Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by martyb on Friday October 05 2018, @03:21PM   Printer-friendly
from the boss-wants-to-see-how-you-handle-pressure? dept.

I recently applied for a job in Silicon Valley.

The recruiter had me take a battery of tests that measured my verbal, mathematical and visual aptitude. I'd guess it was a mini-IQ test; it wasn't a mini-MMPI. As a result of the tests I was invited to interview onsite.

At the end of the interview the manager declared that he wanted me to take some tests.

His tests were brain teasers he had downloaded from a random website. The brain teasers had nothing to do with the work I was interviewing for. He seemed to ignore the battery of sophisticated tests I had been subjected to, and to believe that he could do better.

What is the REAL purpose of using brain teasers during an employment interview?

Is it just to make the candidate feel stupid? Are any of these people qualified to interpret the results? Are any of them industrial psychologists? Or is this all about power and control?

Please advise.


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 05 2018, @09:04PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 05 2018, @09:04PM (#744798)

    That's the thing, this is more a personality test than anything else. I'm personally a non-linear/divergent thinker and I'd probably do terribly on this sort of a test, so would numerous great minds. Tendency towards inspiration and creative insights aren't something you can put into an interview.

    Linear/convergent thinkers that are also extroverted might do well on this sort of thing, perhaps.

    There's also the issue of what happens if the answers are either leaked or the applicant has seen something similar before. Everybody is a genius when they've memorized a complicated process, but most couldn't come up with it without somebody giving it to them or at least some hints.