Hi everyone
I would kindly like thank all who have taken the time to
look past my typo and answer my question.
Does psychometric testing give an accurate description of
an applicant?
All of the expert opinions and facts raised, has brought me
to a clearer understanding of psychometric testing as well as all the complex factors that go
along with its accuracy,
I have come to a still swayable conclusion that the test,
factoring in all the variables, is one of the best well refined psychological
tools out there……………………………………….
……………………………………………………………..However, me not being an
interesting person much less Psychological Scientist of any sort, think that
the human mind is an extremely complex device and then adding a personality
that is shaped by even more complex emotions and life experiences makes it easy
to remember why sometimes we don’t even understand ourselves .
In light of this and all the comments I think it appropriate
that psychometric testing be used for development purposes and not in the recruiting
of personnel. Though it eliminates people who may not fit company profile or
culture it can easily blind the recruiter to a possible gem amongst the dirt,
simply because a test painted a vague outline of a person and could not, in
personal opinion, give a complete picture. If it is used in recruitment it
should be as an additional component of the process not a determining factor.
One of the things that personally stand out about the test
as a great variable, I do not fully understand is that of an emotional stand
point.
If a candidate completes
a test today and completes the same test six months from now and the results
show two different (not the extreme on the scale of difference) profiles how
much can be said about the emotional variance
involved on each of the days
tested and is this accounted for in the test?.
The comments I most find myself agreeing with are the
following:
Marcel Harper
Cognitive abilities: your ability to solve complex problems,
the speed at which you solve these, and the degree of difficulty you can
master, are the best predictors of job performance, psychometrically speaking.
On the other hand, personality measures, being self-report, are far less
predictive.
Dr Douglas Halliday
In my opinion, psychometric tests are better suited for
people development than they are for recruitment.
They provide a very good foundation for discussion rather
than an accurate description ie where the test may suggest areas which can be
explored further to discover the truth / behavior / how can improve etc.
Rajiv
This is a complex question, and I agree with some of the
other responses that test results must be considered within a holistic process.
Ralph B. Perhaps the biggest problem with this type of
profile is the way that clients fixate on just one or two phrases in a five or
six page report and use them to reject a perfectly capable candidate. I
encourage you to educate your clients to see these profiles as profiles, not
tests
Toby Marie W.
Yes they are a great tool for job fit, cultural fit, company
fit, etc... But it is only one third of the hiring decision
Christopher L.
Business Development Manager - Leader Space at Australian
Institute of Management
The use of Psychometric Testing in determining the
"fit" of a candidate for any particular role should only be used in
the context of a holistic and robust recruitment process.
Ral P.
A critical issue with psychological profile testing is that
subjects often respond with answers they believe interviewers wish to hear.
Furthermore, the brighter the candidate is, the more of an issue this becomes.
A candidate will never knowingly give an answer suggesting they are impatient,
overly emotional, prone to making biased judgments, etc.
Feeding on him when my comfort is exhausted 
