Now it may be a question you might have asked while interviewing potential employees, but how seriously should you consider the answer to “which children’s character best describes you?”
A British shoe repair and key cutting business is doing just that. Timpson are now recruiting staff according to which Mr Men characters their personalities resemble. But which Mr Men or Little Miss character would you want to hire?
Here are some of the most well-known ones for you to choose from:
1. Mr Tickle
He is the very first Mr Men character that was ever created and as his name suggests, he just can’t stop tickling people. Now this could be interpreted in two ways if your potential employee says they are like him. They are either the office prankster, who likes to have a bit of a laugh and a joke or they are the person who can change anyone’s mood and make them laugh.
2. Little Miss Sunshine
Now if you recruit someone who likens themselves to this character then you can pretty much guarantee this is a person who always has a cheery disposition. They are happy to be at work and sprinkle little rays of sunshine wherever they go and on whoever they meet.
3. Mr Greedy
Whilst you might admire someone who shows drive and ambition, you want to be a little bit wary of someone who compared themselves to this character. Greed is not a good trait and certainly not in the workplace.
#Timpson are using #MrMen to recruit new people! Which one are you? pic.twitter.com/XaI0cIJvrd
— GoCustom Clothing (@_GoCustom) April 24, 2017
4. Mr Nosey
Everyone has an inquisitive side and sometimes being curious is not always a bad thing – especially if the job is for a detective or in investigations. But let’s face it nobody likes someone who is so nosey that colleagues immediately stop talking when that person walks in to the room or worse still someone who constantly fishes for information which is no concern of theirs.
5. Little Miss Splendid
We all like our staff to take care of their appearance and make an effort but when their appearance is so much of a distraction that it’s stopping others from doing their work, would they really be the best hire? Before you know it they will be asking for time off to get their hair or nails done or worse still using precious work time to buy that new must-have outfit online.
6. Mr Lazy
They do say honesty is the best policy but if any potential employee says they are a lot like Mr Lazy then you may want to pass them up. There is nothing worse than an employee who doesn’t pull their weight or finish the task in hand and it’s even worse if their work colleagues have to pick up the slack.
7. Little Miss Trouble
Avoid at all costs. I don’t think anything else needs to be said. Nobody wants a troublemaker in the work place. Just the thought of all the times you need to report them to HR is enough to give anyone a headache. So unless you’re completely mad or want to set yourself a “challenge”, then I would give anyone who says they’re like this character a wide berth!
Now using children’s book characters might not be the right approach for everyone as sometimes a strong CV and a particular skillset are key to whether someone gets hired. But if you want to hire purely on personality or character then why limit yourself to children’s characters, you could ask them to describe themselves as an animal, favourite movie character or weather!
