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I applied for a software role at FedEx and was asked to take a personality test

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Re: I applied for a software role at FedEx and was asked to take a personality test

#311

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess if you don't know what a phrase means, there's always the internet to look it up before jumping to conclusions. https://duckduckgo.com/?va=c&t=ha&q=bedside+manner&ia=web

Interesting. Good point about that phrase for doctors . :)

[flagged]

Re: I applied for a software role at FedEx and was asked to take a personality test

#312
post #224

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I took one once (at iZod, I think), which included some tripwire questions. The manager said afterwards that e.g. if you saw "a customer left $0.02 in change on the counter when they left the store, what do you do?" and you picked "I chase them down the block to give it back", that's a sign that you're bullshitting the questions too hard.

Or, someone might also have a sense of karmic justice, whereby $0.02 is the same as $200 in the ethical context of returning a lost object to its owner. The manager sounds like they'd be happy to steal your wages, as long as it was "only a small amount". You dodged a bullet there.

I mean, from the perspective of the manager, you really don't want an employee who's going to run out of the store to return an amount of money that won't matter to the customer. One can understand a peculiar value system, and also think that the conclusions it reaches are bad for your situation. (See also: "it's okay to take money from the cash register if I need it".)

I also think that going from that question to them stealing your wages can only be fairly analogized if it's a similarly insignificant amount. Is it wage theft if they underpay me by $0.02? Yes. Does it really matter? Not to me.

Re: I applied for a software role at FedEx and was asked to take a personality test

#314

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Two years ago, I had a similar experience with Chainlink. I underwent hours of interviews and completed an extensive work assignment, only to be offered the job _after a personality test_. Simultaneously, I interviewed at a startup. There, I spent about an hour discussing my experience and providing feedback on their current system with the person who would become my manager. I chose the startup, and it has been the…

Part of being a grownup is coming around to the fact that if someone you just met clearly doesn't trust you, that's 95% about their issues, not yours. Then it becomes a question not of whether you're 'worthy' of a job with these people, but whether you really want to walk into a place that is telegraphing this much paranoia. I don't know how to gracefully bow out of the middle of an interview and I wish I did. What I…

> I don't know how to gracefully bow out of the middle of an interview

"Hey, thanks for taking the time to talk to me, guys, but I don't think this is a good fit. Let's cut our losses and give each other some time back. Bye."

Get up and walk out.

Re: I applied for a software role at FedEx and was asked to take a personality test

#317

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If someone isn't capable of being honest without making their coworkers socially uncomfortable, I don't think the honesty is a redeeming quality.

If a coworker can't handle a woman wearing pants instead of a skirt, can't handle a black person wearing their hair in a way that's comfortable, or can't handle a queer coworker dressing in queer ways... They're the problem. Not the person who's "unconventional". All of those things have been called "unprofessional" as a way to oppress minorities.

There are lots of ways that people can be unprofessional, regardless of their identity or beliefs.

Re: I applied for a software role at FedEx and was asked to take a personality test

#318
post #283

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Indeed, while it might not work in all cases you'd probably save enough time/money to make up for those cases where it didn't work out. I've often seen jobs posted that stay open for 6 months or more because some hiring manager and their team can't make up their minds on who to hire. Meanwhile, the project they want to bring someone in to work on languishes, or people who are already stretched thin burn out and go el…

One of the biggest blights on the industry is the insistence on matching tech stack. Most jobs need a handful of strict but broad requirements like "has worked in a garbage-collected compiled language" or "has used a SQL database" or "has used the .NET ecosystem", or they're looking for a specialist in a particular field like compiler design or distributed systems. Instead they've got a list of hard requirements: "Go…

One of the best jobs I've ever had needed C++ as a requirement. I knew C, but not C++. Hiring manager said, "It's just a language, you can learn it."

Went on to join the highest performing team I've ever worked on. I miss the first few years of that job... before the acquisition!

Re: I applied for a software role at FedEx and was asked to take a personality test

#319

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Two years ago, I had a similar experience with Chainlink. I underwent hours of interviews and completed an extensive work assignment, only to be offered the job _after a personality test_. Simultaneously, I interviewed at a startup. There, I spent about an hour discussing my experience and providing feedback on their current system with the person who would become my manager. I chose the startup, and it has been the…

> Personality tests can disclose a lot of personal information In my experience the only thing personality tests disclose is how good the testee is at guessing which answers will be viewed most favorably

I assumed that's the point - can you see things like a "normal" person does?
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