Anyone see A Rico’s posts on LinkedIn about personality tests being used since January and candidates being disqualified due to?
I guess with the record hiring at BTC they needed something like this. Sounds like a big issue though if it is blocking interns and contractors from converting to employees.
Other companies are doing similar. Google for example.
@s6 ..cells interlinked
You look down and you see a tortoise...it's crawling towards you.
A tortoise? What's that?
Shell has a full day for it - not an exam but observation by trained psychologists to see if the person fits Shell
Nothing new. EM has been confirming that recruits have zero personality for at least 25 years.
One aspect that seems to be missing from this process is transparency. From the feedback shared here, the personality assessment appears to take place at the very end of the recruitment process, after significant time has already been invested by both candidates and hiring teams.
If this assessment is primarily questionnaire-based rather than conducted through face-to-face evaluation, wouldn't it be more efficient to use it much earlier in the screening process, alongside CV and application reviews? This could help avoid late-stage rejections and provide a clearer, more predictable experience for candidates.
I also wonder whether this reflects a broader trend of outsourcing key HR processes to offshore or third-party providers. When critical hiring decisions are increasingly driven by standardized assessments rather than direct interactions, there is a risk of creating distance between the business, hiring managers, and candidates.
Greater transparency around how these assessments are used would be more aligned with WEAM clarity value
@n5, no axe to grind. But, I am a SUPPORTER of affinity groups and just calling bullshyte when I see it. You were trying to be incognito but failed to conceal your complete identity. Calling out your ra-CE is not ra-cist! AND certainly doesn’t change the underlying fact your comment about an entire ra-CE is completely false.
@jx Never took a personality test for my Google interviews.
I guess they felt like you needed one?
@n5 Well, it’s not like it’s unlikely.
Just going off the posts on this site it’s pretty clear the user base skews heavily white, male and over 40. As a general rule, this group spends more time complaining about DEI, immigration, and outsourcing than any other group, and those three topics account for most of the posts made here.
So yeah, it’s not a bad guess that you’re a disgruntled old white dude.
@kb “I presume you are a white male.” You sir are a racist for making such a statement. You clearly have an axe to grind with males and whites.
Google does it as well. I had to take it as part of the interview process. Resigning soon to go build data centers!
@bf the personality test is more to show if someone has morals and it’s not really the companies fault certain races don’t have any. It’s bad enough that they have groups set up for every race but white, so now you want them to make the a personality test catered to minorities as well?
@cs No:
1) A personality test isn’t pass/fail.
2) Results that don’t lead to getting hired may skew towards one or more protected classes, minority racial groups being one possibility. White men over 50 could be another (yes, that’s also a protected class based on age).
What I actually said was that these tests are silly and open up the companies potential legal liability.
@b4 so you are saying certain races can’t pass a personality test?
@bf it’s funny that you said this because quite a few Hispanic contractors failed the personality test in the Delaware basin, and it’s mainly because they as a race have little to no morals. Some even failed the test when they were given help by multiple people.
@OP The Personality Test
Be curious, but don’t question.
Be bold, but please comply.
Be independent...within the box.
And never ask us why.
Be different! Bring your whole self!
We value every view.
Now choose from A through E exactly
What we’d like you to do.
Be honest on the questions.
There’s no wrong answer here.
Except, apparently, that answer.
Your internship ends here.
So study hard, young candidate,
And learn which box to check.
Develop your authentic self
According to the spec.
Soon everyone will pass the test,
Identical and bright
A thousand independent thinkers
Who all answered “Strongly Agree.”
@bg Speaking for Gen X here. We are definitely not all yes men.
@bg A good job interview will select for these traits (which are found nowhere in corporate America btw). Qualified candidates who show independence and initiative during interviews generally end up with sterile rejection letters or getting ghosted.
It sounds like you may want a career in special operations. Maybe you can look into that.
Yes, I’ve heard about it. In fact, I’ve heard some interns aren’t passing the personality assessment, and now they’re trying to figure out what kind of person they need to be or what answers they need to give to pass it. That is exactly the problem. It’s a personality assessment. You’re not supposed to study for your personality. We’ve spent the last decade hiring heavily from Gen Y, Millennials and Gen Z, and now the company is overcrowded with people who have mastered conforming and saying exactly what they think management wants to hear. We don’t need another generation of perfectly rehearsed corporate NPC yes-men. Give me somebody authentic. Curious. Driven. Independent. Someone willing to think, willing to disagree, willing to ask why, and capable of having an original thought. Personality Test Question #1 should be, "Do you have one?" And if you’re studying which personality you need to pretend to have to pass the personality test, I think we already have our answer.
@OP It’s a bad idea to do tests like this because if more than one member of a racial/ethnic group gets rejected due to “personality traits” then you have a federal lawsuit on your hands. Same goes for tests that can (even unintentionally) single out people who are neurodivergent or have minor intellectual disabilities.
I would advise any company against doing this.
It helps ensure a lack of diversity in thought and behavior. Dissenting voices are a liability in business.
@aj ExxonMobil hires anyone with a pulse.
A friend of mine said they had a great intern, everyone liked them and wanted to give them an offer. But they failed the test and basically had to backtrack everything they’ve been telling them for months and not give an offer.
Between the dystopian personality assessment, generally bad reputation XOM has, and lowballing it's a wonder we hire anyone at all.