Members of America's professional andmanagerial classes have always left college confident of atleast one thing: they had taken their last test. From here on,they could rely on charm, cunning* and/or a record of accomplishment to propel them up the corporate ladder.But that's not necessarily true any longer. A growingnumber of companies, from General Motors Corp toAmerican Express Co., are no longer satisfied withtraditional job interviews. Instead, they are requiringapplicants for many white-collar jobs — from top executivesdown - to submit to a series of paper-and-pencil tests, role-playing exercises, simulated decision-making exercises andbrainteasers*. Others put candidates through a long seriesof interviews by psychologists or trained interviewers.The tests are not about mathematics or grammar, norabout any of the basic technical skills for which manyproduction, sales and clerical workers have long beentested. Rather, employers want to evaluate candidates onintangible* qualities: Is she creative and entrepreneurial?Can he lead and coach? Is he flexible and capable of learning? Does she have passion and a sense of urgency?How will he function under pressure? Most important, willthe potential recruit fit the corporate culture?These tests, which can take from an hour to two days,are all part of a broader trend. 'Companies are getting muchmore careful about hiring,' said Paul R. Ray Jr., chairman of the Association of Executive Search Consultants.Ten years ago, candidates could win a top job with theright look and the right answers to questions such as 'Whydo you want this job?'. Now, many are having to facequestions and exercises intended to learn how they getthings done.They may, for example, have to describe in great detailnot one career accomplishment but many - so that patternsof behavior emerge. They may face questions such as 'Whois the best manager you ever worked for and why?' or 'Whatis your best friend like?'. The answers, psychologists say,reveal much about a candidate's management style andabout himself or herself.The reason for the interrogations is clear: many hires*work out badly. About 35 percent of recently hired seniorexecutives are judged failures, according to the Center forCreative Leadership in Greensboro, North Carolina, whichsurveyed nearly 500 chief executives.The cost of bringing the wrong person on board issometimes huge. Searching and training can cost from$5000 for a lower-level manager to $250,000 for a topexecutive. Years of corporate downsizing, a trend that hasslashed* layers of management, has also increased thepotential damage that one bad executive can do. With thepace of change accelerating in markets and technology,
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companies want to know how an executive will perform,not just how he or she has performed.'Years ago, employers looked for experience — has acandidate done this before?' said Harold P. Weinstein,executive vice-president of Caliper, a personnel testing andconsulting firm in Princeton, New Jersey. 'But havingexperience in a job does not guarantee that you can do it ina different environment.'At this point, most companies have not shifted to thispractice. Some do not see the need or remain unconvincedthat such testing is worth the cost. But human-resourcespecialists say anecdotal* evidence suggests thatwhite-collar testing is growing in popularity. What has65 brought so many employers around to testing is a sense of the limitations in the usual job interview. With so littleinformation on which to base a decision, 'most people hirepeople they like, rather than the most competent person,'said Orv Owens, a psychologist in Snohomish, Washington,who sizes up executive candidates. Research has shown, hesaid, that 'most decision makers make their hiring decisionsin the first five minutes of an interview and spend the restof the time rationalizing their choice.'Besides, with advice on how to land a better job aboutas common as a ten-dollar bill, many people are learning toplay the interview game.Even companies that have not started extensive testinghave toughened their hiring practices. Many now dobackground checks, for example, looking for signs of druguse, violence or sexual harassment. But the morecomprehensive testing aims to measure skills incommunications, analysis and organization, attention todetail and management style; personality traits* andmotivations that behavioral scientists say predict
Members of America's professional andmanagerial classes have always left college confident of atleast one thing: they had taken their last test. From here on,they could rely on charm, cunning* and/or a record of accomplishment to propel them up the corporate ladder.But that's not necessarily true any longer. A growingnumber of companies, from General Motors Corp toAmerican Express Co., are no longer satisfied withtraditional job interviews. Instead, they are requiringapplicants for many white-collar jobs — from top executivesdown - to submit to a series of paper-and-pencil tests, role-playing exercises, simulated decision-making exercises andbrainteasers*. Others put candidates through a long seriesof interviews by psychologists or trained interviewers.The tests are not about mathematics or grammar, norabout any of the basic technical skills for which manyproduction, sales and clerical workers have long beentested. Rather, employers want to evaluate candidates onintangible* qualities: Is she creative and entrepreneurial?Can he lead and coach? Is he flexible and capable of learning? Does she have passion and a sense of urgency?How will he function under pressure? Most important, willthe potential recruit fit the corporate culture?These tests, which can take from an hour to two days,are all part of a broader trend. 'Companies are getting muchmore careful about hiring,' said Paul R. Ray Jr., chairman of the Association of Executive Search Consultants.Ten years ago, candidates could win a top job with theright look and the right answers to questions such as 'Whydo you want this job?'. Now, many are having to facequestions and exercises intended to learn how they getthings done.They may, for example, have to describe in great detailnot one career accomplishment but many - so that patternsof behavior emerge. They may face questions such as 'Whois the best manager you ever worked for and why?' or 'Whatis your best friend like?'. The answers, psychologists say,reveal much about a candidate's management style andabout himself or herself.The reason for the interrogations is clear: many hires*work out badly. About 35 percent of recently hired seniorexecutives are judged failures, according to the Center forCreative Leadership in Greensboro, North Carolina, whichsurveyed nearly 500 chief executives.The cost of bringing the wrong person on board issometimes huge. Searching and training can cost from$5000 for a lower-level manager to $250,000 for a topexecutive. Years of corporate downsizing, a trend that hasslashed* layers of management, has also increased thepotential damage that one bad executive can do. With thepace of change accelerating in markets and technology,
5560
707580
85
companies want to know how an executive will perform,not just how he or she has performed.'Years ago, employers looked for experience — has acandidate done this before?' said Harold P. Weinstein,executive vice-president of Caliper, a personnel testing andconsulting firm in Princeton, New Jersey. 'But havingexperience in a job does not guarantee that you can do it ina different environment.'At this point, most companies have not shifted to thispractice. Some do not see the need or remain unconvincedthat such testing is worth the cost. But human-resourcespecialists say anecdotal* evidence suggests thatwhite-collar testing is growing in popularity. What has65 brought so many employers around to testing is a sense of the limitations in the usual job interview. With so littleinformation on which to base a decision, 'most people hirepeople they like, rather than the most competent person,'said Orv Owens, a psychologist in Snohomish, Washington,who sizes up executive candidates. Research has shown, hesaid, that 'most decision makers make their hiring decisionsin the first five minutes of an interview and spend the restof the time rationalizing their choice.'Besides, with advice on how to land a better job aboutas common as a ten-dollar bill, many people are learning toplay the interview game.Even companies that have not started extensive testinghave toughened their hiring practices. Many now dobackground checks, for example, looking for signs of druguse, violence or sexual harassment. But the morecomprehensive testing aims to measure skills incommunications, analysis and organization, attention todetail and management style; personality traits* andmotivations that behavioral scientists say predict
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