Psychological/personality testing

Just wrote a multiple hr. long personality/psychological test for a job I've applied.

I've written other tests, usually they have been 1-3 situational questions, sometimes with 1-2 technical questions and very much tied to the required job skills. All of this on top of verbal/face-to-face interviews with an interviewing panel. Nothing new ..to me.

But this time for a job application....is first time in um...1/4 century I've written such an extensive test to assess my psychological profile. :o It was administered by a pyschological assessment firm. Must have been over 60 questions with multiple choice formats. In the past, I've written a language fluency test for French which was several hrs. long and totally different. (This is required for some federal Canadian govn't jobs.)

Feels like a minor marathon self-exam :o of my own personal motives, tendencies, habits and whatever.

back in the mid-90's I applied for a job at then BC Tel. Not before or since have I experienced such a thorough testing. The written psychological assessment itself took a good 2 hours, along with a traditional interview. The last bit was to get clearance from a physician. All for a temporary clerical position...

:confused: Strange..for temporary position.

Anyway, it was interesting. :cool:

I too had to do personality/ psych tests when I reg'd with a couple of temp agencies.

Personally, i think they're a complete waste of time & reflect the fact that the recruitment people can't make a decision :mad: Don't waste my time!!!

I haven't heard of these types of assessments being conducted in the US in years. I would suspect they are illegal here. :rolleyes:

I had to do the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator when I worked for the Federal government. It wasn't part of hiring, but after onboarding.

Best part of that? The group sessions that involved demonstrated examples of how different types interact or see things... I was basically called out as the anomaly (I'm an INTJ--NT being a largely male type), and asked how I liked being seen as a b*tch. fun times. :rolleyes:

When my husband worked for one of the Bell companies, they started having a hiring personality screen. New hires had to meet a 'standard' set by HR types. Hubby is a computer programmer. They had to petition HR to change the standards for tech types because they couldn't find anyone who fit the standard and was qualified for the job.

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Originally Posted by TsPoet

I haven't heard of these types of assessments being conducted in the US in years. I would suspect they are illegal here. :rolleyes:

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psychological testing is still involved in Federal hiring in some areas. But that involves a real psychologist, not just some paper test.

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Originally Posted by lo123

psychological testing is still involved in Federal hiring in some areas. But that involves a real psychologist, not just some paper test.

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Real psychologists administer paper tests like the MBTI, MMPI, sentence completion, etc., etc., etc. Only psychologists are licensed to interpret the results.

I had to do MBTI on a job long ago, but as lo123 said, it was post-hire - part of an organizational retreat where we worked on team building.

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Originally Posted by OakLeaf

Real psychologists administer paper tests like the MBTI, MMPI, sentence completion, etc., etc., etc. Only psychologists are licensed to interpret the results.

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That makes sense.. Though in my experience, a lot of 'facilitators' interpret results. They have mostly been HR types.

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Originally Posted by crazycanuck

I too had to do personality/ psych tests when I reg'd with a couple of temp agencies.

Personally, i think they're a complete waste of time & reflect the fact that the recruitment people can't make a decision :mad: Don't waste my time!!!

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CC... HA! You are a hoot, girl!

One of my old bosses told me that I always had a great "gutt instinct" about things. We had these tests HR had to give to people etc. per corporate office rules. I typically have my gutt give me what it thinks in the first 60 seconds--no testing involved--other than a test of my ability to keep a poker face about the gutt's communication to the brain:rolleyes:. Granted, I have to turn over all the stones:o--it's the analytical part of me--but the gutt is not usually wrong.

Suppose the tests have some place in the selection process.

Shootingstar... hope your situation for the job works out the way you would like.:cool::)

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Originally Posted by Miranda

CC... HA! You are a hoot, girl!

One of my old bosses told me that I always had a great "gutt instinct" about things. We had these tests HR had to give to people etc. per corporate office rules. I typically have my gutt give me what it thinks in the first 60 seconds--no testing involved--other than a test of my ability to keep a poker face about the gutt's communication to the brain:rolleyes:. Granted, I have to turn over all the stones:o--it's the analytical part of me--but the gutt is not usually wrong.

Suppose the tests have some place in the selection process.

Shootingstar... hope your situation for the job works out the way you would like.:cool::)

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Oy..I'm just coming up for air now. Am in throes of preparing a presentation for another employer. Part of the competition.

Will say this test was administered by a large public sector employer.

Miranda, I have worked in the past, with some excellent HR managers where I had to interview and recruit staff for my dept. in conjunction with HR. A highly experienced and sharp HR manager, has excellent gut instinct. This has been proven..when months later, a HR related matter has surfaced. Unfortunately not all HR managers are the same ilke..sometimes I wonder if they feel 'used' /underappreciated.

I want to add one more thing-The people who create this psych tests must/should know that the folks taking the test aren't complete idiots. How hard is it to figure out that the questions are the same over & over!!!! :mad:

I believe I complained once to a rec co because I didn't like any of the answers & felt it was unfair to place me into a category I didn't belong in.

Grrrr.....