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Finding a Job Screening Applicants Tests

I had a job interview for an entry level marketing position, and toward the end the manager handed me a paper and pencil and asked me to draw a man, a house, and a tree. I am a terrible artist and I always have been. I took a few minutes and did my best, and then he looked it over and told me about my personality. I thought he was totally wrong, but I didn't say anything because I want the job. A few days later, I received a form rejection letter, probably because of this test. Do many companies do this?



Unless you are applying for a job that calls for some artistic ability, such as a cartoonist or graphic artist, all one can draw here is a conclusion, namely that this employer is using questionable screening techniques. These drawings are actually projective tests, and they are best used in clinical settings where they are administered and interpreted by trained professionals.

Most employers today realize that pre-employment tests must be scientifically validated and predictive of success on the job, and must do so without illegally discriminating against individuals in protected categories. Within these parameters, there are many effective pre-employment tests available today, along with excellent simulations and work sample tests.

When you find questionable screening techniques, you typically find a questionable employer as well. Although it is frustrating to have a seemingly positive interview collapse as a result of a sketch, the truth is that there are probably many other ways in which this company is not handling the art of management very well.



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