Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Work and Employment > Job Search
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 05-08-2014, 11:42 AM
 
Location: broke leftist craphole Illizuela
10,326 posts, read 17,384,011 times
Reputation: 20327

Advertisements

I had that test as well. It is so simple that unless you are a total nimrod and anwser I am mean and others see me as rude, vindictive, scary, insensitive... I can't imagine what value they got from it. Fortunately it only took a minute otherwise I might have abandoned the app.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 05-08-2014, 11:55 AM
 
5,342 posts, read 6,150,130 times
Reputation: 4719
Quote:
Originally Posted by Girl View Post
Just to be clear, the test I'm talking about that is done at my company, is the one where you have a list of descriptive words and you have to first select the words you think describe you, and then from a second list of the EXACT SAME words select all the words that you think OTHERS would use to describe you. That's it. No other questions. I forget the name of that one right now.
I actually interviewed for the psychometrician job at that company. They are located in Waltham, MA. They are essentially a test vendor. I was not a big fan of that company or that assessment. Withdrew my name from consideration as I learned more about the company.

They are more in line with what MSchemist thinks of when she thinks of a personality test. No validation work, just ask the manager to pick the traits he/she believes is the best for the position.

It's sad that those types of assessments get out there, but where there is money there will always be a salesmen with a product. There are tons of test vendors like that.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-08-2014, 12:13 PM
 
Location: Over yonder a piece
4,268 posts, read 6,277,151 times
Reputation: 7139
With that test my boss receives an in-depth 10-12 page report that analyzes how the respondent will most likely behave on the job. The kind of work they like, how they take criticism, how they manage other people, how forward-thinking they are, just to name a few.

My boss does not have access to see the words that the person chose, nor does she have the ability to choose the words that she wants people to select.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-08-2014, 12:14 PM
 
Location: broke leftist craphole Illizuela
10,326 posts, read 17,384,011 times
Reputation: 20327
Wow that is truely unbelievable. From picking two words. Why don't they just ask for the candidates astrological sign.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-08-2014, 12:15 PM
 
5,342 posts, read 6,150,130 times
Reputation: 4719
Quote:
Originally Posted by Girl View Post
With that test my boss receives an in-depth 10-12 page report that analyzes how the respondent will most likely behave on the job. The kind of work they like, how they take criticism, how they manage other people, how forward-thinking they are, just to name a few.

My boss does not have access to see the words that the person chose, nor does she have the ability to choose the words that she wants people to select.
So how do they decide who will perform best on the job? Does your boss have to go through every candidate's 10-12 page report and use that to decide who might be best at the job she is hiring for?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-08-2014, 12:27 PM
 
Location: Over yonder a piece
4,268 posts, read 6,277,151 times
Reputation: 7139
No, not from picking two words. Out of 100 words on each list, you pick as many as you want on both lists. And based on those selections, the software spits out the report.

My company has a multi-level process for interviewing.

1) Peer interview (a group of 3-4 people in a similar job to yours)
2) Supervisor interview (a group of 3-4 people who will be your first level boss) - the higher level the job, the more chance you will have TWO supervisor level interview groups to meet
3) Big boss interview (the main person you'll be reporting to)
4) The personality test

If it's an administrative support position you also take a computer skills test.

The Big Boss then gets feedback from the peer and supervisory group, and then also takes into consideration the personality test and his/her own experience with the candidate.

From there the Big Boss decides who to hire. My Big Boss takes very seriously the peer and supervisor feedback, and if there's any doubts after that she reads the report to see if things line up with what the peer/sprvr group says.

There have been a few times where my boss has NOT hired someone because the peer and supervisor group both said no - even if her own experience was positive. On the other hand, she has also hired people DESPITE what the peer/sprvr group says. But she definitely looks at everything before making the final decision.

Interviews here are no joke - there is a distinct desire to hire people who can be successful here and consider being here not just a job, but a place at which you genuine enjoy being every day.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-08-2014, 12:35 PM
 
757 posts, read 1,091,804 times
Reputation: 990
I think we live in an unimaginative, no risk-taking environment. While skill tests are useful, I am not sure about personality tests. Personally, I think more employers are just using these tests to cover their you-know-whats because everyone is so scared of making a poor hire and being blamed. Sad.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-08-2014, 12:42 PM
 
Location: sumter
12,956 posts, read 9,606,604 times
Reputation: 10427
Quote:
Originally Posted by jman07 View Post
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.
You said there are no wrong answers, then you also said you know there are right and wrong answers.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-08-2014, 01:08 PM
 
Location: Over yonder a piece
4,268 posts, read 6,277,151 times
Reputation: 7139
Quote:
Originally Posted by UEHelp View Post
I think we live in an unimaginative, no risk-taking environment. While skill tests are useful, I am not sure about personality tests. Personally, I think more employers are just using these tests to cover their you-know-whats because everyone is so scared of making a poor hire and being blamed. Sad.
Speaking from my department's experience (we have ~300 people in my department): a good percentage of the folks that were hired BEFORE the personality test was used ended up leaving (or being let go) because they weren't a good fit. A good percentage of the folks that were hired AFTER the personality test was used have stayed and been quite successful. Those that left usually left the department due to promotion or transfer to another company location.

In my experience (I've been here 4+ years and they began using the test a year or so before I got here), the personality test works. We currently have a happy, engaged, motivated department. A rare thing nowadays...
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-08-2014, 02:57 PM
 
3,118 posts, read 5,343,892 times
Reputation: 2605
Quote:
Originally Posted by ipaper View Post
You said there are no wrong answers, then you also said you know there are right and wrong answers.
I was quoting my employer Einstein. See the quotation marks?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:

Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Work and Employment > Job Search

All times are GMT -6. The time now is 02:31 AM.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top