John_Jakovenko

100%. Know the job description and play to it. It's a game...just play.

Unless you are the test designer, not sure there is an option. I am one who answers based on what I think they want to hear from a potential hire, not my feelings.

Should they be used exclusively? No. Good question: "Tell me a time when you were under a lot of stress. And how did you handle that?"

Another: "What would a coworker say about you?" "What would a manager say about you?"

IMHO, a personality test should be given after the offer of employment, not before. And..they should be used to help, not hinder the culture.

Well, yeah, a company can require someone to take them. But, 100%, it should be used after an offer was made not to screen people out. Private life, feelings, etc should be yours and yours alone. It's only a privacy concern if they disclose your responses to others...

Pandora's box? You bet. Who else knows your answers? Just saying.

Technically, there are laws. There is something called disparate impact. This is where an employment practice (hiring) that seems neutral but has a discriminatory effect. So, if an employer makes decisions on personality tests, they have to prove that their employment decisions are non-discriminatory. There is something called the 80/20 rule. You can't use an instrument that violates this rule. The rule states that companies should be hiring protected groups at a rate that is at least 80% of that of white men. For example, if a firm has hired 100 white men in their last hiring cycle but only hired 50 women, then the company can be found in violation of the 80% rule. A good case to read is Griggs vs Duke Power.