I'm surprised nobody is talking about a common understanding that IQ is not what separates the best startups from everyone else... I seem to remember PG saying that the initially thought that the smartest people would be the most successful in HNs early days but found out that's not the case
San Francisco VC firm required job applicants to take online IQ test
71–80 of 86 posts
Re: San Francisco VC firm required job applicants to take online IQ test
#72Several big hedge funds require candidates to take the Wonderlic test ( https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wonderlic_test ) which is essentially an IQ type test (it strongly correlates with “G”). Didn’t seem to be an issue though since pretty much any candidate that got to that stage was fairly book smart and could easily get a good enough score.
That situation should be added to the Wonderlic! "When evaluating candidates who will be working with large amounts of money, should you give them the Not-IQ-but-we-all-know-that's-what-it-is test: a) before you weed out the minorities, who by definition cannot be trusted around nor deserve large amounts of money b) after you weed out the minorities, who by definition cannot be trusted around nor deserve large amount…
I feel like the test is only one bit, did they cooperate and take it or not?
For me that would be the only piece of information I'd find interesting,
but before that could happen I'd have to be willing to inflict that kind of nonsense on someone in the first place.
"I asked you to perform a demeaning task just to see if you would do it, not because I actually need it done. I wouldn't have done it. This is how the best relationships all start."
Re: San Francisco VC firm required job applicants to take online IQ test
#73IQ tests are extremely common in Europe for any kind of skilled job. This makes sense, since IQ is by far the highest correlated attribute when it comes to performance. It’s also an excellent way to standardise applicant selection and avoid bias. It even works the other way, when someone too intelligent applies for a job which won’t keep them engaged and challenged. Statistically, such applicants leave rather quickly…
Is there any kind of documentation of this? I managed to last 30 years in Europe without ever encountering this practice, or hearing of it.
Fair question. I based this on my experiences in the Nordics. It could very well be less common down south. However I have worked on projects in France and Germany, and was asked to take IQ tests as well. My industry is software, if that makes a difference.
Re: San Francisco VC firm required job applicants to take online IQ test
#74Jeesh. Why can't they be normal and perform algorithmic whiteboard interviews which are an obvious proxy for general IQ capacity with a thin facade of CS on top.
Algorithms are nothin like an IQ test other than layman think they both are things only smart people excel at. Solving a typical leet code problem is not about pattern matching (what iq tests are) and is not testing for that ability.
The R squared correlation between IQ tests and whiteboard algorithm tests (for people who have had time to prepare for the interview) is probably .8
Re: San Francisco VC firm required job applicants to take online IQ test
#75I once had an employer that would ask us to perform monthly myers briggs and big 5 tests. I was in a tough financial spot and needed that job. Did my best to roll with it.
One day they wanted to try out an IQ test. 40 questions in 20 minutes. Timer starts when you click a button. I was fed up.
Poked around the testing site and it was an SPA, all JS. Poked through the network calls, saw an odd base64 payload. Decoded it and saw a JS object with "cyphertext", "iv", and some other field I don't recall.
I went looking through the JS sources and found a "decrypt" function. Added a breakpoint before it returned and reloaded the page. Had all the questions without starting the timer.
Took my sweet time going through each question. Compiled all the answers and started the timer. I still got 2 of the 40 questions wrong.
A couple of days later my manager sets up a meeting with me. I assumed they caught wind of what I did. I'm ready to get defensive and say how wrong this is.
My manager starts the meeting congratulating me! My results are within top 2 percentile. That, and a previous big 5 result tells them I have a bright future in the company and they want my input in all big projects going forward.
I went from being the random junior, to everyone in management thinking I'm the next Carmack.
I didn't know how to feel about it. Is it morally wrong?
It taught me a lesson of how biased we are. How much we need to be told how to feel about others. I was the same person, yet a number changed everyone's perception of me.
I don't ever want to take a real IQ test. I don't know how I might start behaving differently if I see a number associated with my "intelligence".
Left that company a few months later and told them about it. They were a bit angry but I hope they learned a lesson in how harmful biased tests can be.
Re: San Francisco VC firm required job applicants to take online IQ test
#76Earlier quoted context omitted.
Perhaps you've never interviewed someone. I am an employer. When I interview job candidates, I ask them about their lives, about their day, where they grew up, and lots of questions because I am starting a relationship with them. The interview is not just a place to filter employees. It's also where you begin a relationship with them. You are envisioning how you might employ them. What kind of work could they do? Cou…
I would love if an interviewer asked for my meyer's briggs type because I'd know right away that the interview is a waste of time.
Indeed, you may as well ask me to take an astrology compatibility test. Or tell me next Wednesday would be a more auspicious day to start.
Re: San Francisco VC firm required job applicants to take online IQ test
#77Several big hedge funds require candidates to take the Wonderlic test ( https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wonderlic_test ) which is essentially an IQ type test (it strongly correlates with “G”). Didn’t seem to be an issue though since pretty much any candidate that got to that stage was fairly book smart and could easily get a good enough score.
That situation should be added to the Wonderlic! "When evaluating candidates who will be working with large amounts of money, should you give them the Not-IQ-but-we-all-know-that's-what-it-is test: a) before you weed out the minorities, who by definition cannot be trusted around nor deserve large amounts of money b) after you weed out the minorities, who by definition cannot be trusted around nor deserve large amount…
Yep it's so racist the NFL uses it yearly....
Re: San Francisco VC firm required job applicants to take online IQ test
#78Why would this be worse than any other test employers give an applicant?
It might not be very indicative of the expected performance of the applicant, but does that matter? If an employer wants to try me on remembering English regents or inverting a tree on a whiteboard there isn’t much I can do about it except maybe walk out ands/or tell others about my bad experience interviewing.
Why would there even be a law (or backlash) against IQ tests? Are they seen as discriminatory?
Re: San Francisco VC firm required job applicants to take online IQ test
#79Well, I am doomed then. I usually score between a chair and a frog.
(cries on his PhD in physics and his engineering degree)
Seriously these tests are terrible. My company for a fleeting moment decided to have applicants go though some psychological tests, I was lucky to go through them.
Ended up as a lonely shy but extrovert psychopat with great sense of humor and leadership (or something like this) and I asked how this weird score will impact my hiring. The HR gal just rolled her eyes and filed my results, then checked the last box in the process.
Re: San Francisco VC firm required job applicants to take online IQ test
#80Earlier quoted context omitted.
No, this is not an IQ test. > The CARS section is similar to verbal reasoning sections providing passages with questions testing reading comprehension. The 500-600 word passages can cover topics ranging from the social sciences to the humanities, sometimes presenting in a convoluted or biased manner requiring the reader to consider what is being written from multiple perspectives.[25] The passages are designed to dis…
That sure looks like an IQ test to me.
Have you taken an IQ test? They are structured very differently.