Hiring the right person is both an art and a science. Resumes and interviews give you important information, but they don’t tell the whole story. That’s where DISC comes in.
The Extended DISC® Candidate Assessment provides recruiters and hiring managers with a behavioral snapshot of each candidate. Instead of guessing how someone might act under pressure, work with others, or adapt to change, the report helps you identify their natural tendencies.
Why DISC Matters in Hiring
Every role requires more than technical skills. For example, a top-performing salesperson doesn’t just know products; they must build relationships, stay motivated, and handle rejection. A patient care role may require empathy, precision, and clear communication.
DISC doesn’t tell you whether you should hire a candidate. However, it provides supportive information on how they’re likely to show up in the role.
Key Insights from the Candidate Assessment
When reviewing the Extended DISC® Candidate Assessment, a few areas stand out:
- Natural Style: Shows their most comfortable and preferred ways of doing things.
- Strengths: Reveals how easily the candidate can adjust their behavior to different environments.
- Reactions to Pressure Situations: These are not necessarily weaknesses or current behaviors. Rather, they are potential caution areas that may surface under pressure situations.
- Motivators: Identifies areas the candidate tends to respond positively to and feel energized.
- Situations that Reduce Your Motivation: These are areas the candidate does not prefer and may drain their energy. They are not weaknesses, just situations that feel less natural for them.
These insights support interview questions and hiring discussions. Remember, the Assessment reflects how others may perceive the person’s behavior, but it doesn't measure every skill they have developed or how they might adapt in different situations.
From Report to Interview Questions
The Candidate Assessment is not a pass/fail tool—it’s a conversation starter. Use the job-related and natural style questions to enrich the selection process. The questions are generated based on the candidate's DISC style. For example, if a candidate is an S-style, a job-related question might be:
- “Tell me about a time you had to adapt quickly to a sudden change in procedures. How did you handle it?”
Or, if the candidate is a D-style, a question based on their natural style might be:
- "How do you recognize when others have differing viewpoints, and how do you address those differences?"
By tailoring questions to the DISC styles, the selection process moves beyond generic interviews to generating richer insights and discussions about how the candidate may fit into the role and the team.
Best Practices for Recruiters
Here are some key takeaways:
- Use DISC alongside structured interviews, skills tests, and references.
- Avoid stereotyping—DISC describes behavior, not ability.
- Consider sharing results as part of a transparent hiring conversation.
When used effectively, the Extended DISC® Candidate Assessment doesn’t replace your judgment—it sharpens it. It gives you the confidence to ask better questions, make fairer comparisons, and select candidates who are a stronger fit for the role and culture.