whats the deal with those "agree" "disagree" tests when applying for jobs?

[DarkManX]

what are they looking for when you take those agree, strong agree, strongly disagree tests? they are so annoying and repetative.

 

[purbeast0]

i've never seen a real job w/those types of applications.

and i've been applying places a lot recently.

 

[akubi]

 

[QED]

They are looking for character traits... supposedly they are a much better predictor of your future behavior (such as work ethic, honesty, trustworthiness, etc.) than a personal interview.

 

[Ika]

Originally posted by: MathMan
They are looking for character traits... supposedly they are a much better predictor of your future behavior (such as work ethic, honesty, trustworthiness, etc.) than a personal interview.

yeah. that's also why they tell you to answer as quickly as you can without thinking, and not to change your answer.

 

[aidanjm]

it's a simplistic personality test. it basically looks at personality traits, like how agreeable you are, whether you think success is due to internal factors you control or external factors you have no control over, whether you are motivated, whether you are cautious or reckless, etc. Go to a receuitment agency web site for info about some of the tests.

 

[Whoozyerdaddy]

Originally posted by: guoziming

Originally posted by: MathMan
They are looking for character traits... supposedly they are a much better predictor of your future behavior (such as work ethic, honesty, trustworthiness, etc.) than a personal interview.

yeah. that's also why they tell you to answer as quickly as you can without thinking, and not to change your answer.

And if you look, they usually rephrase the same question three or four times to see if you're being consistant in your answers. They start off simple (Is it ok to steal?) and gradually get more complex (Is it wrong for a hungry homeless man to shoplift food from a store?)

IIRC the consistancy of your answers is more important than the answers you provide.

 

[Injury]

If it's a retail job, be certain to answer like a goody-goody or you won't ever get called back.

Most of their questions are aimed at preventing loss, whether it be theft or labor.

 

[DarkManX]

yea their all for retail sales jobs. i try to make myself sound as good as possible but havent heard anythin back from the companies yet. :\

 

[ViviTheMage]

Originally posted by: Injury
If it's a retail job, be certain to answer like a goody-goody or you won't ever get called back.

Most of their questions are aimed at preventing loss, whether it be theft or labor.

thats exactly how i take those tests..granted i havent had to in a long time..

 

[QED]

Originally posted by: DarkManX
yea their all for retail sales jobs. i try to make myself sound as good as possible but havent heard anythin back from the companies yet. :\

You might not want to make yourself sound too goody goody.

They have a few questions which they use simply to see if you are trying to fake the test or not-- usually questions like "I never steal", or "I always tell the truth"..

 

[purbeast0]

Originally posted by: MathMan

Originally posted by: DarkManX
yea their all for retail sales jobs. i try to make myself sound as good as possible but havent heard anythin back from the companies yet. :\

You might not want to make yourself sound too goody goody.

They have a few questions which they use simply to see if you are trying to fake the test or not-- usually questions like "I never steal", or "I always tell the truth"..

Umm i'm sorry, but if I was hiring someone and 1 person checked "I never steal" or "I always tell the truth" and the other guy checked "I steal sometimes" or "i lie sometimes" ... i think I would go w/the first guy ...

 

[aidanjm]

Originally posted by: DarkManX
yea their all for retail sales jobs. i try to make myself sound as good as possible but havent heard anythin back from the companies yet. :\

some of the questions are a test for lack of honesty in your responses. it is usually pretty easy to spot the questions that are testing your honesty. they will try to get you to agree or diagree with something that is highly unlikely:

"I have never told a lie" - agree, strongly agree, neutral, disagree, strongly disagree.

You might be tempted to "strongly agree" as it would seem to present you in a good light. But realistically, everyone has lied at some time in their lives. If you agree to this statement, chances are you are fudging your answers to make yourself look better. You will score a high mark on the "deceit" measure for the test.

On the other hand:

"It is OK to lie to my manager"
"It's OK to take a few items home from work if no one notices"

Obviously you're gonna want to 'disagree' with these ones.

 

[bubbadu]

Those tests are READ tests. Fail it, they dont (and can't because of rules) hire you. At my store, I heard you even allowed to put that you do coke, just as long as you dont do it anymore. Answer two ethic/stealing questions wrong, you fail Case in point, decent looking girl came in last week, looked smart, maybe a decent work, failed test

 

[thomsbrain]

Originally posted by: aidanjm

Originally posted by: DarkManX
yea their all for retail sales jobs. i try to make myself sound as good as possible but havent heard anythin back from the companies yet. :\

some of the questions are a test for lack of honesty in your responses. it is usually pretty easy to spot the questions that are testing your honesty. they will try to get you to agree or diagree with something that is highly unlikely:

"I have never told a lie" - agree, strongly agree, neutral, disagree, strongly disagree.

You might be tempted to "strongly agree" as it would seem to present you in a good light. But realistically, everyone has lied at some time in their lives. If you agree to this statement, chances are you are fudging your answers to make yourself look better. You will score a high mark on the "deceit" measure for the test.

On the other hand:

"It is OK to lie to my manager"
"It's OK to take a few items home from work if no one notices"

Obviously you're gonna want to 'disagree' with these ones.

that's correct. these tests generally have multiple measures to determine "fake good" answers, "fake bad" answers, and random answering patterns. no one would use a fake bad answer for a job, but for psychological screening, sometimes people will put fake bad answers because they are afraid their problems aren't "worthy" of psychological help. you still help those people, of course, but you know to ignore their test results thanks to the "fake bad" result.

 

[DarkManX]

well at least i got 1 call back out 3 of those tests...... wish me luck with cingular wireless! Im so tired of workin for sprint.

 

[LikeLinus]

Originally posted by: bubbadu
Those tests are READ tests. Fail it, they dont (and can't because of rules) hire you. At my store, I heard you even allowed to put that you do coke, just as long as you dont do it anymore. Answer two ethic/stealing questions wrong, you fail Case in point, decent looking girl came in last week, looked smart, maybe a decent work, failed test

How the freaking hell did you pass the test? For the love of god. Go back to school!!!

 

[aswedc]

These tests aren't just for retail. PriceWaterhouseCoopers makes you do one, for example.