Arconic Assessment Practice
Arconic uses the Thomas Behaviour assessment for leadership hiring. The format is the same one everyone sits, but a leadership reader is looking for something different in it
What Arconic uses, and for which roles
Arconic is an American manufacturer of rolled aluminium products, extrusions and architectural building products, with plants across North America and Europe. Thomas International publishes a case study on Arconic naming the Behaviour assessment, still widely known by its older name the Personal Profile Analysis or PPA, and it is specific about the application: senior management, supervisory and team leadership hiring.
That specificity is unusual and it is useful. Most vendor case studies say an employer uses an instrument without saying where. This one tells you the assessment belongs to leadership selection, which means if you are applying to an entry-level or production role at Arconic, this page is weak evidence about your process. Ask your recruiter.
The format, in plain terms
Twenty-four items. Each shows four adjectives. From each set you choose the word most like you and the word least like you, which is 48 selections drawn from 96 words. It is not timed, Thomas advertises it as taking under eight minutes, and it works on any device including a phone.
There is no score at the end, no pass mark and nothing to revise. Thomas puts this to candidates directly: there is no correct behavioural style and you cannot pass or fail. The output is three graphs across four factors, which the DISC model names Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and Compliance.
Why leadership hiring reads the same profile differently
This is the part worth understanding, because it is where a leadership PPA differs from the same instrument used for a customer service hire.
The gap between the graphs matters more
The three graphs are your Work Mask, built from your twenty-four “most like me” choices, your Behaviour Under Pressure, built from the “least like me” choices, and Self Image, which is the difference between the two and can therefore run negative. For a supervisory role, the second graph is the interesting one. A manager's pressure profile is how they behave on the day the line stops, and Arconic is hiring people to be in that situation.
There is no leadership shape
Candidates assume high Dominance is what a leadership assessment wants. Thomas describes both ends of every factor neutrally: high Dominance is driven and direct, low Dominance is accommodating and considered, and neither is better. A plant supervisor managing a long- tenured team and a commercial team leader chasing new accounts are not the same job and do not want the same profile. The instrument is being used to describe you, not to rank you.
It is a conversation starter, not a gate
A PPA in leadership selection is usually read alongside interviews and discussed with you, which means the profile you submit becomes the thing you are asked about. A profile that does not match the person in the room is not a disqualification; it is a longer interview.
How to sit it
Arconic role families where this is reported
Operations leadership
- Plant and production management
- Shift supervisors and team leaders
- Maintenance and reliability leadership
Functional leadership
- Quality, EHS and continuous improvement
- Supply chain and procurement management
- Commercial and account leadership
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you fail the Thomas PPA?
No. Thomas states plainly that there is no correct behavioural style and that the assessment cannot be passed or failed. What can happen is a poor fit between the profile and the demands of a particular role, which is a different thing and is usually discussed rather than silently applied.
Should I answer as the leader I want to be?
No, and this is the most common self-inflicted problem in leadership assessment. Answer as the leader you currently are. The aspirational version tends to appear in the work mask and not in the pressure profile, and the discrepancy is exactly what the third graph exposes.
Will Arconic also send an aptitude test?
The Thomas case study on Arconic names the Behaviour assessment only. Thomas also sells the Aptitude assessment, known as the GIA, and several of its manufacturing customers use both, so it is possible but not evidenced here. If your invitation mentions a timed test, that is the GIA and it is a genuinely different preparation problem.
How long are the results kept?
Not published by Arconic. Personality profiles are commonly retained and reused for development conversations after hiring, which is one reason a profile you recognise is worth more to you than one you constructed.
Practise the exact format
Our Thomas practice hub has the PPA with all three graphs, so you see what a Thomas reader sees. The Aptitude assessment is there too, as five separate task drills and a full battery run, in case your process includes one.