that kind of stuff?

of stuff that had nothing to do with his personality or even the job he was applying for. Lots of "Which number comes next in this series?" nonsense. Between shit like that, drug testing, and background checks, it's a miracle anyone is pristine enough to get hired. So much BS out there.

Comforting, by the way, that he did finally land a job with a different company based solely on two interviews with the bosses and no extraneous bullshit.

Pretty easy to manipulate the results. What was the outcome of your assessment?

They don't actually offer "results". Guess it will be phone ringing vs. crickets.

That was the first time I had ever encountered more than an interview. I was shocked. In fact, I did get the job, and found out that three people before me had walked out on the personality test. That is how incredibly intrusive it was. I just answered truthfully, without trying to determine what they were looking for.

I found out that the owner of the company was batshit crazy, and he felt that he could only get along with a very few "types" of employees. So he didn't want to waste his time hiring the "wrong" person. Turns out that is the only job I have been fired from, and I still don't know why. No reason was given. And that is saying something, since I am close to retiring now....and have had a few knock down, drag out fights with bosses. And still had the jobs.

Was there some kind of argument or something that preceded your firing?

This test was pretty intrusive too. They might as well have come out and said are you a Democrat or Republican?

when I was fired. I have no idea why I was fired.....no argument, not even a difference of opinion on how things were done. No comments about my work being sub-par. I just don't know. Apparently, our personalities didn't jive.

I do not remember the questions I was asked, except for one. That one was the only one that gave me pause about how to answer and I did think about it later as to what the "right" answer would have been. The question was something like: Have you ever stolen anything from a workplace? There were 4 answers for all questions. This had 1) never 2) I may have accidentally had a pen that ended up in my pocket and I didn't return it 3) yes, but only paper clips or pencils, or 4) yes, I have stolen from work.

I do remember that the test took at least an hour, which is why the other people must have walked out.

I mean really?

Which is why, if I ran a company, the standard issue pens would be those cheap Bic pens. No one wants those.

That is a standard psychiatric assessment. There are no right/wrong answers - although you don't want to pick the "I am crazy" answers. And yes, 2) or 3) would have been the best choice on the question listed. You had to answer questions about your toilet habits also, right?

What type of job was this? Police officers and other individuals who deal with high stress situations are typically required to take a psychiatric assessment. They are rather expensive - not only the test licensing but scoring/analysis requires special training. My husband used to make extra money by scoring MMPI for local police department. He explicitly recommended against hiring for a couple of individuals but I don't think that anyone was terminated. The test was nothing more than a formality - it was stuck in the personnel file and forgotten.

If I were asked to take this type of test for a plain vanilla office job, it would be a huge red flag.

I think they would have stuck in my mind. But I just remember that it was very personal and I wasn't comfortable with it. But I needed a job and this was a good option.....or so it seemed. It probably was the test that you mention. I do remember that the test had to be sent out to a company that scores it and sends back results, and you had to know how to read the results. I learned all this when I got the job. And it was rather expensive. All for an accounting job. But it really was about personalities that the boss would be able to get along with, nothing more. Not that I got along with him, but I did have a way of avoiding him.

By the way, my answer was 3) yes, I have taken pens or paper clips from work. I agree that 1 and 4 would have been red flags...because no one is perfect and who wants an admitted thief.

And always wondered what they told the employer...I got both jobs. About a year ago my current employer, which didn't require a test pre-employment, had all "leadership" take PCM profile. My profile came back as a "workaholic". I figure this explains getting the other 2 jobs...

I felt that the PCM was pretty accurate with my personality and most of the people I know. I felt that the names they used for the 6 personality types were incredibly negative..reactor, workaholic, dreamer, rebel, persister, and harmonizer...There are only a couple of those, based on common definition, I would want to hire. I guess they have changed some of the names now.

RadioShack tried to make me take one of those for their application.

They're so easy to fudge with the "right" answers that the only reason I think they exist is to give employers an out to disqualify applicants on the basis of "you won't be a good fit for this position."

Basically, all you end up having to do is get some common sense answers right, pick the answers on personality questions that make you seem friendly and outgoing, and only pick "strongly agree/disagree."