How are personality tests used in the hiring process? Are they fair?
As a general rule, personality tests (and other standardized tests like IQ test) are not–and in most cases CANNOT–be used in hiring. In order for an employer to administer personality tests, there must be some clear, job-related relevance of the test and the job. In some professions, take law enforcement as an example, such tests are frequently given. But there is a clear relationship between the test and the job: those whose score high in anti-social characteristics are ill-suited for law enforcement. NASA also gives a wide range of tests to potential astronauts, because astronauts will often find themselves in dangerous and threatening environments, and some personality characteristics are incompatible with such demands. Are they fair? This is a difficult question. Tests indicate some individuals are likely to have problems in the job in question. But like all tests, personality characteristics indicate PREDISPOSITIONS for behavior, and are not infallible predictions of future beha
