Prepare for the Hogan Personality Inventory Test (HPI): Sample Questions, Practice, & Expert Tips [2023]

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What Is the Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI)?

The HPI or Hogan Personality Inventory, or HPI test,  measures your normal or “bright side” personality traits. That is, how you typically behave, how well you work with other co-workers, and whether you are more fit to be a leader or a follower.

The HPI is one of the most common Hogan Assessments, used by employers to determine whether you possess the necessary traits to fit the vacant role and the company’s culture and standards. This Hogan personality survey contains 220 questions rated on a 4-point scale. It is administered online and usually takes 15-20 minutes to complete.

Get a quick overview of the Hogan personality inventory test:

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What Does the Hogan Personality Inventory Test Measure?

The Hogan Personality Inventory questionnaire assesses your typical characteristics, to predict how you would interact and perform at work. Each question on the Hogan HPI test measures a particular personality trait, adding up to seven main traits- Ambition, Sociability, Interpersonal sensitivity, Prudence, Inquisitiveness, and Adjustment. 

Each scale is composed of several subscales. You can read more about all the Hogan HPI subscales and corresponding questions on our Full Hogan Personality Test Preparation.

In addition to the traits above, the Hogan Personality Inventory test results are also used to assess expected job performance on six occupational scales: 

• Stress Tolerance 
• Service Orientation 
• Clerical Potential 
• Reliability 
• Sales Potential 
• Managerial Potential 

Hogan Personality Inventory Test Sample

The Hogan personality inventory test has 220 questions that are administered online with no time limit. These may not seem difficult at first sight, but answering in a way that expresses your strengths can be quite challenging.

Take a look at sample Hogan HPI test questions, taken from our HPI Test Preparation :

How Do You Pass the Hogan Personality Inventory?

Here are a few tips on how to approach Hogan personality questions and raise your chances of passing the test: 

1. It’s all about how you behave at work
   The sole purpose of the Hogan personality questions is to assess how you would behave at work. This means that when reading HPI questions, even if you’re asked about your “usual” behavior, always imagine yourself in the context of work and answer accordingly.
   
   
   Think about how you would rate the following statement:
   ‘Sometimes I find it hard to motivate myself'
   
   Now, reconsider your answer to this phrasing:
   ‘sometimes I find it hard to motivate myself at work’.
   
   Did you answer differently this time? It’s common to struggle to motivate yourself in certain situations, like when you’re getting up in the morning or when you have some home chores. Choosing 'agree/strongly agree' here would indicate specifically that you have difficulty motivating yourself at work, which could negatively affect how you come across.

    

2. Focus on the position you’re applying for
   As mentioned, HPI test questions assess whether your personality fits your position. Since each position has different qualities that would make employees great at that job, consider the job requirements to express your best self FOR THE POSITION.
   
   
   Think about how you would rate the following example- 'I’m always the dominant person in the group and enjoy taking the lead’ 
   
   Answering ‘agree/strongly agree’ here would indicate you’re highly dominant. This could be great for positions that require taking initiative and leading like management positions. However, it is not ideal for a customer success position that requires working in a team and being more attentive.
   
   
3. Watch out for extreme scores
   

   You’re expected to score low/high on several traits, depending on your position, but not too low or high. This means you should watch out for extreme scores yet get a high/low score that fits the role’s expected competencies. Balancing your answers is a delicate skill that requires practice.

   ​Think about how you would rate the following example- ‘I’ve never lied to someone I know”
   
   First, pay attention to extreme or definitive words, like “always” or “never”.

   A helpful rule is- when an extreme word appears, don’t choose an extreme answer (strongly agree/disagree).

   Also, you might be tempted to answer “agree” to make a good impression. Since most humans have lied sometime in their lives, and you’re a human, answering 'agree' would come across as unreliable.
   
   

   Let’s try another sample question- ‘Sometimes I feel like cursing’
   
   

   Here, since the question doesn’t contain an extreme word, try to choose an extreme response.
   have you chosen “agree”?
   If so, well done! You’re a quick learner.
   If not, it is perfectly normal since it takes some practice to get the idea.
   
   

   Learn more about how to answer HPI questions to get a balanced personality profile on our full Hogan Personality Inventory Preparation. 

To implement these tips and recieve the best possible outcome when answering these tricky personality statements, we offer a complete Hogan Personality Inventory preparation course with a full HPI practice test, answer explanations, and extensive guides. 

Hogan HPI Sample Report

The Hogan personality inventory test results are given to employers as percentile scores, indicating where you stand on a certain trait scale compared to others. Every score reflects distinct strengths and shortcomings, so high scores are not necessarily better.

This is how the HPI report would look like:

What HPI score is considered good?

Since the ideal score for each personality trait differs from role to role, the answer depends on the position you’re applying for and the employer’s expectations. For example, scoring high on Ambition may be great for executive positions, as it means you would be driven, energetic, self-confident, and competitive. However, it may predict poor performance if you’re applying for a customer service role since the latter requires more sympathy and the ability to follow orders and cooperate in a team.

Going back to the example above- answering ‘strongly agree’ on ‘I feel in charge to make things happen’ would indicate you tend to be highly dominant, a great quality for managerial positions. However, if you are applying for a customer service position, a better answer would be answering disagree or strongly disagree, as it indicates that you are more likely to get along working in a team and to follow others.

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