I was just required to take a 95 minute, SAT-esque "assessment", complete with similes and fraction problems, to complete my application for an mid-career, non-technical position at a Community College. This follows the 60 minute personality assessment I sat through last week, this one required for a senior level job at a Fortune 500 company. Come on, are they really basing hiring decisions on my ability to add 3/4ths to 5/6ths?
Wow. Well let's see, there's a variety of ways to look at this. Shall we start with the Community College position?
Think of the Community College as basically a purgatory type of environment. People from all walks of life pass through this environment for a variety of reasons. Maybe they're super smart but life dealt them a rough hand and so they're having to prove themselves in a less than challenging environment for financial reasons. Or maybe, they aren't that smart, at least not smart enough to get into your typical 4 year college and need the Community College to give them a leg up, or just to give them a chance. A Community College is a place where you can usually pretty easily get a second chance. But you can either prove yourself and get a leg up on the financial and maybe even social ladder, or you might just fail miserably and slide down into the depths of a job that won't pay you well even if you are smart, just because you don't have a college degree. As work environments go, I would think it could be pretty rough, but also very rewarding. Add to that a glut of people looking for jobs, and I would think that even a Community College at this point can afford to be a bit "choosy". And what better way (sarcasm here) then with a standardized test? Oh Community College purgatory, you're so full of envy for highly regarded schools, that you feel the need to torture people with the threat of not being good enough for a Community College. Well played.
I would also mention that in many of my previous jobs I have wished for a test that could perhaps weed out some of the morons I have worked with by revealing their basic stupidity. But I am a bit snobby.
Now, the Fortune 500 company giving a personality test, well maybe that's a whole 'nother matter. You know how companies usually ask for references from your previous companies about your work there? Legally, your former employer is obliged to confirm the dates you were employed, nothing else. There's an unspoken pact that if that's all the person says, maybe the person isn't such a good candidate, but honestly most companies are fearful of legal retribution if they say something unflattering about an employee. And most companies have an automated system set up anyway so it's hard to get any positive references even if you were a star. Hiring an employee is a pretty big gamble for a company, especially a Fortune 500. They have a reputation to uphold. So they often rely on standardized personality tests to gauge whether or not a person is a "good fit"for the company. An imprecise science especially in untrained hands for sure, but also a decent way to weed out potential whack jobs.
I guess I would say they are not deciding whether or not to hire you on the basis of these tests (at least one would hope not) but maybe they are trying to determine whether you might be worthy of more in depth interviewing by a senior member of their staff.
Maybe it's goofy of me, but I could go for a standardized test right now! I just love filling in those little ovals. It appeals to my OCD side. Good luck on those tests!
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