Testing 1-2-3

[mooserat]

So I had my the written exam for the animal control officer position today. It wasn't so much written as a 100 question, fill in the bubble Scantron. It was like a very watered down version of the SAT's. They had 30 of reading comprehension, grammar and spelling, 30 questions of logic and pattern recognition, 30 questions of "people skills" and

Comments

[sailorhathor]

WOW. When it comes to their animal control officers, they don't play, do they? Even a polygraph? You're not trying out to be a 911 operator or something. Sheesh.

My job tests had some dumb questions on them too. Stuff like, "Is it ever okay to use foul language with a customer? a). No, never. b). Only when they use foul language first c). Sometimes, when they make you really lose your temper d). How the fuck should I know?" Okay, D wasn't really on the test, but the others were. :D I mean, gee, duuuh, I tink the correct answer is... 3?

I hope they'll be paying you well after putting you through all those tests and background checks. When's the vivisection?

[mooserat]

Yeah, and polygraph test are complete bullshit too. I don't know why they still do them. It is a division of the sheriff's department, so maybe that's why they have an assload of tests and hoops you have to jump through.
I think the vivisection comes after the psychiatric exam.

[sailorhathor]

Well, polygraphs are effective as long as the stuff they are asking you about are things you feel guilty about. Like, I don't know what kind of stuff they ask about for this kind of job, but if it's things you feel bad for doing, and you lie about it, they could catch you. I know someone who tried out to be a 911 operator and she failed the polygraph. For some reason, I didn't ask her what she lied about. But, let's say they ask, "Have you ever stolen anything from your workplace?" If you have, and you're worried about getting caught at it, you could fail the polygraph. But if you somehow convince yourself that you didn't steal anything, you could pass the test. So it is possible to fool a polygraph, but pretty hard for most people, because we're worried about getting caught

[mooserat]

I just saw this thing on the show "Penn and Teller's Bullshit" about polygraphs. They said they questioners can sort of trick you, like they'll say to you "This next question is extremely important and vital to determining if you are guilty or not..." and then that get's your heart rate and breathing up, so no matter what you answer, it looks like you are lying. So, I dunno. I just think they are really unreliable.