Personality test for employment

[jcrod]

Who's done it? I've been through two interviews and they're flying me out to take this test. I know what it is, but was wondering who's taken it and what should I expect. I'll be there all day so obvious theres different stages. I'm assuming there's some type of written questions I answer.

[dougp]

I had to do one when I interviewed with Rackspace ...

[angel_luv]

I have never taken one that lasted all day.

The only one I've had was a list of adjectives and I had to say if each term described a little, a lot, or not at all.


Good luck with your interview process. :)

[Cant_Be_Faded]

I was applying for a position at Borders book store online and I had to take a test thing like that, it was seriously 11 pages of 10 questions each, and it took me forever cuz there were some questions like "I respond well to others telling me what to do" strong, moderate, weak, or "I don't respond well to others telling me what to do" strong, moderate, weak
it fucking sucked, by the time I finished I was hoping they'd give me a call just so I could tell them to go fuck themselves

[SpursWoman]

Best advice:

Answer what you really feel, not what you think they want you to feel. They have questions that test for that.

[ashbeeigh]

Best advice:

Answer what you really feel, not what you think they want you to feel. They have questions that test for that.
:tu


But anyway, I haven't taken any day long ones, I have taken ones like the Borders one and I found out yesterday while reading for my psych testing class that those tests are called "integrety tests" and aren't very valid or reliable. Most tests can catch the taker in lies because the account for trying to answer questions the way you want to appear. I can't think of the name of the effect right now though. Maybe it's something like the Expectancy Effect because the employer is expecting the employee to answer a certain way.

[Jimcs50]

TPark took one once, the results: He did not have one.


:)

[missmyzte]

I took one when I applied for Gallup a few years back, but you'd expect to take one for Gallup. :)

[spurster]

I've uncovered one of the questions:

When your boss yells at you, the correct action is to:

A) kiss his ass.
B) shoot everyone in the office.

[Marklar MM]

I've uncovered one of the questions:

When your boss yells at you, the correct action is to:

A) kiss his ass.
B) shoot everyone in the office.


B?

[Vizzini]

C. Bring a law suit against him for sexual harassment

[jcrod]

Best advice:

Answer what you really feel, not what you think they want you to feel. They have questions that test for that.


Thanks, good to know. What I'm worried about is its all day. So I was hoping someone else has done an all day one.

They're not giving me the test themselves. A seperate company is, I leave here at 6:30 AM start testing at around 8:30, then finish around 5:00.

Hey, I also forgot about the bat sale, get any good bats?

[jcrod]

I have never taken one that lasted all day.

The only one I've had was a list of adjectives and I had to say if each term described a little, a lot, or not at all.


Good luck with your interview process. :)


exactly, thats what's I'm slighty worried about. Why is it lasting all day?

Thanks, need it, want this job.

[hotchick21]

What job is it for??

[CosmicCowboy]

If it's all day with an outside consultant there will probably be some IQ testing as well. I went through a major testing like that for my first job out of college. I still think about one of the profile questions occasionally...it was:

Would you rather shoot a bird or build a birdhouse?

I answered "shoot" and have always wondered if that was the "right" answer...LOL

[johnsmith]

These tests are usually just to see if you'll "fit in" with the people already employed there. If you are reasonable normal and reasonably intelligent, you'll do fine on it.

[easjer]

It's probably testing different aspects, rather than one simple straightforward personality test. It's probably going to be an IQ test, a problem solving test, a personality test, and exercises in dealing with various situations you might encounter.

Whatever happens - as SW said, you have to be yourself. Don't try to figure out what they are hoping you will answer. Even if it comes down to something like "Are you a confrontational person? Agree, Slightly Agree, No Feeling, Slightly Disagree, Disagree." Be honest. First, you don't know for certain what they are looking for, so making an assumption hurts you if they want someone willing to challenge the status quo and you say you aren't that person. Second, if you lie about who you really are and they hire you, both of you will be unhappy.

Good luck.

[baseline bum]

Just because it's an all day test, doesn't mean it'll be difficult. Case in point:

My interview at Cisco:

They told me it was 6 hours, in three stages, so I thought I was going to be grilled hard.

First interviewer comes in...

Question #1: What's a pointer?

I start going off on how it's a strongly typed data element that represents an address in memory.. blah blah blah..

Question #2: Can you write function that returns a pointer?

I'm sitting there thinking, wtf? A high-schooler could pass this stage.

Then I go chill for an hour and 45 minutes, come back, second interviewer enters:

Question #1: What's the difference between a queue and a stack?

I'm trying real hard not to start just laughing. I give a short answer about how they're linear lists, one with insertion and deletion at opposite sides, the other with insertion and deletion at the same sides. I start talking about stack-based architechures, and how it allows things like register renaming, makes it hard to use coroutines, blah blah blah...

Question #2 was something about quicksort or merge sort... something anyone who's ever taken a data-structures class would get right off the bat.

In comes interviewer #3:

Question #1: What is the difference between a queue and a stack?

To which I reply, "the last guy asked me that! Come on, you're Cisco! Is this a joke?"

Interview over, got the job, turned it down later.

[SpursWoman]

These tests are usually just to see if you'll "fit in" with the people already employed there. If you are reasonable normal and reasonably intelligent, you'll do fine on it.


They also test to see if your personality fits the job description of the opening they are hiring for. Like, you don't want to hire a receptionist that is ultra-shy and prefers a solitary work environment ... or someone particularly disorganized for a clerical position.

I actually snagged a copy of the results of the personality test I took before I was hired at my current job. It said I'd be perfect for it. :spin

[tlongII]

Unfortunately I have no personality.

[johnsmith]

They also test to see if your personality fits the job description of the opening they are hiring for. Like, you don't want to hire a receptionist that is ultra-shy and prefers a solitary work environment ... or someone particularly disorganized for a clerical position.

I actually snagged a copy of the results of the personality test I took before I was hired at my current job. It said I'd be perfect for it. :spin


Was it correct?

[SpursWoman]

Was it correct?


Yes, I'm very good at what I do ... I have the right educational background and I've been doing it for a really long time. :spin





















And I'm an excellent fit with the pervs around here. :lol

[CavsSuperFan]

The people that make those stupid tests a jealous because they can’t hear the voices...

[MrChug]

Best advice:

Answer what you really feel, not what you think they want you to feel. They have questions that test for that.

She's right. If you really pay attention to the line of questioning (which you won't because you'll be too nervous about paying attention to the line of answering), you'll notice immediately the similarity between many of the quesitons. They're designed to illicit the same response. If you don't answer the "same" (type) of question consistently, they will know you're skewing the truth, thereby stamping yourself with either one of 2 labels #1. You're lying or #2. You don't understand the question, therefore making you too stupid for the type of job you're applying for...

[MrChug]

She's right. If you really pay attention to the line of questioning (which you won't because you'll be too nervous about paying attention to the line of answering), you'll notice immediately the similarity between many of the quesitons. They're designed to illicit the same response. If you don't answer the "same" (type) of question consistently, they will know you're skewing the truth, thereby stamping yourself with either one of 2 labels #1. You're lying or #2. You don't understand the question, therefore making you too stupid for the type of job you're applying for...

[George W Bush]

I don't worry about tests.

I just rig the employment process. :tu

[trueD]

WTF, a personality test? Some of the laziest ass people in my department have the absolute best personalities.

I would probably feel indignant towards a prospective employer who asks me to take a personality test.

:lol

It's probably a good thing I never had to take one.

[jcrod]

Well I took it yesterday (Friday). There were nine tests. First three were aptitude tests, the rest were personality tests.

On two of the aps test he was very impressed with my results, one he said I didn't do too well. They all were timed and he said i didn't answer enough questions, I only missed one of the ones I answered (65 i think in five min), but it was how many we answered. Later on the Taxi ride home I remembered the person who presented the test said it didn't matter how many we answered (another person was taking the test with me), so don't try to answer as many as you can, they just need to time it. I was pissed when I remembered, I would of rushed more instead of making sure my answers were correct. When we placed our test down, I had noticed he had answered 5-7 more than me, and i was taking my time, so I know he wasn't rushing either. So i wish I could've told him she shouldn't say it doesn't matter.

My personality test came back as I expected, except one. He said the results show that I'm disciplined, dependable, cool under pressure, accurate and so forth. I make sure the job is done correctly and care about quality more than time, which he explained why I probably didn't rush to answer many questions on that one test. Then he said I avoided confrontations most of the times. There are people who argue all the time and then people who avoid it at all costs. I'm towards avoiding it at all costs. I was, well I don't make a big deal of small stuff or stuff that doesn't matter. But no way am I afraid to confront someone when needed. I have no problems speaking my mind, if anybody knows me would know its true.

Overall I'm happy how everything turned out. BTW, I'm applying for a Project Manager position with a great home builder. I was laid off from my job a couple of months ago and haven't had luck finding something I want. I was in Information Technology before, and construction before that. I wasn't looking for construction, but really enjoyed the two new homes we did do, so I know I'll be happy here.

[ploto]

I always analyze the questions too much on these. I remember in college I took a long test with simple yes/no answers. I knew there would be built in accuracy questions, but they were not worded the same, so to me they were different questions and I answered some of them differently.

For example, early in the test it asked- are you afraid of deep water? At the time I definitely was due to a recent boating accident. Later on in the test it asked- are you afraid of water? That one I answered No- because I was not afraid of water. I was not afraid of the swimming pool- or my bath tub- or the beach. The tester told me my results were too inconsistent to be meaningful. I think I was too smart for the test. :lol