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San Francisco VC firm required job applicants to take online IQ test

sfgate.com

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Re: San Francisco VC firm required job applicants to take online IQ test

#81

Post by jen20 »

Gareth321 wrote: post #73
jen20 wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Ah I see - I was in the UK where this is certainly not common. I’m surprised the Nordics permit it.

Re: San Francisco VC firm required job applicants to take online IQ test

#82

Post by Gareth321 »

jen20 wrote: post #81
Gareth321 wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Ah I see - I was in the UK where this is certainly not common. I’m surprised the Nordics permit it.

They're very pragmatic here; to a degree some foreigners do not understand. For example, Middle Eastern refugees have been clustering and forming parallel societies with high crime and high unemployment. Very unhealthy for national social cohesion. So they began forcing refugees living in government housing to move to areas with lower concentrations of refugees. Unsurprisingly, they're learning the language, exhibiting lower crime, and lower unemployment. I've seen this concept described as unconscionable by particularly liberal Americans.

IQ testing provides an exceptionally efficient means by which companies can find the best candidates. It is the reality of life that some people are smarter than others. Pretending otherwise does no one any good. To catch those who have a low IQ, Denmark has an extremely extensive social security system. They want companies to thrive here, but the high taxes ensure those who don't do well in a capitalist system also live decent lives.

Re: San Francisco VC firm required job applicants to take online IQ test

#83

Post by toomim »

zeckalpha wrote: post #80
toomim wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That sure looks like an IQ test to me.

Have you taken an IQ test? They are structured very differently.

There are many structures for IQ tests. Some use analogical reasoning, some use arithmetic pattern matching, some use vocabulary and language skills. You are perhaps thinking of the style of IQ tests that require you to fill in analogies and rotate shapes together.

But what makes an IQ test is the theory that all performance on each of these skills correlates together strongly, indicating a single "general intelligence" factor (aka "IQ"). [1] Reading comprehension turns out to be highly correlated with mathematical aptitude, and musical aptitude, etc.

So the main criteria for an IQ test is not how it looks, or how it's structured, but whether it measures knowledge that has been acquired (aka "nurture") or ability to reason about new things. Since this test is measuring reading comprehension on topics that are unfamiliar to the reader, it is measuring the latter, and is likely to have a strong correlation with g, and thus looks like an IQ test.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G_factor_(psychometrics)

Re: San Francisco VC firm required job applicants to take online IQ test

#84

Post by zeckalpha »

toomim wrote: post #83
zeckalpha wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you taken an IQ test? They are structured very differently.

There are many structures for IQ tests. Some use analogical reasoning, some use arithmetic pattern matching, some use vocabulary and language skills. You are perhaps thinking of the style of IQ tests that require you to fill in analogies and rotate shapes together. But what makes an IQ test is the theory that all performance on each of these skills correlates together strongly, indicating a single "general intelligen…

Which of the several uses a 600 word or so reading comprehension section?

Re: San Francisco VC firm required job applicants to take online IQ test

#85

Post by zeruch »

jokethrowaway wrote: post #46
zeruch wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a long time hiring manager, I would never use an IQ test to determine feasibility. They simply (for the most part) confirm an aptitude for test taking, and for tech jobs I've never seen that as an intrinsic good. People usually can be evaluated on their analytic skills through other means that are more conversational and interrogatory, which in turn also assess soft-skills, which contrary to McNamara Fallacy adher…

You don't understand how IQ tests work. It's not measuring aptitude of test taking, it's measuring your ability to detect and apply patterns.

And you don't seem to have understood my point. Thanks for covering the delta of any irony deficiency in my diet this week.

Re: San Francisco VC firm required job applicants to take online IQ test

#86

Post by toomim »

zeckalpha wrote: post #84
toomim wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are many structures for IQ tests. Some use analogical reasoning, some use arithmetic pattern matching, some use vocabulary and language skills. You are perhaps thinking of the style of IQ tests that require you to fill in analogies and rotate shapes together. But what makes an IQ test is the theory that all performance on each of these skills correlates together strongly, indicating a single "general intelligen…

Which of the several uses a 600 word or so reading comprehension section?

The SAT does.
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