Update: Company Still Bans Applicants From Reapplying For 12-Months After Failing 'Personality Test'

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Emmy Pratt • Writer and Editor
Jan 30, 2023 1:30 PM EST

When I was applying for jobs, I was a bit skeptical of any company that asked me to take a personality test before the interview. I understand wanting to hire somebody with good vibes, but isn't that what the multiple rounds of interviews are for? You would think companies might do such a test to understand someone's temperament and working style to ensure they're suitable for this position. That, unfortunately, is not usually the purpose. Although it's quite shady, many jobs that use "personality tests" use them to weed out people who won't stand for an exploitative work environment.

Some companies never learn. After getting publically shamed on Reddit months ago, the Cincinnati-based company Proctor and Gamble has continued its policy of rejecting employees based on a personality test. That alone could be understandable, as Proctor and Gamble is a gigantic corporation, and they can't meticulously look at everybody's resume. Unfortunately, they do not stop there. P&G bans anyone who failed the personality test from applying from that job within the company for the following year. Talk about a raw deal. 

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  • 01
    Human body - r/recruitinghell u/Western-Guy • 7h. i.redd.it Got banned for 1 year even before a human got to read my CV
    via u/Western-Guy
  • 02
    Font - P&G Careers - Result of your Assessment P&G Thank you for the time you have recently dedicated to follow the selection process. This is to inform you about the status of your application for the position: Unfortunately, based on the results of the online assessment that you have completed, we will not be advancing your application to the next step. You will be able to retake the online assessment after 12 months (any application completed before one year for a position at the same job lev
    via u/Western-Guy
  • 03
    Font - mangoapplefort. 3h You can just make a new Gmail and retake the test any x number of times. There's YouTube videos on how to pass the tests. Reply 358
    via u/mangoapplefort
  • 04
    Font - PrincessTiaraLove. 1h Oooo thank you so much!!! 49 49
    via u/PrincessTiaraLove
  • 05
    Font - Blood Tear 56m I love how these tests proclaim that they test your aptitude, but the same scammers that sell them to companies also sell practice tests and guides to help you succeed in them. Really proves how stupid HR people are. And that's before considering that most of them are based on IQ, which is itself pseudo-science.
    via u/Blood_Tear
  • 06
    Font - The only thing these tests filter out are otherwise cunning people on the spectrum and people who know they have enough value to not go through the BS. If you want to see how stupid high IQ people can be, just watch a Mensa meeting. ... Vote
    via u/Blood_Tear
  • 07
    Font - onetwistedmind13. 7h The sad part is they think this helps them find the best talent. Sorry you missed out but there are other jobs and many that don't rely on dumb ass tests like this. ... Reply 315 315
    via u/onetwistedmind13
  • 08
    Font - S_Squar3d 2h With a company like P&G though, it likely filters out a lot of bullshit because I'm sure they get a lot of BS applications (or would be applications). Surely a lot of missed talent too though. ← 457 ...
    via u/S_Squar3d
  • 09
    Rectangle - shhalahr 1h . Sounds like the assessment has more BS than the application ... 431 31
    via u/shhalahr
  • 10
    Font - Western-Guy OP. 7h It felt like a dream opportunity with the job description matching 90% of my background. Also had additional certifications to back my candidature up. However, the firm thinks I'm not a good fit since I cannot quite remember the sequence of 4 balls in a row (from memory test). Reply 188
    via u/Western-Guy
  • 11
    Font - Shizngigglz 3h ● I had to take a test like that. I just recorded the screen and played it back. Got them all right, including the random sequence of 10 numbers. Felt nice to cheat that test ... 38 38
    via u/Shizngigglz
  • 12
    Font - ARandomGuy035 . 4h I also took this test a while back and remember being so frustrated with it; it was all useless skills that would have no bearing on how well you did the job and it was a position I thought I would enjoy and be qualified for. That was before I knew about this sub, and now I probably wouldn't even take the test. I'm sure P&G is probably losing a lot of good talent because of the ridiculous tests. 486
    via u/ARandomGuy035
  • 13
    Font - Icy_Distance4051 - 4h Same here. Same company, same result. 434 34
    via u/Icy_Distance4051
  • 14
    Font - Socrates Depravator. 1h I hate to be the one to tell you this but they are IQ tests 43 ...
    via u/SocratesDepravator
  • 15
    Rectangle - ACrappyLawyer. 1h They could be blood tests for all I care. What's the relevance towards the job requirements 48 ↓
    via u/ACrappyLawyer
  • 16
    Rectangle - Putrid Smegma . 5h how hard can it be to sell diapers and shampoo? 431 31
    via u/PutridSmegma
  • 17
    Font - cheradenine66. 7h P&G is one of the most selective and coveted firms in the world. Getting into it is like getting into Harvard. The reason for that is they train you for leadership and give you a lot of responsibility, even at junior levels. Using this method, they produced so many CEOs of other firms, it's practically considered to be one of their products. So, don't feel bad about not getting in, it's intentionally hard. ... 452 52
    via u/cheradenine66
  • 18
    Font - AM_Bokke 2h It's not 1985 anymore. Steve Ballmer, a P&G alum, very famously could not run Microsoft. 443
    via u/AM_Bokke
  • 19
    Font - mug3n. 1h my time, your money Ballmer really did fail upwards. Dude nearly tanked Microsoft with his bad decisions, got a golden parachute because their board just needs him outta there, then became the lovable billionaire that owns a basketball team. It's amazing what a turnaround Satya managed since taking over as CEO. Okay, end of tangent. 415
    via u/mug3n
  • 20
    Font - undertheskin__. 2h It's to remove the dead weight and junk applicants. For a company the size as P&G - you need some sort of filtering process, you cannot review every single CV that comes in. 423 +
    via u/undertheskin_
  • 21
    Font - Sometimesnotfunny. 1h Yeah, think of the poor overworked algorithm 426
    via u/Sometimesnotfunny
  • 22
    Font - badgermann. 2h Are these legit skills test or "personality trait" tests? A couple of big employers in my area use the personality type ones and being somewhat introverted I failed them the first time around. I reapplied later and answered like a sociopath. I answered all the questions like I was the best person at everything. All my coworkers loved me and were amazed at how awesome I was at everything. And I would snitch on my colleagues to supervisors for the slightest infractions. I pas
    via u/badgermann
  • 23
    Font - jtmack33. 2h It's a Caliper assessment. So part of it is personality traits but it's also equal parts digital analogy, series, matrix and number series problem solving questions. They suckkkk. I took one for P&G myself, but have taken a few others. From my experience (and what internal company recruiters have told me) it's a way for big companies to weed out people bc a lot won't even take the exam. The outcome of the exam itself won't have a ton of impact on your candidacy unless you abs
    via u/jtmack33
  • 24
    Font - LinkedInsider. 2h That is absurd. Corporate just loves to try out corporate itself. Someone probably celebrated coming up with this idea. Thinks they're the don of recruitment process. Probably made a post on LinkedIn about it, too. 4 5 + Reply
    via u/LinkedInsider

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