Hiring experts know that anyone can sit in an interview and say they are team players, people persons and hard workers. But how do you know for sure?
Some companies are finding that people who interview well don’t always work well or don’t match a company’s culture after all. That’s why some companies use behavioral assessments, which consist of multiple-choice tests.

Dan Longton, president and chief executive of Naples, Fla.-based HRgems, says companies use the questionnaires because they want to measure whether job applicants have a good work ethic, integrity, leadership and customer service skills. Personality tests have been around for decades, he says, but companies once used them only for assessing potential managers.

“It was expensive at $100 per test,” he says.

Now the tests are much cheaper because people can take them on the Internet as they also fill out the other information on a job application.

“The Internet as a way to deliver is totally accepted,” he says. “Even three years ago they worried not enough people were connected.”

HRgems offers a test called TraitSet, 42 questions that take about ten minutes to answer online. The test appears on the screen as you proceed through various pages to apply for a job online.

A sample question is, “I am so dependable that people never worry about me getting the job done,” and you click on a number from one to eight, with one being “always false” and eight being “always true.”

Here’s a tip: Don’t click on a lot of ones or eights. A person who gives absolute or extreme answers is probably lying, Longton says.
“Look out for the words always and never, and don’t exaggerate,” he advises.

Bobby Baker agrees. He’s vice president of assessment solutions for Colorado Springs, Colo.-based human resources consulting firm CorVirtus. The company offers a few different assessments.

“The best weapon is to be honest, and don’t try to fool the test,” he says. “I think people are anxious, and they’re trying to figure out what they need to say.”
Try to stay positive, Baker says.

“The tests don’t have a time limit, so take your time, read the instructions and be positive,” he says. “Think, ‘This assessment is my opportunity to put my best foot forward.’”

Besides, he says, the answers you give become a sort of outline for your interview. The interviewer’s questions will focus on your stated ability to never lie and never say anything mean about anyone, if that’s how you answered those questions, for example.

If you don’t get an interview, ask the hiring manager for feedback on your test. Some companies might not give you that information, Baker says, “but it doesn’t hurt to ask.”

You can find sample tests on the Internet. Just click on “careers” or “jobs” on the website of any restaurant where you want to apply, then skip the initial application questions by clicking “save and continue” or whatever tab lets you move to the next page. The site will likely take you to the assessment company’s site, where you can read the questions.

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