The difficulties notwithstanding recent studies confirm that personality tests can help companies hire more effective workers. For example industrial psychologists often emphasize the big five personality dimensions as they apply to personnel testing extroversion emotional stability agreeableness conscientiousness and openness to experience. One study focused on the extent to which these five personality dimensions predicted performance ( for instance in terms of job and training proficiency) for professionals police officers managers sales workers and skilled/semiskilled workers. Conscientiousness showed a consistent relationship with all job performance criteria for all the occupations. Extroversion was a valid predictor of performance for managers and sales employees-the two occupations involving the most social interaction. Both openness to experience and extroversion predicted training proficiency for all occupations. Another study with a sample of 89 university employees concluded that absenteeism was inversely related to extroversion and conscientiousness