OUR RESEARCH: YOUR SKILLS
Too Hot or Too Cold?
Graduate recruiters are caught between the desire to
know everything about a candidate, and the fear of
getting it horribly wrong through psychometrics.
C
arl Jung, the famous is that they still too often select fl exibility, casual working are
Swizz psychologist, can the wrong candidate. classed as perceiving.
be loosely deemed to be
the fi rst thinker who attempted Psychometrics look to identify The best a psychometric can
to quantify aspects of our key character traits; traits such gauge is the outlines of someone’s
personalities. His personality as fl ow of energy, how we take personality. An example used
types are the most common form in information, how we prefer by Richard Pinfold, analyst at
of psychometrics being used by to make decisions, and the basic Deutsche Bank, goes something
recruiters. The challenge they day-to-day life style we prefer. like this: a psychometric test
fi nd is how to make sense of In psychometrics you are an can only provide a snap shot
them and for what reason are introvert if the essential part of (not a movie), as an x-ray shows
they being used. your mental stimulation comes the human body. There is no
from within; likewise you are point using an x-ray if you are
The truth is that in an interview an extrovert if your stimulation looking for tissue damage. In
nobody is themselves, not even comes from external sources. It the same way, one cannot rely
the interviewer. Everybody does has little or nothing to do with too heavily on psychometrics; at
a kind of role play, and the best being quiet, or shy, or loud and best it’s a critical part of a mix of
actor gets to go through to the boisterous. How we take in techniques. All students need to
next stage. Yes, indeed I have our information is translated do is be aware of which category
trivialised it, but the point still as either intuitive, in that we they are likely to fall into by
stands. Even during assessment rely on our instinct, or sensing doing several tests before any
centres, candidates are being for those who rely on the fi ve job application. The truth of the
unnatural in that they are in a senses – sight, hearing, touch, matter is, is that if the recruiter is
situation which is completely taste and smell. Our decision looking for an introvert, who is
defunct of real life. It is for this making is categorised as either sensing, thinking, and judging,
reason that recruiters have to pick thinking, if we rely on logic and you turn out to be none of
and mix a selection of techniques, and objective considerations, or those, then the likeliness of you
piecing the collected information feeling, if we prefer to rely on getting the job are slim, but that is
together and attempt to create an subjective value systems, like not to say that you did poorly. On
accurate picture of the potential religious beliefs. For those who the contrary, you may have been
candidates. This is no easy task, like structure, routine, and order, brilliant at everything, but the
and extremely time consuming. they are classed as judging, and type of person they are looking for
The reality many fi rms are facing the opposite, those that prefer is not you. Of course the reverse
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HPD Sept ‘09 - Feb ‘10