I have been invited for an interview for a managerial position, but I was told I’d need to take a personality test to complete my application. I’ve done a bit of research and found out that most companies actually do this. Now my problem is this: all of the people I know who have applied to jobs requiring personality tests didn’t get the job. Is this just a coincidence, or is the test really the issue? Will the test results determine my fate for this job? I’m thinking of faking the answers.
[quote]bonepicket wrote:
I have been invited for an interview for a managerial position, but I was told I’d need to take a personality test to complete my application. I’ve done a bit of research and found out that most companies actually do this. Now my problem is this: all of the people I know who have applied to jobs requiring personality tests didn’t get the job. Is this just a coincidence, or is the test really the issue? Will the test results determine my fate for this job? I’m thinking of faking the answers. [/quote]
Figure out what the test is and then look online how to fake it.
If you skew the answers too hard one way, it’s obvious.
I had to do crap like this in the military to prove I would not turn into a serial killer when they were done with me.
I’m an HR puke IRL, so I know these tests pretty well. Don’t try to fake or game them. There is a wide spectrum of these test from very simple questions scored like a school test to complex matrix based tests. Companies vary pretty widely on how much weight they give the results. Almost all of them measure consistency on some level to determine the honesty of an applicant so stay consistent. The easiest way to stay consistent is honesty, BTW. Take the test when you are feeling fresh and positive. A managerial focused test will likely have some situational questions, and later some altered form of the same “what if” question.
lol @ the idea I’d work for a company that gave me a test in order to get the job.
[quote]countingbeans wrote:
lol @ the idea I’d work for a company that gave me a test in order to get the job. [/quote]
Ya, I’ve never even heard of this. I’ve taken an Excel test, but a personality test, no.
[quote]countingbeans wrote:
lol @ the idea I’d work for a company that gave me a test in order to get the job. [/quote]
You mean, like, the CPA exam?
[quote]Dr. Pangloss wrote:
[quote]countingbeans wrote:
lol @ the idea I’d work for a company that gave me a test in order to get the job. [/quote]
You mean, like, the CPA exam?
[/quote]
You don’t have to pass the CPA exam to work in Public Accounting. You’ll just hit a rather low ceiling pretty quickly.
Did someone say public accounting? Can we use this thread to dork out about what a great life public accountants have?
[quote]usmccds423 wrote:
[quote]Dr. Pangloss wrote:
[quote]countingbeans wrote:
lol @ the idea I’d work for a company that gave me a test in order to get the job. [/quote]
You mean, like, the CPA exam?
[/quote]
You don’t have to pass the CPA exam to work in Public Accounting. You’ll just hit a rather low ceiling pretty quickly. [/quote]
Yeah, while a good jab, and I give the good DR 5 points for it, it isn’t the same as a test to get hired. (However, post 2008 hiring has actually changed things a bit, and big four do require it, or at least your 150 to be hired.)
[quote]LankyMofo wrote:
Did someone say public accounting? Can we use this thread to dork out about what a great life public accountants have? [/quote]
I’m pretty sure we are examples enough.
[quote]countingbeans wrote:
[quote]usmccds423 wrote:
[quote]Dr. Pangloss wrote:
[quote]countingbeans wrote:
lol @ the idea I’d work for a company that gave me a test in order to get the job. [/quote]
You mean, like, the CPA exam?
[/quote]
You don’t have to pass the CPA exam to work in Public Accounting. You’ll just hit a rather low ceiling pretty quickly. [/quote]
Yeah, while a good jab, and I give the good DR 5 points for it, it isn’t the same as a test to get hired. (However, post 2008 hiring has actually changed things a bit, and big four do require it, or at least your 150 to be hired.)
[quote]LankyMofo wrote:
Did someone say public accounting? Can we use this thread to dork out about what a great life public accountants have? [/quote]
I’m pretty sure we are examples enough. [/quote]
Just as a for instance, yesterday I wasn’t feeling 100% and decided to work from home. Today I’m feeling better but I still have gas. So I decided to come in, reserve an entire conference room for myself and work in my own stench.
If that’s not living I don’t know what is.
I took one once and it made me not really want the job. It was questions like:
T/F
It’s important for a manager to be confident.
I’d say about a third of the exam tried to gauge my confidence by asking how confident I’d feel… seemed pretty useless to me. I also think they were a bit quick in having me take it. I don’t think my application was ever analyzed.
I took an employment exam once. It was 70 questions, but it seemed to be the same 20 questions worded in different ways. The answers also ranged from “very accurately describes me” to “does not describe me at all” with 5 degrees in between.
Needless to say, I didn’t get that job.
I had to take one. It was some sort of combination of a personality and IQ test. I did not like the personality portion as the questions themselves were inconsistent. There were many related to how you approach problems, decision making, etc. It was very hard to consistently answer questions in a manner that would suggest I make quick decisions, but only if I have all relevant information first. The IQ portion was a breeze. Similar to wonderlich type questions. I don’t think I missed any.
In the end I don’t think it mannered. I don’t know how much weight the company itself gives to the test, but I’m pretty sure unless my results were completely bogus I was going to get the job. Unlike your position I had already been through 2 phone interviews and one in person interview, though. It definitely wasn’t used as an application to screen candidates.
My company(a rather large company in many different markets) does a similar test for every interview, based on the Briggs Meyers format. Basically none of the questions relate to the job directly, they are all aimed at discovering your personality type i.e. how you act in situations, what you deem valuable in people/workplace, etc. Most questions are very specific and open ended, such as “Give an example of a time when…” and you go from there.
I personally dont care for this type of interview because it allows people with little to offer the chance to “talk themselves into a job,” much more easily than someone with great skills the chance to talk themselves OUT of a job in my experience.
That seems horribly worded after rereading it, to clarify, in the cases i have seen they value the interview(with no questions that even pertain to the job at hand) over what skills the person may or may not bring to the job.
[quote]GetitUp wrote:
My company(a rather large company in many different markets) does a similar test for every interview, based on the Briggs Meyers format. Basically none of the questions relate to the job directly, they are all aimed at discovering your personality type i.e. how you act in situations, what you deem valuable in people/workplace, etc. Most questions are very specific and open ended, such as “Give an example of a time when…” and you go from there.
I personally dont care for this type of interview because it allows people with little to offer the chance to “talk themselves into a job,” much more easily than someone with great skills the chance to talk themselves OUT of a job in my experience.
That seems horribly worded after rereading it, to clarify, in the cases i have seen they value the interview(with no questions that even pertain to the job at hand) over what skills the person may or may not bring to the job. [/quote]
A good portion of fortune 500 companies use personality typing. If you are curious you should just take a personality typing test online and get an idea of the different personality types out there. I’m sure on a lot of levels it will be intuitive for you as it is most people, some of the information you find out about how other people operate, what motivates them is great information if you are going into management or a supervisor position. I.E. knowing your people and how to motivate them, also can allow a boss to know how to motivate you as well. It’s pretty useful if not just for your own knowledge in the workplace and in life.