IQ tests and Personality tests when you apply for jobs...why?

[Deleted]

I live in Sweden and i've noticed as I have been unemployed for quite some time that it is getting more popoular using so called IQ tests or personality tests when excluding people for the job. My question is why. personality tests I can get but these vauge "pick out this rule" tests or logic tests I do not.

I have never been taught complex logic thinking because my brain is not suited for it, I can do low level math but as sson as the greek letters show up I stop getting it. SO im therefor to be punished for my lack of education fora job that do not requite complex logic thinking like customer support or receptionist work.

So can anybody explain this for me or maybe even tip me on how I can learn to becaome better at these tests.

[Krekal]

People like to brag.
I live in Sweden too and I haven't noticed this... Maybe it's just where you live, can't think of anything else.
ps: It's not hard to get like 140 IQ on internet IQ tests, I dislike them tbh, seems a bit dumb to measure ones intelligence on a 50 question test ._.

[Gheld]

Why do police administer polygraph tests despite the fact that there is absolutely no scientific basis behind the idea of using them to detect deception? (In fact many of the world's most notorious criminals have passed polygraph tests early in their criminal investigations)

Answer: The employers are a bunch of dimwits, and snake oil salesmen come around, "If your new recruits can pass this test they will be 99% more productive, and it will save you millions of dollars a second" "Herpaderp, the suits in corporate will surely promote me once those savings arrive"

I.e. it's somebody else's job somewhere else to convince some dimwitted middle-manager that administering that test at an exorbitant cost will save them money by getting them more productive employees.

[zenkai]

The only time I have seen/heard of this is when my Brother (USA) applied to be a police officer.

[Tuor]

I live in Sweden and i've noticed as I have been unemployed for quite some time that it is getting more popoular using so called IQ tests or personality tests when excluding people for the job. My question is why. personality tests I can get but these vauge "pick out this rule" tests or logic tests I do not.

I have never been taught complex logic thinking because my brain is not suited for it, I can do low level math but as sson as the greek letters show up I stop getting it. SO im therefor to be punished for my lack of education fora job that do not requite complex logic thinking like customer support or receptionist work.

So can anybody explain this for me or maybe even tip me on how I can learn to becaome better at these tests.

I don't recall to have donne a IQ test whille aplying to a job, perhaps you are speaking of normal psychotechnic tests, and those, are normally intended to seek for specific charecteristics. Personality tests, for example are intended to check your resistence to stress, to see if you can become a salesman or any other specific charecteristics.

The reason of those tests is actually to exclude people, and make the selection process easeaier for them. The bad thing is that they will always try to pick something from you... The most stupid thing it happened to me whille aplying to a job, was the fact i no longer have a home phone conection, only have my mobile phone, and whille aplying to a job the interviewer forced me to give them a second phone number... I ended giving her my brother one. This just to say that you should be ready for this kind of stuff, psychotechnic tests help them doing this . And yes, i hate them too.

[Gheld]

I don't recall to have donne a IQ test whille aplying to a job, perhaps you are speaking of normal psychotechnic tests, and those, are normally intended to seek for specific charecteristics. Personality tests, for example are intended to check your resistence to stress, to see if you can become a salesman or any other specific charecteristics.

The reason of those tests is actually to exclude people, and make the selection process easeaier for them. The bad thing is that they will always try to pick something from you... The most stupid thing it happened to me whille aplying to a job, was the fact i no longer have a home phone conection, only have my mobile phone, and whille aplying to a job te interviewer forced me to give them a second phone number... I ended giving her my brother one. This just to say that you should be ready to for this kind of stuff, psychotechnic tests help them doing this . And yes, i hate them too.

Was "Only dinosaurs still have land lines" Not an acceptable response?

[Titan2k10]

Nothing wrong with IQ tests. It is the best cognitive ability indicator available to me....essentially telling me whether or not someone has the capacity to learn the business as opposed to someone who may not be able to. Science is science and there is a sweet spot where people are either not smart enough or too smart and would lose interest quickly in the industry I am in.

Personality tests are also important as they can assist in building effective communication and motivation strategies for the members on your team/projects.

[Grummgug]

When I applied for programming jobs, I frequently had to write a bit code on-the-spot, or something similar before they would even interview me.

If I was a hiring manager, I would test for "hustle". I'd hand them a crate of sealed envelopes and a letter opener and have them open those for 5 minutes. That's a basic skill anyone can do and would test for hustle. That should also weed out divas. I want people with a work ethic. If they pass that, then I interview them. The next thing I'd weed out for is gossip. People that dish about other people are just trouble in an office environment. So I'd ask what TV shows they watch. If they are watching those gossip shows, goodbye.

[Tuor]

Was "Only dinosaurs still have land lines" Not an acceptable response?

That's exactly the level of stupidity i wanted to show... Most psychotecnic tests are unecessary, and that was the meaning of my example... Its that kind of stuff that always force us laught... until you realise, normally a couple weeks later, that you out .

[Deleted]

I live in Sweden and i've noticed as I have been unemployed for quite some time that it is getting more popoular using so called IQ tests or personality tests when excluding people for the job. My question is why. personality tests I can get but these vauge "pick out this rule" tests or logic tests I do not.

I have never been taught complex logic thinking because my brain is not suited for it, I can do low level math but as sson as the greek letters show up I stop getting it. SO im therefor to be punished for my lack of education fora job that do not requite complex logic thinking like customer support or receptionist work.

So can anybody explain this for me or maybe even tip me on how I can learn to becaome better at these tests.

IQ tests for jobs? What? I know for some specific jobs they test your motor skills and ability to do some stuff, but never IQ tests, nor personality tests. Where are you even getting this from...?

[spanishninja]

Personality tests are a must nowadays in team-based work environments. You can bullshit in the interview about how you ard a team player but you can't bluff your way through a personality test as easily.

[Gheld]

That's exactly the level of stupidity i wanted to show... Most psychotecnic tests are unecessary, and that was the meaning of my example... Its that kind of stuff that always force us laught... until you realise, normally a couple weeks later, that you out .

Yeah, these tests are just a bunch of snake oil being sold to the employers by grifters.

[Deleted]

Personality tests are a must nowadays in team-based work environments. You can bullshit in the interview about how you ard a team player but you can't bluff your way through a personality test as easily.

An actual accurate personality test takes a long time perform. You need to observe them for a longer period of time, watch how they interact with others and how they deal with unexpected stuff etc. Filling in some papers or answering a few questions isn't really accurate enough to be described as a personality test. I don't deny that you can see if someone might be compatible with it, but don't call it a personality test then, call it a compatibility test.

[Titan2k10]

An actual accurate personality test takes a long time perform. You need to observe them for a longer period of time, watch how they interact with others and how they deal with unexpected stuff etc. Filling in some papers or answering a few questions isn't really accurate enough to be described as a personality test. I don't deny that you can see if someone might be compatible with it, but don't call it a personality test then, call it a compatibility test.

I think I am going to trust millions of dollars of research over your anecdotal statement. Take of that what you will.

[Spectral]

IQ tests are given because they work. They're highly predictive of actual ability. If you're terrible at them, you're probably just not intelligent and thus not a good candidate for intellectually demanding jobs. While such test aren't perfect, they're a useful part of an overall picture that an HR Department tries to build in order to filter through a large number of candidates.

In the US, IQ tests are generally not used for employment due to disparate impact doctrine. Variants that haven't yet been noticed to have disparate impact are sometimes used though.

[Deleted]

I think I am going to trust millions of dollars of research over your anecdotal statement. Take of that what you will.

That you'd trust people to be able to accurately describes someones personality based on a few responses on paper and a short interview. Yeah, I don't think you can and neither should others. What you can test is compatibility with the job, not personality, not in such a short amount of time.

- - - Updated - - -

IQ tests are given because they work. They're highly predictive of actual ability. If you're terrible at them, you're probably just not intelligent and thus not a good candidate for intellectually demanding jobs. While such test aren't perfect, they're a useful part of an overall picture that an HR Department tries to build in order to filter through a large number of candidates.

In the US, IQ tests are generally not used for employment due to disparate impact doctrine. Variants that haven't yet been noticed to have disparate impact are sometimes used though.

I've never even heard of personality or IQ tests being a thing in Sweden. At most I've seen tests that are timed to see if you'd be able to handle the tempo at the job coupled with being tested about the specific things you're to do so they know you actually understand what you're going to be doing.

[Spectral]

That you'd trust people to be able to accurately describes someones personality based on a few responses on paper and a short interview. Yeah, I don't think you can and neither should others. What you can test is compatibility with the job, not personality, not in such a short amount of time.

People tend to overestimate what special snowflakes humans are. You can't get a complete picture from a quick snippet, but you'll be mostly right about most personality characteristics in pretty short order. It's not hard to tell who's intelligent, who's abrasive, who has a good sense of humor, and so on.

- - - Updated - - -

I've never even heard of personality or IQ tests being a thing in Sweden. At most I've seen tests that are timed to see if you'd be able to handle the tempo at the job coupled with being tested about the specific things you're to do so they know you actually understand what you're going to be doing.

I can't speak for Sweden. I know that some IT companies in the US use what are branded as "Skills Assessments" that are fundamentally just thinly veiled IQ tests. Lots of logic problems and such.

[Deleted]

This is my thuird time getting one and I know of companies that uses them mostley agencies like manpower or proffice but also the goverment uses this. I applied for a job at the local electronics store and was given a persobnality test including tests on how your learn/memory, logic and "pick out what picture or stickficgure does not belong"

[Deleted]

probably gives them something to talk about and compare between candidates. otherwise it'd just be a couple of recruiters going: "who should we hire?" "/shrug, dunno - candidate C was hawt".

[Independent voter]

I live in Sweden and i've noticed as I have been unemployed for quite some time that it is getting more popoular using so called IQ tests or personality tests when excluding people for the job. My question is why. personality tests I can get but these vauge "pick out this rule" tests or logic tests I do not.

In the US they use these tests because they have 2,000 applicants and testing is a way to reduce that to 20 applicants or whatever number, they take the highest scorers. They also use whether or not you have a college degree to do the same thing.

Now that the economy is doing better here, testing is not used as much.