ajcjobs > BlogBreak > Archives > 2006 > July > 18 > Entry
Assessment tests: good or bad?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Have you ever lost out on a job opportunity because of an assessment test that you took?
There are thousands of assessment tools on the market now that are supposed to help employers decide who will fit into their work environment the best.
I know of companies that swear by certain tests that they use, and that they would never consider hiring without the benefit of this ‘objective’ assessment.
One recognizable company I know advocates using handwriting analysis as a hiring assessment tool.
Before the top candidate could be considered for an offer, their signature written down three times on a piece of paper was sent to a ‘Madame Woo’ in Chinatown in New York City.
About ten days later the company would receive an exhaustive seven page document describing the candidate’s personality traits in complete detail.
Not too long ago, I decided to take some assessment tests myself to see what kind assessment tool I might like to incorporate into our selection process we provide to employer clients.
The first assessment I took would reveal what kind of job for which I would be best suited.
They ranked three job areas where I would most likely excel. Two of the areas seemed fairly normal for me, but the third really blew me away.
It said that I had the personality traits to be a top notch oil rig driller!
I have never seen an oil rig except on TV or in the movies, have no idea how one works, and besides, hard hats and high heels don’t compliment each other, at least in my way of thinking.
For the next assessment test, I got a few of my employees to be guinea pigs and do the testing along with me.
After taking the tests two of the three (including me) scored poorly in the areas that are necessary to do our jobs properly.
According to this assessment, I should fire myself and our manager of client services who has a wonderful performance record!
I am sure that of the countless assessment tools and instruments on the market today, that there are those that are valid indicators of behavior traits.
I understand that a lot of metrics go into validating the effectiveness and accuracy of an assessment test.
I wonder how much follow up is done to see how the candidate tested actually lived up to the expected performance or behavior indicated on an assessment.
I can tell you right now that I would make a lousy oil rig driller.
Comments
By assessed
July 18, 2006 10:55 AM | Link to this
Margot, your right on with this one. I’ve done many assessment tests and on the rare opportunity my employer let me see the results they were nothing like who I was, and more importantly, the things I believe make up a good employee. If used, they should be uses with extreme caution. Keep in mind, the people who “assess” for you are in business to make money first and foremost. No one does it for you…
By AShyGirl
July 18, 2006 11:27 AM | Link to this
Have I ever lost out on an employment opportunity due to an assessment test?! Does the sun shine!? You bet your life! And what burns my hide is that the position I applied for was with the US gov’t—despite the fact that the potential employer called me and said I was a “perfect fit” for the position. Go figure. These “assessment tests” are nothing more than new pieces of the bureaucratic puzzle.
By Sara
July 18, 2006 11:51 AM | Link to this
I recently applied for a job with a major grocery store chain for payroll manager, which I’m more than qualified for. The application process involved an assessment test, and not much else. I wasn’t even given the opportunity to send in a resume. I guess I didn’t assess too well because I never received a call. I’m not too disappointed however. I can’t imagine what kind of people I would be working with considering you have to have zero qualifications, just the right personality!
By Cletus Snow
July 18, 2006 12:52 PM | Link to this
Assessment test are an employers option,as it should be. They should be able to hire a person because they like your hair color or some other feature or not hire for any reason they choose.Employers who make consistant bad choices will fail in the business world rather quickly,while good choices promote success. I don’t think anyone really knows why they were hired or not hired.That being said I would never work for a company that used outside assessment firms The company I work for started 35 years ago with myself and the owner,we now employ slightly more than 100. I’ve hired people sight unseen because of a recomendation from a trusted employee and i’ve failed to hire an individual because he couldn’t make eye contact. We hired a PHD with a resume that was outstanding in every way, needed 2 assistants to dial a phone, He’s working for the IRS now.Says he wants to get into politics.
By Cletus Snow
July 18, 2006 01:14 PM | Link to this
The assessments allow an employer a polite way to say,you are ugly stupid and don’t have a personality I would not under any circumstance hire you to walk my dog or take out my trash
By Prootwadl
July 18, 2006 01:26 PM | Link to this
I think assessment tests might be a good part of an interview process, but I think it’s a mistake to depend on them too heavily.
I’d rather see more team interviews (where a candidate is interviewed by the team they might be working with as a group) to determine personality and compatibility face-to-face, and I’d rather see general knowledge tested for technical postitions than tests which require rote memorization (most of the folks I know who are good know how to use a reference book).
By kellix
July 18, 2006 01:31 PM | Link to this
I know I have lost opportunities because of the wacko psycho evaluation assessments. I applied at this job with a well known help desk. I interviewed and they asked me these questions and told me if I didn’t have an answer not to answer. Well after they told my skill set was perfect for the position, that they couldn’t hire me because they said I was evasive toward questioning and they weren’t sure if I would be good with people. Like I got mad easy. Well I got another job with a bigger firm then them after I realized I had never once gotten mad at a client, and In fact I ended up winning 13 very satisfied customer awards thru the company. So in the end the first company were idiots to base their decision off these tests. And that is why the company now moved it operations to India.