Psychological exam as part of an interview?

[BabyBearsMom]

I'm interviewing for a job and one of the things that I have to do before the position is offered to me is have a psychological exam. FTR, I am not interviewing for anything where the public safety is at risk. Has anyone ever had to do this? I'm curious what it is going to be like.

Also, if I don't get this job, I think there will always be doubt in my mind that the reason they didn't hire me is that I am crazy :rotflmao:

[glbb35]

What is their reasoning to you having to do a psych exam? It too would find that to be a little too much especially if you weren't entering a job dealing with security.

B

DS 03, 06, twins 09 11

[BabyBearsMom]

What is their reasoning to you having to do a psych exam? It too would find that to be a little too much especially if you weren't entering a job dealing with security.

B

DS 03, 06, twins 09 11

It is their policy for all employees at the Director level.

[twowhat?]

My Dad had to do this after getting his offer for a Director-level position that had nothing to do with security. If I remember right he just had to talk to a psychologist to basically make sure he wasn't crazy:)

eta after reading below: yeah, now I remember my Dad saying that there was sort of a personality assessment worked into it.

[JanBaby]

Yep - I had to do this when I was going through the interview process about 10 years ago. IIRC, it was for all director level and HR (I am HR). I talked with a psychologist and that was it. There was a written report that I saw at some point down the road that was really interesting - I don't remember if it was made available to me or I broke into my employee file.

It's not so much to determine if you are crazy (although that would certainly be a red flag LOL) but another form of an interview. It's similar IMO to assessment testing, just a different format.

[KLD313]

My friend had to do this when interviewing for a job as an EMT dispatcher. She said it was pretty intense, I could get specifics if you want to know. She also had to give her FB password and I forget what else. She didn't get the job after a month long process.

[glbb35]

Wow, I guess of you want the job then I would do it but the poster with the friend applying for an EMT job I wouldn't give out my facebook password. I understand people wanting to make sure you are stable but at what point to do you give up all your privacy? And I am one who rarely posts on facebook. We have a friend who is a dispatcher here and she didn't have to go through anything like that!

If the job is worth it then do it for sure. Jobs aren't easy to come by these days. IT would be fun to see what they thought of you :)

B

[wellyes]

Her Facebook password or just her account? Password would be *crazy*.

I remember taking a couple of 'psychological tests' for really low level jobs I applied to as a teenager. Like, grocery store clerk. Lots & lots of questions along the lines of: "Agree or disagree: it's OK to steal from work because all the merchandise is insured anyway" or "Do you tend to view your boss as a mentor, or as an enemy?". Not tricky. I wonder if they still give those out.....

[pinkmomagain]

At a place I used to work at they'd give potential salespeople a sort of personality test with lots of seemingly weird questions. I think it was to determine if they had the type of personality to excell at sales.

[KLD313]

Her Facebook password or just her account? Password would be *crazy*.

I remember taking a couple of 'psychological tests' for really low level jobs I applied to as a teenager. Like, grocery store clerk. Lots & lots of questions along the lines of: "Agree or disagree: it's OK to steal from work because all the merchandise is insured anyway" or "Do you tend to view your boss as a mentor, or as an enemy?". Not tricky. I wonder if they still give those out.....

Password. I told her she was nuts but she said she had nothing to hide.

[marie]

I had to take a battery of tests before a job but the job was for a psychologist/business consultant who administers these tests for clients. It made perfect sense that he would use them on his own employee plus it gave me insight into the services he offers clients.

In addition to Myers-Briggs, there are DISC assessments and Wonderlic tests. These are not tests to determine sanity. :)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DISC_assessment
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wonderlic_Test

It's mostly to determine if your personality is suited to the job and the company, culture, etc. The info could also be used to guide a manager in their management techniques.

[edurnemk]

I've had to take a psych exam a couple of times, so has DH, in some companies it's pretty standard. It's more of a personality test.

[Globetrotter]

I had a friend who applied to be a 911 operator and she went through some crazy hurdles, which is understandable as it's a critical position. However, they asked extremely personal questions about her "love life" - nothing was out of bounds! A bit much if you ask me.
But I draw the line at FB password - WTH?

[MamaMolly]

I remember taking a couple of 'psychological tests' for really low level jobs I applied to as a teenager. Like, grocery store clerk. Lots & lots of questions along the lines of: "Agree or disagree: it's OK to steal from work because all the merchandise is insured anyway" or "Do you tend to view your boss as a mentor, or as an enemy?". Not tricky. I wonder if they still give those out.....

Oh I remember taking one of those to work at an outlet mall! :ROTFLMAO:

[elektra]

I have never heard of that! But then again, there are tons of crazy people I work with so I guess it's not a shocker we don't filter for that.
Good luck!

[kozachka]

I once interviewed with a company in financial services industry that had me take a full day of (~8 hours) of psychological tests as part of the final round of interviews. The second round included 1-2 hours of tests.

[ahisma]

Password. I told her she was nuts but she said she had nothing to hide.

Password is intense! I have all sorts of personal conversations with friends via PM on Facebook. I guess it's nothing that I would need to hide, but also nothing that I'd see as remotely relevant to an employer's decision. It's akin to reading personal email, IMO. I'm generally have a "open book" mindset, but that would make me feel pretty unsettled.

[emily]

We give all our potential new hires a personality assessment exam. It takes about 15 minutes to do online. I took it too when we first decided to do it for new hires. My results were freakishly accurate. We mostly use the results to help management figure out how to best to "manage" the new hire to make him as successful as possible in the position. For example, our new hire's assessment said he is painfully methodical and would basically reinvent the wheel before asking for assistance, so he is micromanaged a bit more.

[wellyes]

Maybe asking for the Facebook password is some kind of weird reverse psychology check on how well the candidate respects personal info and confidentiality?

[twowhat?]

Password is intense! I have all sorts of personal conversations with friends via PM on Facebook. I guess it's nothing that I would need to hide, but also nothing that I'd see as remotely relevant to an employer's decision. It's akin to reading personal email, IMO. I'm generally have a "open book" mindset, but that would make me feel pretty unsettled.

ITA. And I don't really have personal conversations via FB. Looking someone up on FB or Twitter to glean what they can from whatever info hasn't been made private is OK. Asking for a password? Not OK in my book.

[Reyadawnbringer]

I had to take an intense psych exam / quiz type thing. It did ask questions about my love life and how I feel about my parents, etc. But I work in a protected area guarded by armed security and pass through explosive sniffers and metal detectors and all my belongings pass through an xray scanner every time I go to work.

It is absolutely standard to have to go through all that for my line of work, but I can't imagine that for non security related positions.

I don't think asking for a facebook password is ok though. I was never asked for mine and I work in a sensitive area. I have nothing to hide on my facebook, but I don't know what I would have done had I been asked.

[cvanbrunt]

I found a few articles regarding the trend of asking for Facebook passwords. It has not gone unnoticed. Add that to the list of reasons why I never opened an account.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/26/technology/senators-want-employers-facebook-password-requests-reviewed.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/01/illinois-facebook-passwor_0_n_1730396.html