Personality tests: Thoughts?

granitegull51 said:I don't see what's so confidential about this; we aren't talking about nuclear physics or top-secret military intel here.

Look, I'm not really interested in all the "it depends" talk. Let's just look at a typical American corporation looking to hire some entry-level grunt work—what are the actual, "correct" answers to those questions?

🤣

You're being ridiculous. 🙂

If you want the manual, just check the Psychology Act—all the "right" answers are laid out right there. 😉

I actually took a test just like this one yesterday—it was labeled as the 16PF
so maybe it’s basically identical? Except instead of a scale, it just gave me three options per question
The quick version I did online says I'm an ESFJ
which, honestly, sounds about right based on the description

Eric Gray2 said:🤣

You're being ridiculous. 🙂

If you want the manual, just check the Psychology Act—all the "right" answers are laid out right there. 😉

I really hope you aren't just trolling this thread!

People are looking for real, concrete answers here, not some kind of fake moral high ground.

granitegull51, look—logic dictates that if an answer works for you, then it’s right, isn't it?
certain jobs look for specific personalities—so if you read the job description, you can basically guess what kind of profile they're hunting for, right?

I ran into one question that felt totally pointless—I mean, all my emotional needs are met as it is.
so option a) says they're met—which, yeah, they are.
option b) is just... undefined?
and option c) says they aren't.

The whole thing felt stupid—too personal, honestly. And besides, how are you even supposed to answer? It's like, do you even realize what you're asking me?🤔

There’s no such thing as a "right" or "wrong" answer when you're dealing with personality inventories (and let's be clear—these aren't "tests").

But—there is this thing called social desirability bias. That’s basically just the tendency for people to dodge the truth and give answers they think the other party "wants to hear" just to look better. And that, Danielle, is exactly what you’re getting at. Though I assume you realize that—as Eric Gray2 pointed out—nobody in their right mind is going to sit you down and coach you on how to lie effectively during a personality assessment. 🙄

So, I don't see much point in repeating the mantra "there are no right or wrong answers, "correct" just means what applies to you" to someone who has already made it obvious they don't care about being honest—they just want to know what kind of employees companies are hunting for so they can game the system. Which, honestly? Fine by me. It's okay to want that info, but you aren't actually going to get it. 😁

Besides, employers aren't always looking for the same type of person. Different roles require different traits; one job might need one specific set of characteristics, while another needs something else entirely.

Basically, during any hiring process, your goal as a candidate is to figure out which traits are preferred and tweak your answers accordingly (without overdoing it, obviously, unless you want to get caught). On the flip side, the psychologist evaluating you is just trying to sniff out exactly how much you're bluffing. 😉

I mean, recruitment processes... who wouldn't want to play that game? 😁

It’s honestly such a breath of fresh air when people actually show a little patience—thanks, Arthur Campbell2. 🙂

If anyone here has hired an agency to run those assessments for hiring purposes, could you give me a ballpark figure on the cost? I honestly can't wrap my head around what it would run to testing 30 or 40 candidates.

Feel free to shoot me a DM if that's easier.

Eric Gray2 said:Alright, let's get serious here—for the very last time.

You aren't going to get "accurate" answers from psychological assessment tools unless you're a licensed psychologist. Period. It’s against the Psychology Act, and honestly, whether you personally agree with those legal regulations or not doesn't change the reality of the situation—it's just a moot point at this stage. I thought we had all established where we stand on this by now, so if anyone keeps pushing this same argument, I'm going to consider it nothing more than trolling.

Look, anyone can give an answer—that's just freedom of speech, right? 🥱

I couldn't care less about licenses or those little lobbying groups. 👍

Jacob Long said:granitegull51, look—logic dictates that if an answer works for you, then it’s right, isn't it?
certain jobs look for specific personalities—so if you read the job description, you can basically guess what kind of profile they're hunting for, right?

I ran into one question that felt totally pointless—I mean, all my emotional needs are met as it is.
so option a) says they're met—which, yeah, they are.
option b) is just... undefined?
and option c) says they aren't.

The whole thing felt stupid—too personal, honestly. And besides, how are you even supposed to answer? It's like, do you even realize what you're asking me?🤔

Obviously, requirements vary by role, but in these cases, people always pick C, otherwise the employers assume you'll be a dissatisfied and difficult employee.😉

Arthur Campbell2 said:There’s no such thing as a "right" or "wrong" answer when you're dealing with personality inventories (and let's be clear—these aren't "tests").

But—there is this thing called social desirability bias. That’s basically just the tendency for people to dodge the truth and give answers they think the other party "wants to hear" just to look better. And that, Danielle, is exactly what you’re getting at. Though I assume you realize that—as Eric Gray2 pointed out—nobody in their right mind is going to sit you down and coach you on how to lie effectively during a personality assessment. 🙄

So, I don't see much point in repeating the mantra "there are no right or wrong answers, "correct" just means what applies to you" to someone who has already made it obvious they don't care about being honest—they just want to know what kind of employees companies are hunting for so they can game the system. Which, honestly? Fine by me. It's okay to want that info, but you aren't actually going to get it. 😁

Besides, employers aren't always looking for the same type of person. Different roles require different traits; one job might need one specific set of characteristics, while another needs something else entirely.

Basically, during any hiring process, your goal as a candidate is to figure out which traits are preferred and tweak your answers accordingly (without overdoing it, obviously, unless you want to get caught). On the flip side, the psychologist evaluating you is just trying to sniff out exactly how much you're bluffing. 😉

I mean, recruitment processes... who wouldn't want to play that game? 😁

Yeah, you hit the nail on the head.

Everyone lies—including psychologists and those HR ladies who pretend they’re actually making progress, only for some American manager to just pick their tenth favorite candidate anyway 😁

Basically, psychometric testing is just a useless circus where employees act like robots and managers pretend they're being intelligent. 🍿

Morgan Thompson12 said:If anyone here has hired an agency to run those assessments for hiring purposes, could you give me a ballpark figure on the cost? I honestly can't wrap my head around what it would run to testing 30 or 40 candidates.

Feel free to shoot me a DM if that's easier.

It really just depends on how much sales talk you're willing to swallow; there are testing services everywhere...

granitegull51 said:Look, anyone can give an answer—that's just freedom of speech, right? 🥱

I couldn't care less about licenses or those little lobbying groups. 👍

Obviously, requirements vary by role, but in these cases, people always pick C, otherwise the employers assume you'll be a dissatisfied and difficult employee.😉

Yeah, you hit the nail on the head.

Everyone lies—including psychologists and those HR ladies who pretend they’re actually making progress, only for some American manager to just pick their tenth favorite candidate anyway 😁

Basically, psychometric testing is just a useless circus where employees act like robots and managers pretend they're being intelligent. 🍿

It really just depends on how much sales talk you're willing to swallow; there are testing services everywhere...

NO, any random psychologist cannot and should not be giving those answers. If that happens, you report them to the state licensing board.
Statements like yours are an insult to professionals who actually do their jobs with integrity. I worked in HR myself, and we always strove to be objective and thorough.
You have to realize that at the end of the day, the employer picks whoever they want, regardless of what the tests say or what the psychologist thinks. Psychologists don't have the final word there. The decision belongs to the boss.