingness to establish and maintain cooperative relationships with co-workers (e.g., peers, supervisors, managers). Individuals who score high on this scale:

• Tend to have harmonious and friendly relationships with others
• Usually demonstrate appreciation and respect for other people's values, ideas, and perspectives
• Prefer to work with others in a "team environment" to achieve organizational objectives
• Are more likely to remain calm and use tact when resolving interpersonal problems
• Are characterized as being cooperative, extroverted, friendly, helpful, patient, and self-controlled

This scale assesses people's interest and willingness to promote a company's products and services as part of their job. Individuals who score high on this scale:

• Have enjoyed selling products to individuals during fundraising efforts
• Find selling interesting and tend to feel comfortable selling products and services
• Like the challenge of persuading individuals to change their opinions and behavior
• Are generally motivated by "winning" and achieving tangible results
• Are characterized as being achievement-oriented, assertive, enterprising, persuasive, positive, and sociable

This scale assesses people's need or desire to influence the decisions, actions, and opinions of others. Individuals who score high on this scale:

• Feel comfortable interacting with a wide variety of people
• Like the challenge of persuading individuals to change their opinions and behavior
• Tend to be motivated by situations that allow them to demonstrate their intelligence and to win arguments
• Typically voice their own opinions without being concerned about what other people may think
• Are characterized as being articulate, assertive, persuasive, quick-witted, self-confident , and sociable

This scale assesses people's preference for manual work that involves minimal guidance and supervision from others. Individuals who score high on this scale:

• Are very confident in their own abilities and demonstrate self-reliance in achieving work objectives
• Prefer to "stand on their own two feet" and to "be their own boss"
• Are highly motivated by work challenges that involve movement and physical endurance
• Are willing to accept adverse job conditions such as confined work spaces and inclement weather
• Are characterized as being able-bodied, independent, individualistic, self-confident, self-motivated, and self-sufficient

This scale assesses people's interest in paying constant attention to safety considerations in order to prevent accidents and to avoid injuries on one's job. Individuals who score high on this scale:

• Consistently apply established safety procedures and techniques when performing both routine and dangerous tasks
• Understand the importance of using safety devices and equipment to protect themselves and others
• Are attentive to circumstances and consider potential negative consequences if safety policies are ignored
• Tend to take the necessary precautions to decrease the chances of causing or becoming involved in an accident
• Are characterized as being alert, careful, cautious, commonsensical, focused, and observant

This scale assesses people's interests and preferences regarding repairing mechanical and electrical devices. Individuals who score high on this scale:

• Prefer manual activities and working with their hands
• Tend to have a lot of curiosity regarding mechanical and electrical devices and how they work
• Typically enjoy fixing mechanical and electrical devices that get broken
• Like to solve "tangible" problems
• Are characterized as being curious, handy, mechanically-inclined, physical, self-reliant, and solutions-oriented

This scale assesses people's ability to provide reliable, consistent responses to items in the questionnaire. Individuals who score high on this scale:

• Do not answer questionnaire items haphazardly
• Comprehend the intent and meaning of questionnaire items
• Are characterized as being accurate, credible, and thorough