personality test for job interview

[BrendaH84, BSN]

i love where i work, but i saw a great opportunity at a different place and I applied. after the HR interview i had to take a personality test, one question said "you've made a big med error and the patient was not hurt."

Answer-pick one:

1)you won't self report because you dont want others to learn from this and get promoted before you for more knowledge.

2) you will self report or someone will find out you didnt & they'll never trust you.

3) you'll self report because you'd feel guilty if you didnt.

4) you'll self report because if your boss found out you didnt she'd yell at you.

another question was, you alway work harder than the other nurses you work with.

strongly disagree,disagree, neutral, agree ,strongly agree

it didnt take long about 15 minutes. to answer all of the questions, but wow. they said IF dont pass i wouldnt get to interview further... odd test.

I dont really think i work harder than everyone, but if i put disagree it could look i'm lazy. how about an answer that said "we work as a machine-together "

[enuf_already]

I hate tests where the answer I'd pick doesn't exist. I'd self report because it's the right thing to do. Period.

I guess I'd be neutral on the second. Always is a strong word.

Tests like these would be better if they were fill in the blank ;-). At least you could explain your thinking. Good luck to you if this is the job you want!

[Raviepoo]

I have always suspected that a company that requires a personality test is not a company I want to work for.

[VivaLasViejas, ASN, RN]

I've learned to answer personality test questions according to the way I would behave at work, not necessarily IRL. Oh yes, I just LOVE multitasking and being pulled from one project to another on five seconds' notice......

[Stephalump]

The first time I applied to MD Anderson, I failed their personality test and was banned from applying to any jobs there for 6 months. ?

I learned my lesson...they don't want honesty. They want what they want to hear!

[joanna73, BSN, RN]

Fairmont Hotels and Resorts has a personality test as well. Same thing....if you're not successful, no interview.

Answer the questions based on the theoretical scenario, and pick the answer management wants. Pretend it's the NCLEX.

[ceccia]

I have always suspected that a company that requires a personality test is not a company I want to work for.

yep. i had applied for a temp/travel job, and i was on the fence about whether or not i wanted to pursue it once i found out it's a company notorious for requiring workers to work off the clock /unpaid overtime.

anyway, they required a personality test and it was over the phone, using an automated/recorded system. i got through i think 3 questions before i hung up.

i might have put up with it if i didn't already have part time work with a decent company that actually treats us right. as it is, i don't have patience for this kind of nonsense.

[Miss.LeoRN]

I'm the type of person who will circle the closest thing to an answer and the write a small now down in the marine or along side it.

[LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN]

Answer the questions based on the theoretical scenario, and pick the answer management wants. Pretend it's the NCLEX.

Been passing my personality tests like flying colors picking like this.

[HarryTheCat, MSN, RN]

These "personality tests" are really testing your integrity and honesty, not your personality. On most of these tests there is what they refer to as an "L-scale", which is basically an index of how much you are willing to lie to pass the test. If your L-scale is high you will fail the test even though you think you've been picking the answers that they want to see. There are certain questions, for instance, where a truly honest person would choose answer "B", but someone who is not being honest would choose "D". Retailers have used them for many years to screen out potentially dishonest employees and reduce "inventory shrinkage".

I would not be afraid of working for an employer who used one of these tests. Think about the people you would be working with. Would you like to work with someone who just made a major med error and didn't report it, then passed that patient on to you at shift change?

[LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN]

Been passing my personality tests like flying colors picking like this.

To add: most situations are going to be the best situation possible for the pt; so my integrity is pretty much intact.

[LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN]

These "personality tests" are really testing your integrity and honesty, not your personality. On most of these tests there is what they refer to as an "L-scale", which is basically an index of how much you are willing to lie to pass the test. If your L-scale is high you will fail the test even though you think you've been picking the answers that they want to see. There are certain questions, for instance, where a truly honest person would choose answer "B", but someone who is not being honest would choose "D". Retailers have used them for many years to screen out potentially dishonest employees and reduce "inventory shrinkage".

I would not be afraid of working for an employer who used one of these tests. Think about the people you would be working with. Would you like to work with someone who just made a major med error and didn't report it, then passed that patient on to you at shift change?

Whose to say those who "fail" those tests are one without integrity?

If anything these tests have a serious implication of being skewed and may not be fair to those who have the highest integrity and still get kicked out; or one who will "neither agree not disagree" yet are very objective people and are honestly asking, but get kicked out for being "too much in the fence"?

Granted, I have answered the questions honestly and applied each situational question like the NCLEX; in each instance of the personality tests, I have been chosen for interviews, as well as received positions and been successfully employed, so I must be doing something correctly.