Psychology In Seattle Podcast Personality Tests for Hiring (2017 Rerun)
Feb 26, 2026
Humberto Castaneda, musician and recurring conversational contributor known for his Bare Naked Ladies tribute band, joins to explore personality testing in hiring. They discuss where tests are used and how vendors market them. Legal limits, risks of profiling top performers, integrity and cognitive measures, and ways applicants can game assessments are covered in lively, practical conversation.
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Use Tests As One Data Point In A Broader Hiring Funnel
- Use assessments as one input among resume, interviews, references and work samples rather than a sole decision rule.
- Kirk describes the usual hiring pipeline: resume screen, interview, assessment, second interview, then performance observation.
Stellar Resume Did Not Predict Teaching Ability
- Kirk recounts hiring a professor who seemed perfect on paper but taught incoherently and became a worst coworker.
- He uses the story to illustrate resume and interview limitations and the risk of bad hires.
Integrity Tests Can Cut Theft In High Risk Retail
- Integrity tests can reduce theft significantly in high-shrinkage settings.
- Kirk cites a study where using the PSI test for convenience-store hires cut inventory shrinkage by about 50%.