While I have taken variations of the Big 5 personality test before to see where I sit in the big five factions that make the OCEAN (Openness, Conscientousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism), this was my first time taking the IPIP.

To summarize my results: Overall, I sit in the OCEAN about where I have previously and so who I am in the OCEAN is resulting fairly stable.

Openess – 54 – Average: this was a bit surprising to me because I am a fairly open, curious person. I appreciate that the IPIP provides sub categories and scores so I could see how my lows were balancing the high artistic interest and adventurousness.

Conscientous – 98 – High: this was not a surprise because I have a high level of drive, achievement focus, self-discipline, self-efficacy.

Extraversion – 96 – High: this was not a surprise because I have a high activity level and involved in many things, assertive, friendly (I was surprised this is here and not in Openness), gregarious, and cheerful.

Agreeableness – 81 – High: I am thankful this is high as well because otherwise the high assertive and high conscientous could be a rough combo. This high agreeable score makes sense because of my candid, frank approach with a hugh desire to help others.

Neuroticism – 2 – Low: this result described me as calm, composed, and unflappable. I will say that after being in the military, deployments, and parenting four children, I can handle a lot without getting ruffled.

So, what would a potential employer say about this set of results?

Hopefully they would say, “I want to hire her!” These results paint a fairly strong picture of someone who is good with people, good at getting the work done, can take on conflict and stressful situations to find solutions. My scores show strengths for fast paced environments, people-facing roles, teamwork, leadership, management, projects, and strong friendliness would make it pleasant to work together as well.

There were some parts that if they looked at the sub category breakdowns some of them individually could suggest someone who isn’t innovative or willing to stand up for themselves (my high score is cooperation suggests that I will avoid conflict, but I think my high scores in assertive and morality-candid-frank really shift this).

Depending on the role, the strengths that a potential employer could see outweigh the potential weaknesses. Personally, it is nice to look at this over time and see what has shifted, and perhaps it reflects a time in my life that is either highlighting a strength or downplaying or restraining a trait into a potential weakness. It’s interesting information to look at and see what resonates.