Faking the tests

Faking It: Can Job Applicants 'Outsmart' Personality Tests?

I'm not positive but I think the article in the above link aims to suggest that pre-employment personality tests clearly detect all or most dishonesty. However, because I arrived at the page through a different avenue than its target visitors, it's kind of difficult for me to make that assessment. It appears to be an attempt to persuade readers that personality tests are damn near foolproof, partly by admitting that such tests are not entirely perfect (as opposed to admitting they are useless).

The article admits that there are three kinds of faking on these tests: 1) Intentional faking to mask a lack of integrity; 2) Trying to look good "for the camera;" and 3) Unintentional faking based on an elevated self-evaluation.

No problem! As long as the employer knows how to effectively interpret the test results, everything will be great. In other words: As long as the employer has some people-reading skills, everything will be great.

But who do you suppose might be buying these tests? (Hint: Not employers with people skills.)

So if you need to hire people but you have no people skills, go ahead and buy a stack of pre-employment personality tests. Just make sure to use your people skills wisely when interpreting the results. Otherwise, they might not help you hire the right people.

Aimless is no faker!