Looking For Work? Beware The Psychological Test

MEDIA GENERAL NEWS SERVICE
Published: April 6, 2009

How many speeding tickets do you think most people receive in a year? And how do you pick your friends?

Think carefully. Because how you answer questions such as those could determine whether you get even an entry-level job stocking shelves at Target or sweeping the floor at Ikea.

As millions of Americans lose their jobs, the long-standard backup plan of applying for a retail or grocery job means answering increasingly sophisticated psychological questions. Sometimes the tests come during an in-person interview. But more often, they come through an online multiple-choice test or a computer kiosk in a store next to the entrance, with upwards of 60 interrelated questions.

Even for trained experts who design such tests, the right answers can be tough to determine.

Questions such as: Do you think most people get the promotions they deserve? And do you agree with the performance evaluations past bosses gave you?

“Boy, I’d have to sit and think about that one,“ about bosses, said Ron Selewach , chief executive of HRMC Inc. in Tampa, designer of employee tests for many of the nation’s largest companies. “Either way could be the wrong way. … People need to understand, there’s an incredible talent pool out there now, and from a company’s perspective, they’re trying to hire the top, top talent for that one position.“

For most companies, gone are the days when applicants could come to a store, introduce themselves to a manager and try to make a personal connection that leads to a job. Instead, automated tests often serve as the initial hurdle.

Most new job tests come in two sections: One part covers experience, education and references. A second part focuses on psychology and character.

Lest any job seeker minimize those psychology questions, personal makeup is becoming all-the-more important as a down economy means crowds of qualified or over-qualified applicants show up for each open position. Ikea, for instance, received several thousand applications for 400 positions at its new store on Adamo Drive in Tampa. (35 open positions remain — cashiers and stocking)

Perhaps the most challenging aspect of such tests is the gamesmanship that develops — the applicant wondering what the employer really wants to hear. Does the company value initiative or employees following the rules? Creativity or loyalty? Independent problem solving or deference to supervisors? For instance, a Target application asks how much an employee agrees with certain statements: “I tend to get bored easily.“ And “Most supervisors listen to and consider employees’ ideas.“

One question asks if an employee should adjust their work to save the company money or ask a safety officer about the change first. Another asks if applicant believes a certain amount of workplace accidents “cannot be avoided.“

A Publix question asks if an applicant can quickly determine “whether a job is worth keeping.“

Some such questionnaires include a standard set of questions for every applicant. But more advanced versions use artificial intelligence software to dynamically change the line of questioning as an applicant answers. Two applicants for the same job may find themselves with different questions.

If one applicant looks especially promising, some systems turn the interview around and begin promoting the company as a good place to work.

Selewach recently designed a system for [a company] that finds the personal interest of good applicants and shows them behind-the-scenes videos of managers they’d work with.

Target officials declined to discuss specific questions in their application, other than to say the overall test is aimed at hiring workers who will provide a good shopping experience for customers.

Publix officials said their test is geared at gauging an applicant’s skills and how well they would handle typical situations and problems in a grocery store.

Eventually, after finishing the automated tests, applicants may reach the in-person interview process where they can face a new set of profiling questions. Ikea, for instance, turns the traditional job-application process on its head.

“The goal is really to find people who are attractive as potential co-workers,“ said Ikea spokesman Joe Roth . “Then once it’s clear they’re a good fit, then you say, ‘Ok this person has a strong sales background, maybe they’d be good in sales, or somewhere entirely different.“

So how does Ikea identify the right mindset among applicants?

Through two to five different interviews with different managers, sometimes one-on-one, sometimes in a group, each asking questions like: How do you pick your friends? (That speaks to a person’s friendliness, character and loyalty.) Grumpiness is a likely deal killer.

Roth said managers may hand an object to the applicant and say things like “Pretend I was a customer with a question about this item. How would you explain it and sell it to me?“

It would help applicants, Roth said, to understand that Ikea originated from a rural, poorer area of southern Sweden where he said people value frugality, friendliness, common sense, loyalty, hard work and making do with what’s at hand. Add personality and appreciation for modern design and that’s close to the Ikea mentality.

Some sample questions from corporate application tests.
Indicate how much you agree:

In the long run, employees get the promotions they deserve.
I almost never become bored with the work I do.
It doesn’t take me long to know whether a job is worth keeping
I agree with the supervisor evaluations I have received
I would make sure I could quit a job before I was fired
I tend to get bored easily