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Why companies are interested in Myers-Briggs types

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Re: Why companies are interested in Myers-Briggs types

#21

Post by poulsbohemian »

brnt wrote: post #13

In Europe I've never seen these tests as an entrance exam; just yesterday I watched Persona and was surprised that McDonalds of all companies seems to require such testing. What's the deal here? Companies are so desperate for any criterion to reduce the pile of applicants? Do they believe it helps? Do they look for a few of these profiles and never the others? Hiring is hard, I know, but I only know of these models i…

>What's the deal here? Companies are so desperate for any criterion to reduce the pile of applicants? Do they believe it helps? Do they look for a few of these profiles and never the others?

Yes. They are looking for anything that lends credibility to their choices and that they believe objectively guides them toward the right candidates. Truth is, it's a total crapshoot but no one wants to acknowledge or believe that.

Re: Why companies are interested in Myers-Briggs types

#22

Post by throwaway0asd »

compiler-guy wrote: post #3

I appreciate it when a company asks about or tests my Myers-Briggs type early in the hiring process, because then I know that I don't want to work for them, and they wouldn't be happy with me either. Win/win.

I feel the exact opposite. At least they are measuring something vaguely objectively. Interviewing with most potential employers, at least in software, is like when children guess at picking players for sports teams while wearing a blindfold. Everything always seems to come down to biases applied non uniformly.

Changing jobs is a big life investment. I would prefer it not be a blind date with one-way conversations from somebody likely abusive and neglectful looking for a surf to abuse. If the potential employer is instead interested in potential they are sending a signal they are willing to invest in you.

Myers Briggs gets a lot of hate due to low precision but it’s a cheap and fast assessment. There are much better assessments of personality but they take more time and are more invasive.

Re: Why companies are interested in Myers-Briggs types

#23

Post by gmarx »

xvedejas wrote: post #11
gmarx wrote: post #4

The author says each of the big 5 is on a "sliding scale". I admit this is a bit pedantic, but isn't each just on a plain old scale? Wouldn't a sliding scale imply that one score could affect how another was graded?

I always thought "sliding scale" was a redundant phrase. If it does mean something beyond a continuous scale, then the author may be making the same mistake as me.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sliding_scale_fees

I learned the term WRT insulin for diabetes. I think the key is that the scale you use for determining something (fees, insulin dose) changes depending on other characteristics of the person

Re: Why companies are interested in Myers-Briggs types

#24

Post by tempestn »

chefandy wrote: post #7
1retep wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Love this answer, I was thinking the same thing. I remember in college I applied to over 100 internships and my friend said “I don’t understand how you wrote over 100 cover letters.” My response was “I didn’t. If they ask for a cover letter I don’t want to work for them.”

And if you believe you're best represented as a bullet list of educational and professional accomplishments, I assure you that the feeling is mutual.

I agree. I'm not interested in software that will screen resumes for keywords or that kind of thing. Instead we ask a simple question right in our job postings, asking that an answer be included in the application, and that filters out 90% of applicants who don't bother. If someone additionally includes a decent cover letter, they go to the top of the pile. We want people who took the time to read our posting and want to work here, not those who are just spamming resumes everywhere.

Re: Why companies are interested in Myers-Briggs types

#25

Post by drchopchop »

My company gave managers Clifton Strengths tests, and it was fairly interesting (and tracked with my own self-introspection). Wasn't used for hiring or performance, but more as a tool to people recognize their traits and how others may differ.

https://www.gallup.com/cliftonstrengths/en/253790/science-of...

Re: Why companies are interested in Myers-Briggs types

#26

Post by PaulKeeble »

The thing that has always amused me about the personality types is that everyone is all of these things and how much they are of one or the other depends on the circumstances. You can change the questions very slightly and get wildly different results. While interesting in a way to understand human interactions and some form of classification of that they aren't usually something fixed, they don't really measure personality because its a whole lot more complex than these measures.

Most people still believe that your peak heart rate is 220 - age when the paper that determined this showed no one actually met that at all and the variance was massive, the same is true of Myers Briggs we are a long way away from the original science with the use of these tests and since no one reads the papers they don't realise how badly its being applied.

Re: Why companies are interested in Myers-Briggs types

#27

Post by cosmotic »

throwaway0asd wrote: post #22
compiler-guy wrote: post #3

I appreciate it when a company asks about or tests my Myers-Briggs type early in the hiring process, because then I know that I don't want to work for them, and they wouldn't be happy with me either. Win/win.

I feel the exact opposite. At least they are measuring something vaguely objectively. Interviewing with most potential employers, at least in software, is like when children guess at picking players for sports teams while wearing a blindfold. Everything always seems to come down to biases applied non uniformly. Changing jobs is a big life investment. I would prefer it not be a blind date with one-way conversations fr…

What if they were using astrology? Would that be better than nothing? I think it would be worse than nothing because it demonstrates the aren't competent enough to know when they fell for a scam.

Re: Why companies are interested in Myers-Briggs types

#29

Post by slothtrop »

StevePerkins wrote: post #14

Myers-Briggs is essentially horoscopes for people who spend too much time on LinkedIn.

The analysis is, but "types" are just preferences/tendencies that everyone has, reflected back from the test. It says "I tend towards introversion or not, being detail-oriented or not" etc. That's it. Mind you, that's of no use to your employer who wants you to do your damn job whatever it happens to be. If you want the job, it's for you.

Re: Why companies are interested in Myers-Briggs types

#30

Post by notch656a »

chefandy wrote: post #20
notch656a wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Quoted post unavailable.

Your professional network extends to every organization you'd aspire to work with, and you actually care about those organizations' goals? I assure you– that isn't the case for most people.

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