Testing, Testing: Does This Help You Hire?
You may have noticed that aptitude and personality tests are becoming more commonplace in recruiting. While I don’t have a problem with personality tests (Predictive Index is pretty good), I find the aptitude tests to be a complete waste of everyone’s time. To illustrate this point, here is what a client wrote to me yesterday:
I got an email from a corporate recruiter asking me to take 2 assessments before being invited for an interview. The email stated that I would be tested on “math, logic, and verbal and spatial reasoning. I’m going to be completely honest here. When I do these cognitive assessments, I generally have my high school son, a math whiz, do the math and spatial reasoning questions because I find them too complex. But this one required me to use software that recorded me taking it on video! So, my default was not an option here. I took the test, and to be honest; I found most of the math and spatial reasoning questions too difficult to answer. Not only do I have no idea which shape should come next in the series, but more importantly, I don’t care! I guessed at most of these questions. Oh, it was timed, so I couldn’t ruminate on the questions either.
Today, I received an email from the recruiter stating that based on the results of my cognitive assessment, they decided not to move forward with me. Honestly? I laughed when I read that. How short-sighted. I can do arithmetic and algebra without many problems. But I am the first to admit that I am unskilled in complex math. I was a communications major in college and haven’t taken a math class since high school, which was in the 20th century! But you know what I do have? Years of extensive experience in leading internal and external communications efforts for global companies, along with contacts in the media and analyst communities. Their loss.
Let’s break this down. A company receives a resume for an open role and decides that, based on the resume, this candidate is qualified for the position. Then they make said candidate complete a mini-SAT as a first step. And based on the results of that test, they rejected my client. Without ever speaking with him. Without looking at his portfolio or any work samples. Without engaging in a conversation about how he approaches critical business problems. Is the area of the circle inscribed in the square a critical business issue? I’m going to guess that it’s not. And if it were, an employee would have access to other resources, such as Google and a calculator to solve it! Additionally, my client wasn’t even applying for a technical role! He was applying for a global communications role!
But Deb, why do you think personality tests are okay? Simple. Personality tests don’t have right or wrong answers. They can be effective in helping assess a candidate’s values and working style. They can identify the alignment of personality types with jobs and functions. They are helpful tools. A mini SAT/ACT is not a useful tool. Like the SAT/ACT, these assessments identify good test-takers, people who do well with timed tests, and people who understand the strategy behind the questions. Having someone pick the correct word to complete an analogy on a test has no value. Analogies are tools of communication. No one makes them up in a vacuum. Ask for a writing sample to see how they use analogies to tell stories. These assessments are impractical.
Dumb. Another example of #LazyRecruiting. Hiring companies: you must do better.