Hogan's three core personality inventories, the HPI, HDS and MVPI, are untimed questionnaires that Hogan says take about 15 to 20 minutes each. There are no right answers: employers compare your percentile scores with what the role needs, so the only approach that works is answering honestly and consistently. This page covers what the Hogan assessment is, its format and timings, how it is scored, the rules to know before you start, how to prepare and a practice plan.
What the Hogan assessment is
Hogan Assessments publishes the inventories, which employers use mostly for professional, management and leadership roles and for development programs. The Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI) describes everyday, 'bright side' personality on seven primary scales based on the Five-Factor Model: Adjustment, Ambition, Sociability, Interpersonal Sensitivity, Prudence, Inquisitive and Learning Approach. The Hogan Development Survey (HDS) covers eleven derailers, the habits that show up under stress or complacency, such as Excitable, Skeptical, Cautious, Bold, Mischievous and Dutiful. The Motives, Values, Preferences Inventory (MVPI) measures what drives you on ten scales, from Recognition, Power and Commerce to Affiliation, Security and Science.
Hogan's FAQ says you can stop at any point and resume, which makes it easier to pick a calm time than with most timed tests.
Format and timings
| Part | What it involves | Time and questions |
|---|---|---|
| HPI (Hogan Personality Inventory) | Short statements answered True or False; seven primary scales | Untimed, about 15 to 20 minutes; commonly cited as 206 items |
| HDS (Hogan Development Survey) | Statements about how you tend to act; eleven derailer scales | Untimed, about 15 to 20 minutes; commonly cited as 168 items |
| MVPI (Motives, Values, Preferences Inventory) | Statements answered Agree, No Opinion or Disagree; ten values scales | Untimed, about 15 to 20 minutes; commonly cited as 200 items |
| HBRI (business reasoning, optional) | Reasoning problems drawn from business situations | About 35 minutes, according to Hogan |
| Judgment (optional) | Decision-making style | Not stated in Hogan's candidate FAQ |
Total: about 45 to 60 minutes for the three personality inventories, plus about 35 minutes if the employer adds the HBRI.
How it is scored
- Scores are percentiles. Hogan says the HPI and HDS are normed on more than 100,000 working adults and the MVPI on more than 65,000.
- There is no pass or fail; the employer compares your profile with the profile it set for the job.
- Higher is not always better: Hogan's own interpretive guide notes, for example, that a very high Sociability score can mean someone talks more than they listen.
- On the HDS, high scores flag behaviors that may appear under pressure rather than skills.
Rules to know before you start
- You log in with the user ID, password and link your administrator sends.
- The inventories are untimed. If you stop, your answers are saved automatically and you can log back in later.
- Hogan says retesting is generally unnecessary because personality is stable, but each organization sets its own retest policy.
- Whether you see your results is up to the administrator; Hogan recommends going through them with a certified coach if you do.
- The tools are available in more than 40 languages.
How to prepare
- Answer each statement the way you actually behave at work, quickly and without second-guessing.
- Do not aim for an imagined ideal: the HPI, HDS and MVPI are read together, and extreme or inconsistent answers stand out.
- Take all three in one quiet block of about an hour so your answers come from one frame of mind.
- If the HBRI is included, warm up on short reasoning problems with tables and business scenarios.
- Before the interview, think about how you handle your own pressure habits, because interviewers may ask.
A practice plan
- Day 1: read the invitation for which questionnaires and tests are included and how long each takes.
- Day 2: read the publisher's own candidate guide and sample items so the response formats are familiar.
- Day 3: write down three recent situations at work or study and what you actually did, so your answers come from one consistent picture of yourself.
- Day 4: if a reasoning part is included, do a short set of pattern, number-series or shape puzzles.
- Day 5: take it in one quiet sitting, early in the deadline window, and make sure you submit.
Related guides: what an online assessment is, the SHL assessment, the CCAT.
On the day, and the mistakes to avoid
- Block the full time the invitation states, plus fifteen minutes, in a quiet room.
- Use a laptop or desktop with a current browser, even if the platform also works on a phone.
- Answer as you are at work now, not as you hope to be or as you guess the employer wants.
- Read each statement once and go with your first honest reading; overthinking produces inconsistent patterns.
- Expect to answer every item on a page before you can move on.
- Stay until the final submit or confirmation screen before you close the window.
Mistakes that cost candidates:
- Answering as an imagined ideal candidate, which forced-choice formats and consistency checks are built to expose.
- Spreading the questionnaire over several days and moods, which makes answers less consistent.
- Rushing the reasoning puzzles because 'it is only a personality test', when they are the items with right answers.
- Reading a poor fit for one role as failure; the same profile can match a different role well.
- Forgetting that the interview may probe the extremes in your report.
What happens after the Hogan assessment
The employer usually reads your report alongside your résumé and interviews, and many use it to pick interview questions about the areas where your profile and the role differ. Prepare one short example for your strongest work-style tendency and one for the habit you manage most carefully. For the next stage, see our guide to personality tests and AI help.
Where CoPilot Interview fits
Online assessments are tests you take on your own: outside help is not allowed, and proctoring settings can flag other apps, tab switches or a second voice. Practice beforehand instead. CoPilot Interview is an AI interview assistant; its free AI mock interview prepares you for the interviews that follow the assessment, with questions built from your résumé and the job description and each spoken answer scored out of ten. The free plan gives 15 minutes a day of live help in sessions of up to 15 minutes, with AI mock interviews included. Read the invitation carefully and follow your employer's rules.
Disclosure: CoPilot Interview is our product, so weigh what we say about it accordingly.
Frequently asked questions
How long does the Hogan assessment take?
Hogan says each core inventory takes about 15 to 20 minutes, so the HPI, HDS and MVPI together take about an hour. The HBRI reasoning test adds about 35 minutes if included.
Can you fail a Hogan assessment?
There is no pass mark. Your percentile scores are compared with the profile the employer set for the role, so a profile can fit one job and not another.
Will I see my Hogan results?
Only if the administrator chooses to share them. Hogan recommends discussing results with a certified coach when they are shared.
What is the difference between the HPI, HDS and MVPI?
The HPI describes your everyday personality, the HDS your derailers under stress, and the MVPI your values and motives.
Can I use AI tools during the Hogan assessment?
No, unless the instructions explicitly allow it. Assessments are meant to be taken on your own, and proctoring settings can flag other apps, tab switches or pasted code. Use AI tools to practice beforehand, and follow your employer's rules.
Practice this interview before the real one
The AI mock interview builds questions from your resume and the job description, reads them aloud and scores each spoken answer out of 10. Included on the free plan.
Start a mock interview