It can be interesting to see where an inquiring mind takes you. Since there’s currently a row going on about certain tests being used for Government employment/redundencies I amused myself by doing a couple of the psychometric personality tests now being argued in court. Seeing as how I was doing the tests for fun, I was brutally honest. The result? To my disbelief, the first test I took ended up with the announcement that I would be excellent as an employee in either IT or Engineering. If anything proves the inaccuracy of these tests, that’s it! Followed by a comprehensive test which came up with the conclusions that I am usually perceived as shy. (Yeah right!) That I seek harmony in my life and the surrounding environment, (clearly this guy has never seen my house!) and that my aptitude for foreign languages is unmatched. (Good grief!) So, again, psychometric tests flunk out in a big way. That last one about languages could be possible but it would depend on the language. My house is usually in a state of complete chaos, and as for me coming across to people as shy and retiring…that would be startling news to anyone who knows me. I guess this simply underlines what I’d always said about tests such as these – and the type that appear in women’s magazines. They’re very unlikely to be even remotely accurate. The problem is, that people may reply on them. Bad enough to be told that because you prefer red, you are only suited to having a spaniel/Ferrari/wearing Gucci, or some other similar nonsense., but the idea that because I work alone I am also timid and tidy and that prospective employers will read such tests and assume that they are 100% accurate, is deeply disturbing. In my case I’m retired and it doesn’t matter, but what about others who may be forever branded as something they’re not because of these all too fallible tests?