The Unicru personality test from Kronos Talent Management has apparently spawned a culture of cheating, as potential employees vie for low-end retail jobs:
When Anton Smith applied for hourly work at a Finish Line sneaker store in Charlotte, N.C., his first hurdle was showing he had the temperament for the job.Finish Line Inc., like many other retailers, makes applicants take a personality test before it will consider interviewing them. The test asks whether they agree or disagree, and how strongly, with 130 statements. But thanks to a little digging on the Internet by a friend, which turned up an unauthorized answer key, when Mr. Smith took the test in late 2007 he had a good idea what the employer wanted to hear.
Statement: “You have to give up on some things that you start.” Suggested response from the cheat sheet: “Strongly disagree.”
Another statement: “Any trouble you have is your own fault.” Suggested response: “Strongly agree.”
The store hired Mr. Smith, 23 years old, for a part-time job, although the parent company later closed that outlet and Mr. Smith has moved on. His view of the pre-employment test: “It isn’t useful. People are hip to it.”
Many retailers have largely automated the hiring process with online personality tests such as Mr. Smith took. The system cuts the time store managers must spend in interviewing applicants. But the test also is creating a culture of cheating and raising questions for applicants about its fairness — even as it becomes a critical determinant of who gets a job and who doesn’t in a stressful era of rising unemployment.