How is this fair?

Savvy_Sue

mac.d wrote: »

These tests aren't right or wrong answers, and the OP won't get any feedback on what ones weren't answered well.

Is it just me, or are some of those answers clearly 'wrong' - or at least displaying attributes you wouldn't want on your team?

sangie595 wrote: »

So there are definitely right answers! There might not be wrong ones, but there are definitely right ones - as far as each employer is concerned.

To me, it was easier to identify the 'wrong' answer than the right one ...

xapprenticex

OP have you 'Got-It' yet?

redpete

Let's imagine Justin Gaitlin won a gold medal by running 100 m in 10.05 sec. A year later he ran 10.05 again but didn't win the gold medal. It's fair because Usain Bolt was in the second race and ran it in 9.85 sec.

mac.d

sangie595 wrote: »

Actually, yes there are right answers - otherwise there wouldn't be any point whatsoever in applying the test!

Sorry I should have been more specific in saying the questions don't all have straightforward black and white right/wrong answers, more shades of right/wrong. I know employers are using these kinds of tests to try and fit their profile, its just not always as simple as saying that is clearly the right answer and all the others are clearly wrong. So why can't the OP simply get all the questions right.

To be fair, I've only ever done one of these kinds of test a couple of times, and one of them I was told I wasn't suitable and wasn't getting the chance of an interview, so maybe I'm more of a numpty than I think.

sangie595

mac.d wrote: »

Sorry I should have been more specific in saying the questions don't all have straightforward black and white right/wrong answers, more shades of right/wrong. I know employers are using these kinds of tests to try and fit their profile, its just not always as simple as saying that is clearly the right answer and all the others are clearly wrong. So why can't the OP simply get all the questions right.

To be fair, I've only ever done one of these kinds of test a couple of times, and one of them I was told I wasn't suitable and wasn't getting the chance of an interview, so maybe I'm more of a numpty than I think.

Nope. It's a skill set like anything else. It only works if people answer with total honesty, and can't cope with manipulation. What is right in one situation is wrong in another. What one employer thinks they want won't be the same as another. And I'd emphasise that it's about what they think they want. As with so many things in life, when they get it, it often isn't what they want! You have to read and think fast, have a good memory for the person spec, and for the internal logic of the test (so you don't give contradictory answers), and have a good sense of wielding language rather than just using it. Loads of people can learn to do it. It is just practice, like anything else. If you ever spend a lot of time talking to employers, you'll find that is good practice!

aife

The Op didn't actually say if they were told the correct answers , I don't think it's necessarily the case that they were
I have had tests were there was no feedback
And while the examples they gave were straightforward a lot of these tests contain quite bizarre questions , especially if you get into psychometric questions ( i wouldn't describe the examples given as psychometric) , which are usually devised by psychologists who think they know how to figure people out.
It's common place for tests aimed at assessing personality type to include questions designed to filter out people who're not being honest. It's questionable if they succeed but psychologists tend to have an inflated view of their own abilities