Posted on 11/28/2006 6:56:38 AM PST by freepinglurker
I always check no....everyone who works with me knows I'm the anti-christ.....
Cognitive ability testing is not forbidden. In fact it is alive and well. Companies need to demonstrate that it is relevant to the job in question and that it is not unfairly "biased" (i.e., has different predictive validity) for protected groups.
For many jobs, cognitive ability is the best SINGLE predictor of success, but there are many other predictors that neeed to be taken inot account. Thats why companies use multiple interviews, personality tests and organizational psychologists to help them with their hiring.
Not true. Some employers are looking for SPECIFIC personality types for specific jobs.
I've tested WAY above average in IQ tests...but didn't get a job due to a personality test. They were looking for a PURE analytical type for a Project Manager position...and I'm not that.
One company made me take an IQ test and the guy said that if I scored over a certain score he would give me more money, I did and he didn't.
Remember that it's not your job, it's the employer's job. You're just trading your services for their money and you can *always* walk away at any time and for any reason.
Please note that I didn't say that it was *easy* to walk away (try finding an employer that doesn't run credit checks and drug tests as a part of the screening process, for instance) but that option is always there.
So what's next? Genetic testing in case you might be an insurance risk down the road?
ROTFLMAO!
Great tag line, by the way!
Great information, thank you!
bump
One of the last applications I made for a job had two interviews and then they asked for a third. I told them I was no longer interested. If they can't figure out what kind of a person I am after two interviews, then they are the ones with a problem.
Maybe the employees (or the potential employees) should be the ones dishing out these tests! I'll bet that would go over in a big way. Maybe i should request reviewing their books, credit reports, interview all of their people a dozen times, criminal records yada yada yada. Wouldn't that be fun if the shoe was on the other foot?
And yet there are validated tests that are available and have survivied the challenges.
And, frankly, it is the pervasive attitude that the employer exists to serve the needs of the worker wihtout respect to what the employer receives couped with the overabundance of litigation against employers that leads to the insanity of 3 month (or longer!) hiring processes.
If an employer hires a freak, they get sued. If the employer refuses to hire certain freaks, they get sued. If the employer hires a latent freak, whose freakishness is exacerbated by certain factors in said employers environment, they end up with someone of little or no value to the organization. If they try to do anything they can to avoid any of these scenarios, then people want to sue them or not work for them. Employers have both hands tied behind their backs when it comes to hiring.
I understand some information needed. This thread is about going too far and what they will want next.
"If they're trying to weed out sociopaths, that won't work. Dishonest candidates just lie their way breezily through a personality test."
William Jefferson Clinton is proof of that!
Its their money.
I admit I was quite a skeptic, but the results at my company make me believe there is something to these tests. We use the DISC assessment, which tries to measure your Dominance, Interpersonal, Steadiness, and Compliance as compared to the average.
The test tries to predict a person's preferred way of working with others, not how successful they will be. Different DISC scores often come up with different ways to solve problems. On the other hand, you can often see how certain scores may have trouble working together. I have seen two off the chart high Ds on a team and you end up with a mess as each tries to get his way.
You most certainly should be doing your background check on your potential employer!!! Google them and find out whether they have been sued, what shape the finances are in, what kind of industry it is, what pecukiarities there are to the industry and the company. Who is on their board? etc etc etc.
Look, the hiring process is like getting married. Very few, rational intelligent people will marry someone they've met only 3 times. I'm not saying I administer a psych profile to potential mates, but I have the luxury of dating them for months or years. It is easy to lie for 3 meetings consistently, but harder to continue to keep the lies going for a longer period of time....time the employer doesn't have!
Remember, the job of human resources is to protect the company's interests, not to protect you or your interests.
I took one of these tests given by Sears when I was looking for a seasonal gig. Many of the questions revolved around honesty/stealing and the like.
I know a young lady that is trying to get on with a wireless phone company. She's been going through the application process for over six weeks, has sat through four interviews, and still doesn't know if she has the job. I'm assuming she's applied for a customer service position and they are seriously testing her patience quotient.
Thank you!
BTW, I want your soul.....
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