Posted by Jonathan Kidder on December 17, 2020December 17, 2020

Enneagram personality model is used to understand someone’s unique personality type. The origins of this assessment has been disputed but the main ideas started in the early 1950’s. Enneagram is based on 9 different personality profiles. Why would you need to assess and score someone’s personality you may ask?

Have you ever wondered why people do things differently?

Why do some people react differently to the same scenario?

Maybe you have a coworker who you wanted to get along with better?

The truth is we all have different personalities and uniqueness that plays out during our daily work routines. The Enneagram model has been around for a while but most recently it’s been trending. HR has recognized the benefits of this test and have used this in adding in job description requirements, developing team building exercises, and improving leadership management.

Enneagram is a straightforward and direct way to understand someone else’s personality based on 9 different profiles. I’ve included the personality traits below and I’m sure you will come to realize many of these personalities fit well within a Recruiters personality and professional role.

Here’s the the Enneagram Personality of a Recruiter. The views expressed our based on my own interpretation of each trait:

(1) THE REFORMER

The Rational, Idealistic Type: Principled, Purposeful, Self-Controlled, and Perfectionistic.

The reformer fits well within the recruiting realm. They exemplify self control and high standards, and help deliver on results within a team setting. They are purposeful and detailed oriented which helps to solve problems and build a well-oiled full recruiting process. The reformer is someone who wants to be a “fixer”– they want everything to work and they focus on perfecting the process.

(2) THE HELPER

The Caring, Interpersonal Type: Demonstrative, Generous, People-Pleasing, and Possessive.

The helper is eager to help a team fill open requisitions. They are “people pleasers” and want coworkers to like them. They want to demonstrate value and are good at directing others to hitting a needed team goal. They are someone who loves connecting and building long term relationships. They value relationships with both candidates and coworkers and are always available to help. They are great team members to have and always go out of their way to make others feel cared for.

(3) THE ACHIEVER

The Success-Oriented, Pragmatic Type: Adaptive, Excelling, Driven, and Image-Conscious.

I am going to go out on a limb here and say that there are probably quite a few recruiters out there who are Achievers (myself included). The achiever is driven in their pursuit of results. They love to focus on projects and work on accomplishing daily goals. Achievers aim to impress, and often deliver. This personality fits well into a sales or recruitment role as they are naturally highly motivated. This type also needs to be careful not to burn out in their pursuit of achievement.

(4) THE INDIVIDUALIST

The Sensitive, Withdrawn Type: Expressive, Dramatic, Self-Absorbed, and Temperamental.

The individualist values individual connections with others and is focused on authenticity and meaning. They want to know that their work has direct benefit in the lives of others, and can use this motivation to meet recruiting goals. They value their uniqueness and benefit from their contributions being acknowledged. They may struggle with more monotonous parts of recruiting and need to work to find their own sense of meaning from what they do professionally.

(5) THE INVESTIGATOR

The Intense, Cerebral Type: Perceptive, Innovative, Secretive, and Isolated.

Investigators excel at thinking and research. They are highly intelligent and bring their immense knowledge and expertise to their job. This personality would fit well with a research Lead Generation sourcing role. This personality benefits from being given some space and independence, and may need to work on being a part of a team as this may not come naturally. When they have the skill to work well within a team they bring valuable strategic thinking.

(6) THE LOYALIST

The Committed, Security-Oriented Type: Engaging, Responsible, Anxious, and Suspicious.

The loyalist is someone who prizes safety and structure. Once these are in place they are extremely dependable and will help build a solid team and a smooth candidate experience. This personality type often does well in anticipating problems and finding solutions, which is a much needed aspect of recruiting. This personality may also do well in a Human Services role that is based on helping to create safety and structure for others.

(7) THE ENTHUSIAST

The Busy, Fun-Loving Type: Spontaneous, Versatile, Distractible, and Scattered.

The enthusiast is another common personality in the recruiting world. Enthusiasts are eager to jump on a new project, but might struggle to finish it. When focused, they are able to be solution-oriented and turn problems into opportunities. They are sometimes unorganized and can be easily distracted, however they showcase optimism and have a positive attitude within the team setting.

(8) THE CHALLENGER

The Powerful, Dominating Type: Self-Confident, Decisive, Willful, and Confrontational.

I could see the Challenger being a good fit within a recruiting manager title. Being able to be self confident and be able to share feedback is important as a recruiting manager. This person is good at delegating and directing others within a team. They may dominate team meetings and may sometimes get confrontational with others. This can be positive as long as the challenger frames their confrontations with others in a helpful way. As long as they temper their forcefulness when necessary, challengers can be great leaders.

(9) THE PEACEMAKER

The Easygoing, Self-Effacing Type: Receptive, Reassuring, Agreeable, and Complacent.

This type might be best suited for an Human Resource Generalist role. Peacemakers are kind and agreeable. They value routine and process and have a balanced approach to work. They are often able to see multiple sides of an issue which can greatly benefit a team’s perspective. At times, they may struggle to stand up for themselves. When functioning well, peacemakers bring a sense of calm collectiveness to a team.

I strongly recommend that you and your recruiting team take the Enneagram assessment. Once you get your number take the time to present them to each other. This will help your team better understand each other’s personality traits and help you better align yourself with each individual team member. This is a great way to understand how you work in a team setting professionally and also outside of work.

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Jonathan Kidder

With more than 12 years of recruitment experience, Jonathan has helped startups and small businesses find the talent they need. He runs the blog WizardSourcer, which explores the latest trends in talent sourcing, provides reviews of recruitment tools, and features interviews with prominent figures in the industry.