I recently had a client call me to say, “This morning I was doing an initial interview with an applicant and the first impression was pretty good. When I mentioned that part of our applicant evaluation process was to complete some on-line questionnaires (that is, the Performance Profile), he said, ‘Oh, I don’t do well on written tests.’ Sure enough, when I got the Performance Profile Results Report, I saw that he, in fact, had not done very well. What’s going on – are the ratings on the report accurate?”

 

It’s not unusual for applicants to express some degree or other of discomfort with the idea of pre-employment testing, whether the tests involved measure skills or attitudes. That said, it’s a good idea to look at results carefully, so I went over the Performance Profile Results report with my client. As it turned out, this applicant was rated a “4” (Marginal) on seven out of 15 personality characteristics. To understand what was likely going on in this person’s case, let’s take a look at the most likely explanations for marginal or poor ratings on the Performance Profile.

 

One possible explanation for marginal and/or poor ratings on Performance Profile characteristics is “test anxiety.” Test anxiety can probably best be defined as elevated anxiety about one’s ability to perform adequately in situations in which the outcomes will be scrutinized or judged (for example, a test with right and wrong answers.) It’s important to understand, however, that everyone is subject to “test anxiety” to some degree; it’s what impels us to do our best on tests, in job interviews, and under all sorts of other circumstances. (What feels like a “test” to one person might simply feel like a routine pre-employment questionnaire to another.)

 

Actual, debilitating test anxiety does occur, but it is far rarer than is sometimes assumed. There are, additionally, some people who have some level of test anxiety, and previous experiences with poor test results have elevated their worry about taking tests so that it interferes with performance on written tests and questionnaires. When test anxiety, or worry about test anxiety, does occur with respect to the Performance Profile, it is more common to see marginal and/poor ratings on most characteristics, rather than on just a few.

 

A second, and frankly the most likely, explanation for marginal and/or poor ratings on the Performance Profile is that they accurately represent the person’s personal work-style preferences that are driven by innate personality characteristics. Keep in mind that the ratings on each Performance Profile characteristic are compared to the responses of thousands of individuals and have been subjected to rigorous empirical validation.

 

The applicant’s statement (“I don’t do well on written tests”) may refer to experiences in school that are not particularly relevant to this situation, or it may refer to test results from a very different setting that are not comparable to the Performance Profile. The applicant may also be trying to diminish the amount of attention you pay to the test results, preferring that you rely on the interview impression (which has gone well so far.)

 

What should you do? First, review the Results Report carefully, noting where the ratings of “4” or lower (that is, marginal or poor) indicate possible areas of concern with respect to the person’s ability to perform successfully on the job. How significant, in terms of the job in which this person will be placed, will his weakness in these areas be? If it is a concern to you, then formulate two or three probing, open-ended questions around the areas of concern that you can use in a follow-up interview. (For suggestions about how to do this, take a look at the Performance Profile REFERENCE MANUAL; if you don’t have a copy, give me a call and we will send you one.)

 

The goal of a follow-up interview is to gain better insight into the applicant’s work-related work style preferences, especially ones that raise concern on your part. You want to feel completely reassured that the areas of concern indicated on the Performance Profile Results Report will not lead to performance problems if the applicant is hired. If the follow-up interview goes well, but you are still concerned, call me! I am always available to go over specific results and help put them in the context of the interview and everything else you know about the applicant.

There is a final possibility:  an applicant warns you that "I don't do well on written tests," but the Performance Profile Report results don't bear that statement out.  For example, there may be one or two ratings of "4" (marginal), but no strong concerns that are relevant to the job.  This may be a case of a person who worries about test anxiety, but does not actually suffer from its debilitating effects, or this person may be concerned that you are looking for a superman (that is, all ratings) and is attempting to bring your expectations back in line with his likely performance.  In either case, there is likely no cause for concern that the Results Report doesn't accurately reflect the person's work style preferences; remember, all of us experience some elevation of anxiety to do well when we know other people are "watching."  That's a normal reaction created by a testing situation.

 

About this Newsletter and About Your Subscription