I’d like to see some of that data too. I’m no psychologist, but I do remember that my employer used to give applicants personality tests. After the interviews, we’d all meet and discuss our reactions to the short listed group. The HR rep would read out what the personality test said (was this person an “amiable” a “driver” or some other personality types I don’t recall). We all ignored the results. Even the HR rep ignored them. I think they read the results only because they had to.
Theoretically, they test were supposed to help us find the right mix of personality types for the office. But that was the theory. In practice we didn’t know what the “right mix” was, we didn’t have an unlimited supply of equally qualified applicants anyway (usually one or two were so far ahead their personality type didn’t matter), and–most importantly–none of us really believed in the test. It wasn’t administered in proper settings nor was it interpreted by a professional.
We stopped giving test to applicants after about a year. We still give them to current employees (as part of some personal development classes we offer), but it’s more for them to find out how they work best and how to work with others. Again, you have to take the results with a grain of salt, but at least they’re not included in hiring decisions any more.
Based on your response to a bad situation as reflected in this post, would you want you working for you in a job that frequently has annoying things happen in front of a wider audience?
I nevertheless agree with your implication that the employer world is full of incompetent idiots who have no business hiring and firing.
Oh, I am so going to suggest to the Personnel manager that he start asking questions about how the applicants go up stairs.
Funnily enough, if someone answered “Two at a time” we probably couldn’t hire them, since our safety rules preclude someone going up stairs two at a time.
I had a worse experience. Saw a few bills lying on the ground and asked one of the teens loitering nearby if it was his. His response: “It is now.” and he bent over, picked it up and scooted. Little shit.
It’s also possible that the question is there just to distract you and keep you from knowing what the critical questions are. I knew a guy who designed a simple personality test for prospective employees. There were 15 or so filler questions – how you answered them had no impact on whether you were hired. And there was one critical question which guaged how you would handle customers. He told me that the test worked really well.
Ugh. I applied for a job at Borders a few years ago, and they wouldn’t look at my resume until I took the test and corporate ok’d me.
I have no idea if I passed the screening (never got a call), but I was so freaking frustrated at the test. There were what ended up being three or four of roughly the same question in multiple cases. The problem was that they were worded such that my actual answer was different for different instances of the “same” question.
That’s a tough one. I’m sure the “correct” answer is no, but logically, having a gun certainly doesn’t make you any less powerful, it just gives you more optionality. Strange.
It’s like a poker game. You have to suss out whether they’re just dumb enough not to realize only a liar would answer ‘yes,’ OR are they just smart enough to realize only an idiot wouldn’t lie when answering such an idiotic question?
OR, are they true geniuses, who would realize you’re smart enough to realize what an idiotic question it is, and would therefore not be willing to lie in order to work for such an idiotic employer?
Wheels within wheels, my friend. One could spend a long time contemplating the intricacies of the situation.
It’s like trying to decide whether to bluff a flush, when you know he knows you know he knows you know he knows you’d never bet without it.
If, when you return the completed test, you are holding the gun in one hand, and you say “I wanna see how you score this sumbitch,” presumably you will have at least a few points deducted.
I actually got a job where they gave me one of those personality tests.
I didn’t last long. It was the absolute worst job I ever had.
When they were interviewing me, they told me that their hiring practices (and personality test) were based on some self-help book that they wanted me to read.
