Getting to Know You with the Big Five Personality Traits

Have you ever been asked, “How would you describe yourself?” or, “What unique personality traits will you bring to the profession that will help you to be successful?” ¹.

It’s incredible how these simple questions can stump the smartest people.

Psychology classes have made personality tests popular among high school, undergraduate, and health professions students as a gateway to self-assessment, teamwork building, and leadership development. These assessments also provide standardized frameworks and vocabulary to help guide improvement and growth to more responsible roles.

Most students are familiar with the Myers-Briggs Type Inventory, the Strong Interest Inventory, the Revised NEO Personality Inventory, and the DISC Personality Test. These assessments are available from certified university-based career advisors and human resource consultants. Often, student services staff will include their working personality results in their email signatures (my Clifton S t rengths words were Analytical, Adaptability, Connectedness, Deliberative, and Communication). References often use these words to signal their confidence in strong candidates. Interviewed candidates can similarly describe themselves or infer how their peers may describe them.

Recently, heavy users of LinkedIn have been discussing how its algorithms score each user and potential hire on their “fit” using the Big Five Personality Traits. Unlike many other assessments, the Big Five construct is considered the most scientifically valid ^{2 3 4 5}.

How big is your OCEAN (or CANOE)?

The Big Five Inventory was originally a short 44-item questionnaire examining five personality domains. Many universities’ career services offices offer this questionnaire to students ⁶.

Big Five (Main Trait)	Description
Openness	Curiosity, imagination, and openness to new ideas and experiences
Conscientiousness	Responsibility, organization, and goal orientation
Extroversion	Sociability, assertiveness, and energy from interacting with others
Agreeableness	Kindness, empathy, and the desire to build positive relationships
Neuroticism or Emotionality	Emotional sensitivity and susceptibility to stress and mood swings

The original questionnaire is open-source and available to researchers ⁷. However, shorter versions have also been tested and validated ⁸, and other commercial versions are available; results should never replace a professional assessment.

Large language models can search text (such as in one’s social media accounts) to look for personality traits that can be categorized. These models could be tested as algorithms that promote the most engaging content for subscribers ⁹. Furthermore, generative AI models can promote new content by personalizing suggested items to each user’s personality and maximizing engagement. Try prompting your favorite LLM to change the tone of a writing sample (express more confidence, curiosity, or compassion).

This rationale guides admissions offices as they develop marketing materials and messages to individual prospects. Each person’s metadata can influence the promotion of specific opportunities or anticipate questions regarding possible program interest, similar to marketing algorithms that push ads into your web browser soon after you visit a vendor site.

When I started in admissions over a decade ago, applicants wondered whether anyone in admissions would review their public social media accounts. Many applicants can restrict access to friends and connections, so that outsiders cannot learn about their political opinions. Admissions teams could rarely pay attention to reviewing every applicant’s online presence when they had so much else that was more important, and some students serving on our admissions committees would do that vetting for our committees (read the AAMC’s “How Social Media Can Affect Your Application” for details).

AI tools have made high-volume, rapid analysis much more feasible. More recent research demonstrates how one’s personality is expressed in social media ^{10 11}. General observations about one’s posting behaviors can be correlated to one’s personality ^{12 13 14}. With robust AI robots that can scan, search, and assess more efficiently, social media accounts can be monitored and quickly updated to develop simple personality measures. Such tools already exist for human resource offices as part of their screening process ¹⁵. Ultimately, a job applicant’s hiring, onboarding, and employment experience may be monitored by AI tools ¹⁶. Similar software systems may help school administrators keep track of their students’ progress ^{17 18 19}. The vetting of over one million international students’ social media profiles presents the first test upon those who will apply for or renew their F, J, and M visas ²⁰.

AI Ethical Guidelines in Admissions, Education, and Practice

The AAMC published a set of core principles regarding the use of AI tools for the recruitment, admission, selection, education, and training of medical students and residents ²¹. They have published articles showing how medical schools use AI in their classrooms ²², though use in admissions is remarkably absent. As of this writing, guidance has been made by the American Dental Association ²³, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain ²⁴, the American Veterinary Medical Association ²⁵, and the American Optometric Association ²⁶. SDN previously detailed the potential uses of generative AI in admissions with “How Are You Using AI? Generative AI Survey Results.” The ethical use of personality assessments for residency selection has also been discussed ^{27 28}.

Selecting Applicants with the Big Five (and AI)

Because almost all current college students spend several hours each day engaging with social media, they generate vast amounts of data that these AI tools can easily analyze. While the Big Five is best used for adults (18 years or older), marketers have developed appealing advertising strategies ²⁹, and college admissions offices – and their higher education consultants – have leveraged this knowledge. Further information can be gleaned from friendly memes and online quizzes, and new tools can analyze images and videos. Faculty and administrators can also integrate AI modules to help students with early signs of trouble ^{30 31}.

How often do applicants show off their professional-associated activities, such as participating in a suturing workshop, observing surgeries in an operating room (when allowed), or relaxing in a remote location during their medical mission trip? Such data could be analyzed to complete an applicant’s profile about their eagerness to become a student in a specific program.

A program can tweak word filters that signal openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, and agreeableness. Furthermore, one can design filters against significant neuroticism based on word choice in posts, application essays, or recorded interview responses. A deviation from the desired levels of the Big Five can be attributed to mission fit misalignment as the candidate may not exhibit sufficient enthusiasm, curiosity, or vision to be productive and a happy member of the learning community. One can even receive feedback about how well these traits and the AAMC preprofessional competencies are demonstrated in personal statements or secondary essays if fed into a properly trained AI tool.

Neuroticism, or emotionalism, focuses on managing emotions within a situation or context. Most premeds openly discuss these anxieties with their peers or in their essays ³². The communication cadence and frequency to admissions teams through portals, emails, or phone calls – which admissions offices can track – can serve as a measurable proxy that could be factored into admissions decisions. However, one can also leverage emotionalism as an affirming source of empathy, service orientation, or advocacy ^{33 34 35}. Compartmentalizing emotions is considered a sign of professionalism under duress or in difficult situations (removing someone from a team), but it can also be the seed for moral distress, disengagement, depression, and burnout ^{36 37}. Applicants should query how a program, school, hospitals, or universities provide structure for greater emotional well-being ^{38 39 40}.

Researchers are also comparing performance on situational judgment tests and objective structured clinical exams with personality observations. One recent German study associates higher scores on the HAM-SJT with agreeableness, while those who had more relevant clinical experience or professional credentials had greater extraversion ⁴¹. Urology programs also have shown interest in comparing situational judgment tests and personality assessments for residency selection ⁴². Further studies could clarify whether these gold-standard assessments, which are designed to evaluate professionalism and competence, may harbor biases against certain personality traits.

Compassion and Wellness

These articles explore how emotional intelligence and compassion serve as foundational personality traits for healthcare professionals.

Strengthening Candidate Evaluations

Can you use the Big Five to help you prepare for and manage yourself during the application process? Consider how well you have prepared your best profile and how these traits may contribute to a strong, positive mindset.

Prehealth advisors enjoy writing about the potential of each applicant in institutional committee letters. In addition to a biography about the applicant, the institutional letter highlights accomplishments that indicate preparation for a future career. The Big Five framework helps advisors show each applicant’s composure to succeed in an intense curriculum.

Applicants should highlight their personal strengths with specific examples to guide the letter writers’ evaluations. (Note: A similar strategy may help current medical students highlight their employability to prospective residency directors in their standard evaluations; The big five: Studying the surgical personality ⁴³.) Strong references should use words that emphasize Big Five traits and professionalism – recalling your questions from your observations, your punctuality and trustworthiness, your kindness towards others with whom you interacted, and your courage in the face of discomfort.

Preparing for Interviews

Interviewers generally submit more favorable feedback for final file review if they feel comfortable and confident in your professional fit with their program. Even though each evaluator has a script of prepared questions or a rubric for evaluating responses (for situational judgment tests, multiple mini interviews, or traditional interviews), the Big Five can frame questions that gauge your understanding of the culture of their program. Consider these examples for which I have assigned Big Five traits.

Big Five	Self-assessment	Candidate Evaluation (hypothetical list)	2024 secondary prompt (program)
Openness – Curiosity, imagination, and openness to new ideas and experiences	How much have you learned about each school/program you applied to? Why are you excited to attend that program?	How willing has the candidate been to stretch outside their comfort zone and participate in brand-new challenges?	Outside of medicine, and beyond what we can read in your application, tell us what you are curious about or what you have chosen to explore. (University of Michigan)
Conscientiousness – Responsibility, organization, and goal orientation	How well have you utilized resources, such as expert advisors, mentors, peer organizations, online platforms, and opportunities to set goals and expectations for test preparation, a calendar to submit your application, and a strategy for interview preparation and management?	How well is the candidate able to self-assess, set goals, adhere to ethical behavior, and remain organized when facing multiple priorities?	Have you taken or are you planning to take time off between college graduation and medical school matriculation? Please describe your activities during this time. (University of Pennsylvania)
Extroversion – Sociability, assertiveness, and energy from interacting with others	Is your screen on during virtual interactions with other applicants at meet-and-greets? How effectively does your writing highlight your accomplishments and insights?	What skills make the candidate an effective leader or advocate?	What does ‘teamwork’ mean to you? What teamwork experiences have you had? How do you navigate your role and the role of other team members? (University of Cincinnati)
Agreeableness – Kindness, empathy, and the desire to build positive relationships	Are you enjoying meeting your future peers and mentors? How do you acknowledge your interviewers as you answer their questions (eye communication, voice, body language)? How do you express yourself when you disagree with someone’s advice?	How well does the candidate make others feel they belong?	Describe the community in which you see yourself practicing medicine. (NYITCOM)
Neuroticism or Emotionality – Emotional sensitivity and susceptibility to stress and mood swings	Have you proofread everything you have written before submitting your application or going to your interview? Do you have enough time and money to complete secondary applications on time? How well are you balancing positive and negative comments about a program?	How well-grounded is the candidate when handling very emotional topics or circumstances?	Describe the last time you were criticized by a peer or supervisor. How did you handle it? (CUSM)

Furthermore, when describing a research experience, you can raise your Big Five characteristics to describe your curiosity to learn new techniques, presenting your data to an audience (their lab or to the public), or how to handle reviewers’ feedback for a submitted manuscript. For those aspiring to pursue research careers, you can describe your ideal mentor or research team using this framework. For MD/PhD candidates, evaluators may use the Big Five to gain insight into who they will work with in their labs over the next four to eight years; personality fitness is a key determinant of long-term success.

Bringing the Plus One: Humility and Honesty

One revision of the Big Five Inventory – known as HEXACO – adds honesty and humility as personality trait, which corresponds well with an applicant’s understanding of integrity and ethics. This trait is especially important for connecting with patients or those in serious need (service orientation), and it is expected of all health professional applicants and students. However, like the other traits, humility and honesty are expressed along a spectrum among different people, both in their actions and their words; some research has shown gender differences in honesty, humility, and fairness ⁴⁴. It is also a characteristic that helps students and residents manage uncertainty ⁴⁵.

Conclusion

Your personality and how well you fit with a group of professionals can help you figure out which career is a good match for you ⁴⁶. Career professionals often encourage students to participate in personality and skills assessments to identify strengths and values they want to nurture in their careers ⁴⁷. However, sophisticated tools – with artificial intelligence analysis – can help outsiders gain reliable insights into prospective applicants and learners.

While technologies that assess applicants’ personalities for health professions are not widely used in admissions screening as they are for employment, applicants must express their personalities authentically in their reflections and interactions with school representatives. Many applicants with high metrics, extensive clinical exposure, and a strong commitment to community well-being are frustrated that their profile does not guarantee acceptance to a health professional program. Applicants should consider their optimal environments to thrive as students, clinicians, and members of their communities. The Big Five framework can also help their evaluators highlight candidates’ strengths for the desired profession. As students continue their training and journey, experiencing different priorities and challenges, they should recognize the traits that confer confidence and resilience.

However, the power of personality assessments may also help health professionals establish optimal strategies to connect with patients ^{48 49}. A professional’s self-awareness can also help establish long-lasting patient relationships, especially for dentists ^{50 51}.

In the end, many rejected applicants never get a reason why their application was not enough for an offer. When admissions teams do not give feedback that notes specific areas of improvement, it’s possible that their program may not be the best personality fit for you, regardless of mission fit alignment. Check how well you show your Big Five traits, and continue to see where your CANOE takes you.

Acknowledgments

I acknowledge the organizations whose links are included in this article; their inclusion is provided for informational purposes and not as an endorsement. This article was inspired by Med School Insiders (a Student Doctor Network sponsor), which discussed the Big Five for specialty interests, and the Cheeky Scientist Transition Report, “Still Think LinkedIn Is Just A Digital Resume. The Dark Truth For PhDs” about hiring firms using AI filters to scan LinkedIn profiles for Big Five characteristics (also see “The Hiring Intelligence Report: Q1 2025“). Please share and discuss this topic with your job-hunting peers. And I apologize if the dystopian idea of AI filtering has made you more neurotic.

Footnotes

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