As I’ve been saying in my boilerplate template to potential employers, after 15 years and two promotions (the most recent of which occurred six months ago), I am leaving my job as editor-in-chief of two health trade publications on October 1.
I tell you this not as an ad, so someone will come forward with a job opportunity for me (though that would be nice and welcome), but to set the stage for a discussion of what I am experiencing as a job candidate in 2025. Specifically, my experience with testing during the hiring process.
A More Competitive Landscape
The last time I went through the hiring process was in 2010. Much appears to have changed since then.
With the huge Millennial and Generation Z populations surging into the job market, especially in large cities such as New York City, where I live, it’s significantly more competitive.
Maybe it’s the stiff competition that has created the perfect marketplace for pre-employment testing. These tools help employers eliminate many who otherwise may be equal, or better than, those with whom they compete.
Emphasis on Logic Test and Personality Inventory
Recently, I had a great job interview via video call. The executive and I appeared to be aligned and had a long-ranging discussion that revealed my facility with the knowledge and experience required for the job.
I enthusiastically told her I was interested in learning the next steps in the process. She said the recruiter who connected me to her would be in touch. This recruiter was an employee of her company and also had his own recruiting business on the side. I was excited because when the recruiter and I spoke, he said that if it didn’t work out with the company I was interviewing with, he might be able to place me with clients from his side recruiting business.
Less than 24 hours after the positive interview, I received an e-mail from the recruiter with a document about the company’s values and a link to click on for two assessments, a logic test and a personality inventory.
My heart sank because, though I am an intelligent person who acts logically in her life, logic tests are not my strong suit. The “A” I earned in a college deductive reasoning course required multiple visits per week to the professor’s office for additional one-on-one instruction.
The personality inventory gave me less pause because I had always enjoyed learning about who I am. I loved that I tested out as a Myers-Briggs INFJ because I read that it was perhaps the most unusual personality type. If I had thought more carefully about this, I would have realized that though it’s great to be unique, it’s not so great from many potential employers’ perspectives.
With no choice but to proceed if I wanted the job, I took the logic test and the personality inventory. The logic test I knew I most likely bombed. The personality inventory, I wasn’t so sure about, though the repeated questions about whether I trusted people (no, I usually don’t), how calm I am (highly neurotic), and how easily I’m insulted (easily) should have alerted me that this was not going to go well if I was honest (which, unfortunately, I was).
Many of you will not be surprised to hear that despite a strong work record, impeccable references (no deadline missed in 15 years!), and an interview that went as well as possible, I received a form e-mail rejection in my inbox 24 hours after taking the test. The recruiter was not responsive when I sent him a note thanking him and expressing interest in being considered for other job opportunities he might have available through his recruiting firm.
How Much Weight Should Pre-Employment Testing Hold?
What shocked me most was how much weight the pre-employment testing held. It was considered more important than my 20-plus years of successful work experience and my demonstrated knowledge and alignment during the interview. My poor showing on the logic test, and concerning personality inventory results, were enough to eliminate me without further discussion.
Is this how it also works in your organization when an otherwise strong candidate has surprisingly poor pre-testing results?
When a person is at the beginning of their career, and has little-to-no work experience, it makes sense that pre-employment testing would be used. There is hardly any, and perhaps no, work record to review.
However, I believe the usefulness and weight given to pre-employment testing should be considered differently when a prospective employee comes with decades of experience, and demonstrates strong knowledge, competency, and alignment during the interview process.
The reason it should count more is the ability to accommodate for perceived shortcomings and what some would interpret as personality flaws.
For example, I stink at logic tests but have made highly rational decisions about my money management over the years and was able to make an impressively good investment in the studio apartment I bought in New York City.
I am a sensitive person, and easily hurt and offended, but I have been able to calmly and evenly work with a multitude of difficult workplace personalities over the years, including the work friend of 15 years who made the decision to terminate me from my position. I worked productively with her for a month-and-a-half before my last day with the company, suppressing many agitated emotions.
In other words, I have learned to accommodate for my weaknesses. I can use other qualities to counterbalance the ones that could become problematic. When you have a strong work history and strong interview performance, despite poor testing results, the ability to accommodate for weaknesses is a good explanation. At the very least, I would have thought the company would have given me the chance to elaborate on my test and inventory answers.
The ability to accommodate, demonstrated by a strong work record and interview, should be enough to keep a valuable candidate from losing a precious job opportunity.
What are your thoughts and protocols related to pre-employment testing?