USING PERSONALITY AI TO

IMPROVE RECRUITING

Communicate better with candidates

and set up new hires for success

By Drew D’Agostino, CEO of

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

WHY PERSONALITY MATTERS FOR HIRING 3

UNDERSTANDING PERSONALITY 5

COMMUNICATE MORE EFFECTIVELY 9

Improve your interviews

Use Role Reports as a guide

Eliminate bias

SET UP NEW HIRES FOR SUCCESS 14

Motivating them to succeed

AVOID KEY MISTAKES 19

IMPROVE RECRUITING 2
 Intro

Why personality
matters for hiring

IMPROVE RECRUITING 3
 MY JOB
WHY PERSONALITY
IS TALKING TO
MATTERS
PEOPLEFOR HIRING

If you have built or managed a team over

any length of time, you have likely fumbled
the hiring process at one point; I certainly
have. I’ve hired great people for the wrong
roles, lost promising candidates to other
companies after I thought our meetings
went well, and mistakenly turned away
people who could have been an excellent
addition. In my current role at Crystal, I
frequently find myself in conversations with
other leaders, managers, and recruiters, and
I know I’m not alone. Many of these very
competent, experienced people experience
similar pain in the hiring process and want to
make better, more consistent decisions.

Since hiring is ultimately all about bringing people together, it can be messy, unpredictable,
emotional, and stressful. With limited information and limited time, you are often in a position to
make huge decisions on behalf of people who you only recently met, for roles that are critical to
the success of your company. Differences in personalities, desires, goals, and motivations make
this a problem with many variables, and the outcome is often all-or-nothing.

Because of this, leaders and hiring managers are seeking out more
and more data to support their decisions, including personality profiles.

In this guide, we will explain how personality profiles and behavioral information can help you
communicate more effectively with candidates, conduct more efficient interviews, reduce or
eliminate your biases throughout the hiring process, and put new hires in positions where they
are most likely to succeed.

IMPROVE RECRUITING 4
 Section 1

Understanding
personality

IMPROVE RECRUITING 5
 MY JOB IS TALKINGPERSONALITY
UNDERSTANDING PERSONALITY
TO PEOPLE

Historically, the only way you would be able to fully understand someone’s personality is by either
getting to know them really well, which takes lots of time and emotional intelligence, or having
them take a personality test. Both of these approaches require that you have an established
relationship with the person, which doesn’t tend to work in the world of outreach communication,
since we are often trying to connect with new people who we have never spoken with before.

Thankfully, there is a new technology that unlocks another way to learn about someone’s
personality without an assessment - Personality AI. We wrote about this in detail in another
ebook titled, Personality AI (which you can download for free). This new technology analyzes
publicly available information on websites like LinkedIn to predict someone’s personality, using
artificial intelligence and machine learning. We built our product, Crystal, to harness Personality
AI and enable anyone to identify personalities online to improve their communication and build
stronger relationships, all based on the core principle of empathy.Without getting too technical,

IMPROVE RECRUITING 6
 when Crystal’s AI predicts personality, it uses a framework called DISC to classify personalities
into a few categories that we refer to as D (dominance), I (influence), S (steadiness), and C
(conscientiousness). Each of us has a primary DISC type in one of these categories and sometimes
a secondary DISC type in another. To keep things simple, we separate these into easy-to-
remember labels called Archetypes.

You can see them all on this graphic called the Personality Map:

IMPROVE RECRUITING 7
 Below is a breakdown of common personality traits
within each of the categories in DISC.

D Personality Types: Captains, Drivers, Initiators, Architects

• Motivated by control over the future and personal authority
• Tend to prefer instant, concrete results and having an advantage over competition
• Communicate clearly and succinctly

I Personality Types: Influencer, Motivator, Encourager, Harmonizer

• Motivated by innovative, unique, creative ideas and excited by the future
• Tend to prefer building new relationships and experiences
• Communicate in a casual, expressive way

S Personality Types: Counselor, Supporter, Planner, Stabilizer

• Motivated by peace, safety, and others’ wellbeing
• Tend to prefer security, reliability and trust
• Communicate in a friendly and genuine way

C Personality Types: Editor, Analyst, Skeptic, Questioner

• Motivated by logic, information, and problem solving
• Tend to prefer accurate information and quality solutions (quality over quantity)
• Communicate in a business-like, fact-based way

These differences are extremely important to understand when approaching a conversation with
anyone. For example, someone who is a warm, people-oriented Supporter (S) is less likely to
engage in a discussion about facts and data. They’d usually prefer to engage in a more personal,
get-to-know-you conversation. An Analyst (C), on the other hand, tends to enjoy learning more
about specific, concrete information. By identifying someone’s personality type, we
can learn how to best communicate with them.

IMPROVE RECRUITING 8
 Section 2

Communicate
more effectively

IMPROVE RECRUITING 9
 COMMUNICATE
MY
UNDERSTANDING MORE
JOB IS TALKING TO EFFECTIVELY
PERSONALITY
PEOPLE

When your goal is to hire the best candidate, it’s important to set your company apart by approaching
candidates in a way that resonates with their individual personalities and placing them in the right positions
for their personality. Understanding a candidate’s personality can give insights into the best ways to meet,
call, and email them, what their ideal workplace is, and assess their core motivations.

Improve your interviews

Because interviews are among the best
opportunities to understand if a candidate
is a good fit for a role, the importance of
communicating effectively cannot be overstressed.

Each personality tends to prefer different styles

of interviews.

More direct, logical types on the left side of the

Personality Map, D-types and C-types, tend to prefer professional, focused interviews that give them the
information they need, like compensation, day-to-day tasks, and specific expectations to understand the
job. They likely will appreciate meeting one person at a time, rather than being overwhelmed by a group.

People-oriented types on the right side of the Personality Map, including I-types and S-types, generally
prefer more personal, casual interviews that allow them the opportunity to build connections with the
interviewer. They may be more comfortable with personal questions about their life outside of work.

Those near the top of the

D S map, D-types and I-types,

tend to be more high-energy
and fast-paced; they generally

I fast-paced casual and personal prefer to work through

interviews meetings and interviews
quickly. However, those
close to the bottom of the
Personality Map, S-types

C
professional slower-paced and C-types tend to be more
and data driven interviews thorough and thoughtful; they
usually prefer to take their
time in interview discussions.

IMPROVE RECRUITING 10
 Use Role Reports as a Guide
When working to understand a candidate’s potential, personality type alone cannot tell you
if they are a good fit. You also need to understand:

• The behaviors you and your team are expecting from the role.

• The strengths and blind spots typically associated with the candidate’s personality.

• If the candidate has developed the necessary skills to manage their blind spots

Blind spots are behaviors that do not come naturally to a person, but are sometimes
necessary for a particular situation and require the person to adapt.

You can gather this kind of data from a tool like Crystal using a Role Report. The Role Report
helps you see how specific candidates are likely to fit the expectations for a certain position.
It also gives interview questions that allow the candidate to share how they will handle
situations where they may need to adapt or adjust their behavior to succeed. There are a few
steps to using Role Reports:

1. Take a role expectations survey

Each member of your team who is a stakeholder

in the hiring process, such as the hiring
manager, recruiter and key co-workers, should
complete this brief survey. The survey allows
them to rate a list of behaviors on a five point
scale from Unimportant to Important. It allows
each person to share their input on what
behaviors the ideal candidate should possess.
Are you looking for someone who is comfortable
following a routine process each day or
someone who needs to constantly brainstorm
ideas to create new processes?

For example, let’s say you are looking to fill a

Product Manager position at your company.
The hiring manager and anyone who needs to
work alongside this person would complete the
survey to outline the expected role behaviors.

IMPROVE RECRUITING 11
 2. View ideal
personality type

Once everyone has completed the

survey, Crystal will calculate the ideal
personality type for the role and show it
visually on the Personality Map.

In this case, your team has requested

qualities most typical of an Questioner
(CD): they should be able to analyze lots
of data, work well independently, and
remove emotions from decision making.

3. See how candidates compare

If you have Crystal Premium+, you can add

candidates to the report and have them take
Crystal’s Personality Assessment too see how they
compare to your team’s expectations for the role.

This does not necessarily mean that the

candidate cannot succeed in the role. They
may actually still be a very good fit. However,
it does mean that you need to verify that
they have developed the skills to adapt to
the behaviors that do not come as naturally
for them. position. In general, DI-types like
Initiators tend to be more confident, direct,
and driven by instinct. For this role, they
would need to work in a very different style.

To understand this, you can ask the candidate the suggested interview questions on the Role
Report. They reflect the important behaviors for the role that are most likely outside of the
candidate’s comfort zone.

IMPROVE RECRUITING 12
 By verifying that they can perform the expected
behaviors for the role, you can insure you hire
the right candidate.

Eliminate bias
As humans with limited perspective, we all tend
to weigh our unique past experiences too heavily
in our decisions, which can lead us to make poor
judgements in certain scenarios. Personality data
can help eliminate our own biases by focusing
on behavioral patterns or preferences for each
person, rather than our own pre-existing bias
and assumptions.

For example, you may have an existing belief that “all good salespeople are direct and
assertive.” But, for your particular sales role, the job might require someone who is more
outgoing, consistent, and warm.

If you made this decision based on

your pre-existing assumptions rather
than behavioral data, you have a
much stronger chance of choosing
the wrong candidate and costing
your company time and money.
However, if you are able to view
the hiring process focused solely
on behavior, you are more likely to
choose someone who will succeed in
the role.

As time goes on, you will likely begin

to understand the ideal personality
profiles for each role, but the results
may still surprise you. Use the Crystal
Role Reports first when recruiting
to get the most accurate insight
for each unique job, role, team, or
situation to ensure you are hiring
based on the expected behaviors of
the role.

IMPROVE RECRUITING 13
 Section 3

Set up new hires

for success

IMPROVE RECRUITING 14
 MY
UNDERSTANDING
SETJOB
UP IS
NEW
TALKING
HIRES
PERSONALITY
TO
FOR
PEOPLE
SUCCESS

When you find the right candidate to join your team, they may initially find themselves
overwhelmed with new responsibilities. Fresh starts, career changes, and new positions are
intimidating for most people. Completing on-boarding tasks, learning the company culture,
adjusting to an unfamiliar environment with different rules, projects, and new expectations
can be overstimulating and draining.

Consider what you can do to help them avoid

some of this stress. For starters, you can
communicate with them in a tailored, energizing
way. Crystal’s Playbooks feature can help offer
insight into effectively doing that for their
specific personality.

For example, here is how an Analyst (C) might

want to interact with their boss, peers and
direct reports:

• Provides enough time to research and process information independently.

• Answers questions thoroughly and specifically.
YOUR BOSS • Provides a logical, accurate, & precise description of performance expectations.
• Gives you autonomy to discover new ways to complete an assignment.
• Values careful planning and preparation.

• Explain the reasoning behind their claims and recommendations.

• Give you opportunities to demonstrate your skills and expertise.
YOUR PEERS • Work within an established set of systems and standards.
• Communicate with formal, business-like language.
• Respect your schedule and routine.

• Consistently deliver high quality results.

YOUR • Provide compelling logic to back up their ideas.
DIRECT • Avoid taking unnecessary risks.
REPORTS • Ask for feedback frequently, especially in writing.
• Work within the rules that you have established.

IMPROVE RECRUITING 15
 Motivating them to succeed
Because people are naturally diverse, they are likely to respond differently to certain
behaviors or tasks in their role. Typically, they tend to be more actively engaged in work that
addresses their innate, primary motivations.

Primary motivations are what drive people; understanding different personality type’s
motivations offers insights into why people seek certain environments, behaviors, and
positions. For example, an Encourager (Is) will likely thrive in a position that involves joining
a social work environment, exploring new ideas, and engaging in frequent collaborative
discussion, as this includes three of their primary motivations.

D Personality Types: Captains, Drivers, Initiators, Architects

• Exceeding performance expectations and overcoming challenges
• Competition and winning
• Producing results and making tangible progress
• Efficiency and timeliness

I Personality Types: Influencer, Motivator, Encourager, Harmonizer

• Exploration and discovery
• Fun, novelty, and excitement
• Feeling accepted and welcomed by others
• Learning through open discussion and brainstorming

S Personality Types: Counselor, Supporter, Planner, Stabilizer

• Long-term trust and loyalty
• Harmony and predictability
• Environmental and relational predictability
• Being able to help others

C Personality Types: Editor, Analyst, Skeptic, Questioner

• Accuracy and precision
• Building an effective process
• Building more skill, competence, and expertise
• Environments where thought and analysis are valued

IMPROVE RECRUITING 16
 Energy driving vs. energy draining behaviors
Some of the most important factors to consider when structuring a new role are energy
driving behaviors. Personality profiles can help you understand which actions tend to excite
and inspire someone to work effectively. Personalities on the left of the Personality Map,
D-types and C-types, tend to enjoy more logical, independent tasks, while those on the right,
I-types and S-types, usually prefer interactive, social actions.

Those near the top of the map, D-types and I-types, also tend to be naturally high-energy
and thrive in environments that are fast-paced, while personalities near the bottom, S-types
and C-types, are generally calmer and prefer a slower-paced environment. For example, if
someone with a Captain (D) personality type has tight deadlines to abide by, they’re likely to
feel energized and excited.

DISC TYPE ENERGY DRIVING BEHAVIORS

• Completing ambitious projects on a tight deadline

D Personality Types • Communicating with quick conversations and messages, only
Types: Captains, Drivers,
when necessary
Initiators, Architects
• Taking primary responsibility and ownership over large projects

I Personality Types • Regularly interacting with a large, diverse group of people

Types: Influencer, Motivator, • Providing verbal encouragement and telling stories
Encourager, Harmonizer • Explaining things with emotional, expressive language

• Regularly interacting with a large, diverse group of people

S Personality Types • Helping and counseling others to navigate through
Types: Counselor, Supporter,
emotional challenges
Planner, Stabilizer
• Explaining things with emotional, expressive language

• Solving problems with thorough analysis of the existing data

C Personality Types • Taking time to meditate on a problem before making a
Types: Editor, Analyst, final decision
Skeptic, Questioner • Working on projects independently and bringing results back
to a group

IMPROVE RECRUITING 17
 On the other side are energy draining behaviors. Situations that require someone to step
well out of their comfort zone tend to involve actions that will likely deplete that person’s
energy. If a Supporter (S) has to constantly rush to keep up with the same tight deadlines as
a Captain (D), they’re likely to feel exhausted and overwhelmed. When people feel this sort
of stress in their positions, they tend to eventually leave. By placing people in positions that
frequently drain them of energy, you’re setting yourself up to lose qualified, capable people.

DISC TYPE ENERGY DRAINING BEHAVIORS

• Patiently listening to questions from others and

D Personality Types responding thoughtfully
Types: Captains, Drivers,
• Building long-term trust with consistent and predictable behavior
Initiators, Architects
• Responding to difficult situations with compassion and empathy

• Solving problems with thorough analysis of the existing data

I Personality Types • Spending a lot of time to research the root causes of a problem
Types: Influencer, Motivator,
• Creating procedures, rules, and guidelines for other people
Encourager, Harmonizer
to follow

S Personality Types • Making decisions on behalf of other people without much

Types: Counselor, group input
Supporter, Planner, • Communicating with quick conversations and messages
Stabilizer • Critically questioning existing practices and procedures

C Personality Types • Discussing abstract ideas instead of concrete ones

Types: Editor, Analyst, • Understanding and responding to other people’s emotions
Skeptic, Questioner • Bouncing between multiple ideas at once

As a recruiter or hiring manager, you can make sure the person you hire has a personality
that is well-aligned with their role, which will help ensure that they spend the majority of
their time working on tasks that motivate and energize them- making them passionate about
their work and more productive.

IMPROVE RECRUITING 18
 Section 4

Avoid key
mistakes

IMPROVE RECRUITING 19
 MY JOBKEY
AVOID IS TALKING
MISTAKES
TO PEOPLE

When we started Crystal, I took on many

roles that didn’t necessarily excite me, but
needed to be filled. It’s the typical founder
story; my focus had to be on the success
of our company, rather than my personal
preferences.

As a result, I ended up spending most of

my time juggling a variety of different
responsibilities.

On any given day, I was analyzing

spreadsheets, taking customer support
calls, running our sales process, and many
other activities that were well outside of
my comfort zone. After a couple of years, I was burnt out and exhausted. Getting out of bed to
drag myself into work at my own company was not a struggle I imagined myself facing.

As the months dragged on, the burnout persisted, and I started having doubts about my own
ability to continue as CEO. I was not doing a good job, in my own estimation, and I certainly was
not enjoying my work. However, Greg, my business partner, was able to diagnose some of my
issues and snapped me out of it after one career-altering meeting.

We sat down together one day to explicitly write out my list of jobs and we quickly realized that
not only did I have way too many different roles, but most of those roles took me too far from
my “home” in the Influencer (Id) region too often. That’s why I always felt like I was running on an
empty tank of gas.

IMPROVE RECRUITING 20
 We immediately got to work reorganizing and reassigning tasks. Greg, a true Architect (Dc),
ended up taking on much of my data-driven, analytical tasks, while I was able to focus
more on what excites me: product strategy, design, and marketing. Focusing on the work
that drives me, gives me energy, and motivates me was an immediate game-changer for my
career at Crystal. I started staying “close to home” for the majority of each day and it had
a compounding effect on my performance. The majority of the responsibilities I took on
gave me energy, which let me effectively complete the draining tasks that I still needed to
accomplish.

Since Greg and I have complementary personalities, this allowed each of us to double down
on our strengths, manage our blind spots, and thrive in our respective roles. If we had
initially thought to structure my role around tasks that excite me, we could have avoided an
intensely stressful situation.

By understanding a candidates personality, you can ensure you keep them engaged with work
that energizes and motivates them; improving your teams effectiveness and avoiding costly
mistakes in the hiring process.

IMPROVE RECRUITING 21
 Hire without
the guesswork
Thousands of recruiters globally use Crystal to source
candidates, match them with roles, and set them up for success.

VALUES CONSISTENCY & DILIGENCE

VALUES SPEED & EFFICIENCY

TRY IT TODAY UPGRADE TO PREMIUM

Click
Click
to learn
to learn
more
more