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I'm taking yet another work personality test in which there "are no wrong answers." Anytime I take these tests, i know there are right and wrong answers and what they are looking for from someone. So I always know what they are getting at and which ones not to choose and choose. Does the general public just not figure this out? If they did, you would think they wouldn't be effective and companies wouldnt use them.
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The obviously correct answers aren't usually, or often, what they are looking for.
If you're getting these right all the time that means you must be getting interviews when you go through these most of the time... if so, you're really that smart.
Also, never ever overestimate the intelligence of the general public.
They Moderator cut: snip have no scientific validity despite whatever ridiculous claims the makers assert.
The idea that a simplistic multiple choice exam can accurately gauge personality and predict job performance
that job seekers will answer truthfully and objectively
that the test takers will interpret the subjective questions as the test was designed for
that one can ever really predict the human mind when even software frequently behaves unpredictably
should cause anyone with even rudimentary reasoning skills to dismiss them out of hand. Unfortunately employers in their desperation to avoid a bad hire have turned to complete quackery and inflicted it on job seekers.
Last edited by 7G9C4J2; 05-08-2014 at 04:22 PM..
Reason: Removed unnecessary phrase
I've learned that when taking those tests for sales positions to make sure you never answer positively to any questions about your attention to detail. My first boss told me that anyone who appears to be detail oriented on the personality test never gets a first interview. Seems to have worked, I've done sales for three F500 companies over the course of my career.
I'm taking yet another work personality test in which there "are no wrong answers." Anytime I take these tests, i know there are right and wrong answers and what they are looking for from someone. So I always know what they are getting at and which ones not to choose and choose. Does the general public just not figure this out? If they did, you would think they wouldn't be effective and companies wouldnt use them.
They are trying to get rid of the people that would be really bad at the job. Usually 75% of people "pass" the test, but it weeds out the bottom 25%. Also, if the test was developed correctly it was given to 250-500 employees in the position you are applying for. They establish the "top" score on each question by looking at the mean of the high performers answers. So It isn't necessarily a 1 or a 5. Typically it will be a 4 or a 2. Then "points" are assigned for numbers close to it, so it's not all or nothing. If the "ideal" response for a question is 4 that may get you 3 points. Then a response of a 5 or a 3 will get you 2 points, a response of a 2 will get you 1 point, and a response of a 1 will get you zero points. So in that sense there is no right or wrong answer, just an ideal response based off of successful people in the role.
I've taken a couple of those (and answer honestly rather than trying to figure out what they want me to say) and found them to be really valuable (I've always gotten the job). My boss and I recently had a conversation about those tests and she said they are scarily accurate if the person taking them takes it seriously. She has one subordinate who did it very honestly and the results describe him to a T from his basic personality to his management style.
Don't try to figure out what they want you to say. Say what is true for you. That's the best way to take those personality tests.
I've taken a couple of those (and answer honestly rather than trying to figure out what they want me to say) and found them to be really valuable (I've always gotten the job). My boss and I recently had a conversation about those tests and she said they are scarily accurate if the person taking them takes it seriously. She has one subordinate who did it very honestly and the results describe him to a T from his basic personality to his management style.
Don't try to figure out what they want you to say. Say what is true for you. That's the best way to take those personality tests.
While you are absolutely right I've found that this method only works if the person you are talking to actually cares about doing a job they will like and be good at. Most people on this forum don't seem to care that if they didn't do well on the assessment it means they most likely will hate the job. All they care about is how they got "screwed" out of a job, because obviously they were the only qualified person to apply and this stupid worthless test is what stopped them from getting it (Although they only screen out about 20-25% of the people who actually take it).
I personally wouldn't want a job that an assessment said I would be a bad fit for, especially if the test was designed using responses from incumbents in the job. If there was a job at Costco as a cashier and part of my role involved sales and they found that highly extroverted people with high levels of openness to experience and low levels of conscientiousness were the best at the job and enjoyed the job and I was the exact opposite of that, I would want something else. Why would I want to hate my job everyday? Come home from work and want to sleep because I am exhausted from "acting" all day, etc.
But I guess I believe I have value as an employee and that there are many different types of jobs out there, some of which I will like and some of which I will hate.
The bottom line is these assessments most likely aren't screening you out. You are just one of hundreds that applied for 1 position. If 500 people apply for 1 job and the assessment screens out 25% there are now still 375 people in play for that job. The real reason it's so much harder to get a job is because applying for a job is so much easier today. It takes 5 minutes to apply to all these places. So why not throw my name out there for 45-50 of them regardless of how qualified/unqualified I am.
We posted a job for someone with a pretty specific skillset (there are tons of people out there with it) and we had teachers and physical therapists applying for the job. They were not even remotely qualified for the position, yet they still applied.
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