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Many (19?) Years ago I had to take a personality "test" for an optical chain. It was fairly long and had a lot of the same type of questions reworded throughout the test. It was easy to see the pattern quickly. I got one of the highest scores they had ever received and were happy to hire me. You have to recall and note what questions they are asking and why and stick with your theme. I did not have to lie, but I did see the pattern and went with it.
Long story short; I did not like working there. I quit within 2-3 weeks. I think I quit in one week, and gave 2 weeks notice. On paper we were a match made in heaven. I truthfully answered most the questions and tweaked some to stay in their theme.
This employer was looking for non drug using employees that did not steal. I do fit that profile 100%, however, I did not find a fit with them in return once I started the job.
I had to take one of those. It started out with the strongly agree-------strongly disagree type tests. Then, it switched into one of those crazy tests where they give you a list of words and you had to choose one. It felt like I was doing my SAT's again!
BOX 1
Honest
Jovial
Timid
Charismatic
BOX 2
Erudite
Studious
Loyal
Modest
I'm not kidding, it was pretty insane. It was a sales job as well. I kept thinking, "What would they want me to say?" However, some of the terms had nothing to do with sales.
I just took an elaborate test for a sales job with TruGreen Chemlawn. I was almost tempted to answer neutral on every question. I love how they say to be honest as there is no wrong answer. That's total bologna. The right answer is the one that gets you hired.
As somebody else mentioned, I think consistency is key. If you are tailoring your answers to what you think they prefer, then it is important you are able to recognize similar questions and answer them the same. Otherwise, by just answering honestly, you don't need to be on your toes and remember stuff nor even think too hard.
May I ask what kinds of companies do these kinds of test? I have never seen one, it sounds like you are taking a survey.
I'm in the software/consulting industry and I've taken
these personality tests twice in the last year. There
are sample tests out there on the Web to give you
an idea of what is on the tests.
I did the actual tests from my home - they are web
based ... I think I did screen captures for one of
the tests, so I could review it at a later time.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Most companies that use these tests are trying to save money by having fewer qualified HR staff to actually spend time reviewing applications/resumes and detailed interviews. For the entry level lower wage jobs especially, they get flooded with applications, and by doing these tests online can eliminate people simply by a number (score). There are several websites giving out detailed information on how to handle these tests and pass. That makes them flawed. Also, people may "guess" what the employer wants them to say, and give flawed answers. There's really no substitute for meeting the candidates, interviewing and getting to know them a bit before deciding whether they are a right fit for the job. It's just not cost-effective when they hire so many people and have a lot of turnover.
I hate doing those test very time consuming when you're only applying for some part-time job at retail store with minimum wage. 30 to 40 minutes just to fill out an online application ugh so annoying. But you gotta do what you gotta do to get a job.
So when the are answers like strongly agree, agree, strongly disagree or disagree. Which is the better answer to say you strongly agree or agree? You don't just want to strongly agree or strongly disagree to everything do you? They probably don't want to see only agree or disagree either. Does it really matter which one you choose? They will ask all sorts of different questions then repeat multiples times asked in a different way. You have to read each question carefully cause they will try to trick you.
As someone who holds an MS in Psychology, let me just say that there's not really any sort of "trick" to it, and trying to guess at what the "best" or "correct" answers are will actually mess up your results more than anything else. The best way to answer them is to be as honest as possible in answering each one and to not try to figure it out.
Quote:
Originally Posted by artsyguy
It depends on the employer. They probably don't want anyone strong-willed. They want submissive and subservient people at most places of business.
That response was completely off-base and unhelpful.
Quote:
Originally Posted by txmusicgal
Macy's, Walgreens, Petsmart, Target, basically any type of retail minimum wage job.
Actually, I took one for the company where I was recently hired. This was for a corporate management position and was far from minimum wage.
I am working with a career services agency. She is a not-for-profit agency that is helping me get a job. I recently asked her about these personality tests and how to answer them. She advised me to answer either STRONGLY AGREE or STRONGLY DISAGREE. Nothing in between. She also advised me to answer the questions based on what I thought a manager would want. For example: If I were to see another employee do something against company policy would I: a) ignore it, it's not my problem, b) confront the employee c) tell the manager, or c) tell other employees what you saw. The answer to this question would be to tell the manager. They want a tattle tale. In reality though, your co-workers would hate you and you probably wouldn't go running to the manager, but that is what they want to hear that you would do. However, they don't want you to go running to them for every litle problem. If you are to be working in a store and a customer is complaining about poor service, you should apologize and offer to help them, not run to the manager.
She also told me she had a client go into a store and spoke with a manager. The client did very well face to face. The manager was very impressed with her client. She told him that all he had to do now was to go to the company website and complete the personality test. Which he did and failed. He did not get the job because of the personality test.
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That response was completely off-base and unhelpful.
