I recently went on a job interview with a small company that manufactures instruments for chemical analysis. Before I was asked a single question, I was given two short tests. The firs was the infamous (at least to American football fans)
Wonderlic Test.
The second however, was a test that I had not encountered before. Basicly it was a two page test. On the first page was a list of about 70 checkboxes with different personality traits. The instructions were to check every trait
that you feel other people think you should posess. Typical traits listed included honesty, persuasiveness, idealism, stubbornness, etc. On the second page was the same 70 or so checkboxes and the instructions were to check every trait
that you feel you actually posess. From this seemingly random data, a personality profile was generated. When I leater met with the actual interviewer he informed me that he had seen dozens of these test results, and no two were ever the same, and that they seemed to give a pretty accurate picture if the person taking the test. In the end they did tell me I "passed" both tests.
So first off I would like to know if anyone has ever taken, or knows the name of the second test I took. I'd be interested to look it up and see how it was developed and scored.
Secondly I'd like to hear other's opinions on the practice of pre-employment tests. I mean I understand taking tests that show your general aptitude for the position you are applying for. But tests like the Wonderlic, and the personality test don't really do that. Is it right to disqualify candidates on the basis of these types of tests, even when the candidate can actually do the job?
