Publish at May 18 2020 Updated June 07 2023
Almost all of us have had to complete an orientation or personality test at some point. Often made up of a choice of answers, they're supposedly designed to guide us in our future career, company or school. But can we really base our future choices on the results of a test? Especially since, with the plethora of online questionnaires, how do you know which one is better than another?
First of all, a guidance test is not usually taken alone, i.e., without the help of a guidance counselor. This would be like taking your blood pressure without understanding the scale and how it works. COP (Conseillers d'Orientation Psychologues) know best how to interpret the answers to these tests. In fact, what are they trying to determine?
Evidently, they assess the respondent's personality, interests and motivations. The aim is to build up a picture that will enable us to better target a person's strengths and advise him or her towards suitable educational and professional paths.
But beware : an assessment is not a balance sheet. In fact, questionnaires help guidance professionals establish a portrait of those who come to them for consultation. But they are not the only tools at their disposal. Generally, they will also rely on interviews with the person to pinpoint strengths. However, it's not impossible that soon artificial intelligence will be able to support teenagers and adults in their questioning.
In fact, a French start-up is offering a "chatbot" called Hello Charly that has the ability to ask questions and adapt to each interlocutor in order to suggest fields of study or jobs that are a good fit.
The fact remains that there's still a certain amount of skepticism about tests, be they orientation, personality or aptitude tests. While more and more companies are using them to predict an employee's success, there seems to be no scientific consensus on their validity. In fact, as this Le Monde article explains, the legitimacy is increasingly contested because linking a job to interests makes less and less sense. Positions are changing, and companies are now looking more for people who can perform functions. And yet, this market has never worked better. In 2017, it was worth $500 million in profits.
Their biggest problem is that they lock individuals into a category by excluding many internal and external factors. In the United States, for example, many companies are obsessed with personality tests. For example, the "color code" created by a Salt Lake City psychologist in the late '80s would identify the attitudes of employees in a company by a hue.
Or, reality is far more complex and social dynamics can frankly evolve within a person depending on the environment, colleagues, etc. So much so that some people refer to questionnaires as horoscopes. It doesn't say much, but it gives managers the impression of knowing their subordinates, and can explain tensions or cohesion in work teams.
In a context where many young people take the plunge into higher education and realize in their first year that it's not what they expected, many are inclined to think that these tests should be compulsory before enrolling at university. All to make sure they're heading in the right direction. However, this solution is no miracle cure and may, on the contrary, discourage aspirations.
The questionnaires tend to be too categorical. So perhaps it should be explained to teenagers that this is an indicator, not a destiny they must follow.
Illustration : Ben Mullins on Unsplash
References :
Razoul, Sophie. "Tests d'orientation professionnelle : sont-ils efficaces pour changer de carrière?" France Magazine. Last updated : March 6 2020.
https://www.francelemagazine.fr/tests-dorientation-professionnelle-sont-ils-efficaces-pour-changer-de-carriere/
Online career guidance tests. Rate yourself!
https://cursus.edu/9790/tests-dorientation-en-ligne-evaluez-vous
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