Personality test and employment/Pet Smart

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I just applied for an over night position at Pet Smart and part of the application had a personality test.If anyone is interested in seeing it for themselves you can apply on line to Pet Smart,take the test and just exit.

Anyway,my issue is how these tests are being used and if they are used to discriminate against people with "different" personality styles.Many of the questions could have been taken directly out of an Aspie quiz.Many of the questions were about...

Do you like crowds
Do you like being around people
Do you like to listen to peoples problems
Do people do things that irritate you

The thing is,I understand that this might be important if you are working directly with annoying whinny people who want to tell long stories about the "cutesy bootsy"....but I want an over night position so I dont have to deal with the public.It is the shift I have worked for 13 years and it work well for me.But if they through out my application just because I am anti-social,I think that is discriminatory.

Has anyone else taken personality tests for a job?Do you think I have a "right" to find out what is being done with these tests and how they are being evaluated?Has anyone here worked for Pet Smart?

Yeah, I hate those things. For one thing, they often say I'm dishonest, unlike the MMPI.

Maybe you're supposed to just tell them what they want to hear.

Yeah I could score how they wanted. They want ESTJ's ideally. I'm INFP so all
I need to do is say the opposite of the truth to get a ESTJ personality.

Thanks for the replies.I am not a very good liar.The tests are designed to "catch"people lieing by asking differently worded questions.My main concern isnt just that I probably wont get the job...(even though working overnights with just animals is my dream job,they probably pay crap).....The larger issue is that I believe the tests re designed to "weed out" Nuero-diversity.Yo me,this is very "1984","Brave New World"

I also think it is very "ironic?",strange?that the job I have working with individuals with DD....they do no drug screening,even though people are working around many narcotic meds(they have no med counting)...Pet Smart,does.And they require a personality check....working with DD clients,they pretty much hire anyone.

I really think this reflects the values in our society...pets are more important then people with disabilities....very strange.

Thats why its easy. I just would say the opposite of my true feeling on every single question . I will appear honest.

Well, I've never had a problem with such tests. I notice really tiny details (I guess that's an as trait) so I can tell when they are trying to get you to contradict yourself. In other words, if you pick up on these details you don't need to be a good liar.

Follow your bliss and the money will follow.

Imagine that.

Ah yes, reminds me of the time I filled out an app to be a bus driver. The 'test' was filled with personality questions, I answered the opposite of what I felt, and never got called back. It was obviously a well written test designed to weed out 'undesirables' such as people like me. It also had questions to 'tell' that I wasn't answering truthfully.

And yes, as a society at large, we do value pets above disabled people.

Any job that requires you to take one of those personallity thingies usually isn't worth the trouble. Most of the "good" positions are meeted out based on credentials, education and, of course, who you know.

I'm digging through the WP closet here pulling out old posts. I didn't see this one before.

I've taken tests for jobs like this before and I hate them. They're stupid. It's like I have to go by what I've learned from outgoing NT's and answer the way I think they would. Pretending to be normal, that's what it is. It's like a convince myself I'm being honest. It's like I'm thinking "if I was an outgoing NT, would I like crowds? Probably, so the answer is yes, I do, of course I do, I'm completely normal and I like people gosh darnit...there...yeah!" Then I walk away from the test or situation all confused and not feeling right.
As Brian King said, makes me feel like a fraud, but for me, being an Aspie in an NT world sometimes it's necessary.

I have taken one test when applying for a job - a day doing different tasks and being interviewed. I was told the results. Shortly:
"Is anarchistic, but with a good motivation can achieve a lot. Pays too much attention to details"
You might guess that I didn't get that job. I got another, and changed after 10 years, but after 4 years at the new place I "retired". Apparently I ran out of motivation. And I am an anarchist. I think that the test was very correct.

What do personality tests have to do with PetSmart?

Want to know something that is REALLY dumb about this? They asked the WRONG questions!

1. Do you like crowds

You should NOT care!! !! !! Frankly, I would want sales people that HATE crowds! They might be tempted to work faster to PREVENT them!

2. Do you like being around people

People that like being around people may tend to talk, and slow EVERYTHING down!

3. Do you like to listen to peoples problems

WHO CARES! You don't want employees to comiserate, you want them to determine SOLUTIONS you can sell!

4. Do people do things that irritate you

Anybody that says NO is an idiot or a liar! OF COURSE they iritate us!

AND, frankly.... An ASPIE that is into pets would be the IDEAL salesperson for petsmart! WHY? Because they would understand the animals, options, needs, etc... They don't need to decode non verbal customer language! After all, you DON'T want to sell larger fish with guppies, or salt water fish for fresh water aquariums, or a lab pup for a small apartment or a poodle for an elderly person, etc.... If you sell a hamster, you might want to recommend a habitrail, bedding, etc... Make the wrong recommendations, and the customer may be disappointed. Make the RIGHT recommendations, and you may have a customer for life.

I'm sorry, but gregarious NTs often JUST DON'T CUT IT!

BTW, MY answers????

1. NO
2. Not a lot
3. NO
4. OF COURSE!

I work in a job where I DO have to listen to, collect, analyse, and solve customer problems. Sometimes this requires talking to dozens of people. I sometimes have to work in TEAMS! And do I do well? OF COURSE!

Steve

I did well in customer service even though I have social anxiety disorder. I think the one area I failed at was selling the most costly
product/service to the customer. I would often work harder on what was better for the customer! I'm sure profits sky rocketed when i left the comapny. I worked many years treating people right
and then the boss likely really pushed maxium profit sales his last few years. He is retiring this year. He bought a new expensive car each of the last two years to show he was doing fine without me.

I personally would be very wary of any company that would use any kind of personality testing in its recruitment process. Fortunately, that seems to be rare around here, at least in the areas I've worked in.