My employers have asked me to complete a Profile XT test. I have been working for them for five years so it’s doubtful they are unhappy with my work, actually they have asked all of the employees to complete the test.
I have done a little research regarding it, but I am just wondering if any other dopers out there are familiar with it.
Can my score be used negatively against me? Can I be terminated for not being the right “fit” with the company?
Any insight would be appreciated.
Thanks.
I had never heard of this before, and am unable to find out thru their web site just how the data is gathered other than a 60 minute (Q&A?) test. Without knowing that, it is difficult to evaluate their claims.
I also don’t see any statistics showing how effective their tests are regarding employee placement. Again, without this data, their claims are so much psychobabble fantasy.
And yes, I can see how a score could negatively affect your employment. I suggest you investigate this a bit more before agreeing to it. It doesn’t look quite as bad as a handwriting analysis (=totally bogus), but it might not have much scientific validity, either.
Do you have an employment contract, or are you an at-will employee? In most states, unless you have a contract, you can be fired for any reason, or no reason at all, with the exception of protected classes like race, age, gender, disability, etc.
ProfileXT appears to be a fairly typical psychological evaluation, designed for pre-employment screening, but also used for management. It has ethics questions like ‘There is nothing wrong with using illegal drugs on the job if it helps you to relax and do a better job.’ (agree or disagree), preference questions like ‘If one person has to stay in the office while everyone else attends a meeting, I would volunteer.’ (agree or disagree), and other questions intended to reveal some aspect of one’s comfort with various duties or tasks.
Properly administered, it is customized by testing the top and bottom performers at the client company, although there is a standard model. The results are analyzed for the following:
You can download a PDF of the 2006 edition of their technical manual here.
Whoops, I didn’t really answer the question.
No, I haven’t taken it, nor have I used it. From what I’ve read, taking it is a bit like taking several tests at once: the Myers-Briggs, one of those WalMart hiring personality tests, the SAT, and the Strong-Campbell test.
As others have said, you can be terminated for anything. If your employers have liked your work so far, they’re unlikely to do that based on your score (they’re somewhat more likely to do it if you refuse to take the test). More likely, you’ll be subjected to more-or-less intrusive attempts to “manage” you, like teaming you with other personality types, changing your responsibilities, or sending you to training to work on your weak spots. Most likely, they’ll give the report to your manager, who will read it, say “Pfft! I knew that already,” and ignore it.
Yep! Took a similar test, along with my team; it was one that tried to narrow down which part of the team you’d be best at. All of my scores, every one of them, came up high as ‘Project Manager’. And I agreed with it. My bosses just assumed my particular test was faulty, while agreeing enthusiastically with the results they already wanted to see for other people. :rolleyes:
Thanks! Everyone’s reply was very helpful.
I’m a little nervous taking the test, only because I am a severe introvert, but I pretend to be an extrovert for the job :rolleyes: (Although I’m probably not fooling anyone, they like me the way I am)
I’m also concerned about if the data is banked and who else will see the results. Do you think I could ask the employer for a copy of my results? Or would that be too much?
At my last job, they did a Myers Briggs test as part of some management initiative like others have mentioned (blah blah knowing how your employees work or process info blah blah interact with others blah) that was separate from the pre-employment personality and aptitude tests.
Your worry about introvert/extrovert made me chuckle for a couple of reasons. First, because my department (IT) was the exact opposite of every other department, with all but one person being introverted. Second, because every damned person refused to believe I’m an introvert as well. They all believed the common misconception that introvert = shy and quiet (it actually is that interacting with people is draining for you and you need alone time to recharge). I couldn’t convince them that yes, it’s totally possible to be a wisecracking, obnoxious-in-a-good-way (most of the time, anyway ;)) personality and still be introverted.
Everyone is phenomenally good at something they do. The goal of an assessment is to find what the person is really good at and get them into that role in the company. Unfortunately not all employers and not all employees seek that union of company need and employee capability. Most of the time one or the other are willing to accept something less than a good match but pay the price in poor performance and job dissatisfaction down the road. Studies show that about one quarter of the all employees really like and are good at what they do, the rest of us just get along or go from job to job. If everyone would require that they be a excellent fit for the job they’re being considered their pay would be a lot higher and life be a lot more enjoyable. That’s not to say all assessments are created equal. It’s the employer’s responsibility to find an assessment company that stays current and meets all industry and Dept of Labor guidelines. But its the employee’s responsibility to answer each question as presented and not try to skew the results by trying to remember how they answered a similar question previously. Good huniting:)
I hate being profiled…
I have been a business consultant selling the Profile XT for six years. Here’s the scoop on how it works:
The Profile XT measures Thinking Style (not IQ), Behavior, and Interests and Motivations and compares the candidate to a Performance Model for the position. The Performance Model is based upon a study of top performers for the position. This process results in an analysis of how the candidate compares to the characteristics of the existing top performers and provides useful interviewing and other hiring consideration reports.
Basically the top performers take the assessment and the model is created, then candidates take the assessment and are compared to the scores (on each of the 20 scales) of the top performers (the model) to get a reading of how well someone is likely to perform in a position.
The XT is supported by a validation study of over 100,000 candidates so the results are going to be accurate.
A word of warning: you should never use the results of any assessment (including the XT) as the sole decision factor in hiring. It should never be more than 1/3 or your decision and you should always include resumes, background checks, and a solid interview process in the decision.