Tescor surveys

[cs2823]

Okay, is anybody familair with a Tescor survey? For a job I am applying for (and really want) I have to take one. So far, I've taken it twice and failed it both times. They are letting me take it again tomorrow for a third time (and who knows how many times they will let me take it before they say enough's enough).

Obviously I am being fooled by a question or two and I have no idea what or why. All the answers are so obvious (no I don't steal, no I don't do drugs, no I don't beat people up, etc).

Anyone know anything about these tests and WHY in the hell am I failing??

One of the questions is "Since the age of 16, how often have you told a lie?" So I marked "never." Are they looking for me to answer "seldom" or "sometimes" because they just assume everyone has lied before so therefore I'm lying by answering "never?"

I'm really confused and stressed out by this. Please help if you can. Thanks!!

 

[RickStain]

I find it virtually impossible to believe that anyone could go any length of time measured in years without telling some sort of lie.

 

[cs2823]

Rick,

I agree totally. I just marked "never" because I thought I should just be answering all the questions that make me seem like a nice wholesome law-abiding person. If I admit to lying then they will say "he's a liar." But if I mark "never" then they think I'm lying right now. WTF??

 

[deskslave]

I would almost guarantee that answering 'never' to that lie question is a red flag.

That survey is going to have been designed to flag 'correct' answers, as in the answers that people will give that they THINK the people giving the test want to hear. That lying question is a prime example, and there's probably at least two or three others.

If I were you, I'd start just answering the questions honestly, rather than trying to outsmart the test. (That sounds judgmental -- it's really not meant to be.)

 

[cs2823]

I would almost guarantee that answering 'never' to that lie question is a red flag.

That survey is going to have been designed to flag 'correct' answers, as in the answers that people will give that they THINK the people giving the test want to hear. That lying question is a prime example, and there's probably at least two or three others.

If I were you, I'd start just answering the questions honestly, rather than trying to outsmart the test. (That sounds judgmental -- it's really not meant to be.)

Yeah I think you are right on that. Both times I took it I gave the answers I thought they would want to hear rather than the honest-to-god truthful answers. But now I'm having trouble determining which ones I should really answer truthfully because yes I was in college once and yes I engaged in some activities that college kids engage in from time to time. So do I lie my ass off about all that or do I admit to it and risk that??

 

[deskslave]

I would almost guarantee that answering 'never' to that lie question is a red flag.

That survey is going to have been designed to flag 'correct' answers, as in the answers that people will give that they THINK the people giving the test want to hear. That lying question is a prime example, and there's probably at least two or three others.

If I were you, I'd start just answering the questions honestly, rather than trying to outsmart the test. (That sounds judgmental -- it's really not meant to be.)

Yeah I think you are right on that. Both times I took it I gave the answers I thought they would want to hear rather than the honest-to-god truthful answers. But now I'm having trouble determining which ones I should really answer truthfully because yes I was in college once and yes I engaged in some activities that college kids engage in from time to time. So do I lie my ass off about all that or do I admit to it and risk that??

I might be slightly too much of an idealist for these situations, but I say tell the truth, with obvious exceptions.

If you used to steal money out of the till when you worked at a grocery store? Yeah, don't mention that. But if you smoked pot occasionally in college? So what.

 

[Football_Bat]

That sounds like a Wal-Mart test I took for a job applied for while in college. "A marijuana cigarette is just like a beer. Strongly disagree? Disagree? Slightly disagree? etc." Trap question after trap question.

 

[cs2823]

That sounds like a Wal-Mart test I took for a job applied for while in college. "A marijuana cigarette is just like a beer. Strongly disagree? Disagree? Slightly disagree? etc." Trap question after trap question.

Exactly. "Trap question" is a great way of describing it. I feel like they are trying to bait me into admitting to something. There's a bunch of questions about violence on there such as how many times have you hit someone and have you ever been so annoyed by someone you wanted to hit them. Those ones re obviously "never."

But then there's this one --- "how important do you think it is to have skills to physically defend yourself when necessary?" I marked the answer of "very unimportant." Now yes, if I was jumped in the streets I would like to be able to fend off my attacker. So maybe I should've answered "very important." But I answered it the way I did because I wanted to give a non violent answer and make myself appear as a non violent person, which I am. I've honestly never been in a real fistfight in my entire life. However, if I got jumped in the street and didn't defend myself and got my ass kicked because I didn't or couldn't fight back, did I do anything wrong?? No. So I don't see how they could think that answering "very unimportant" is a wrong answer.

And another one was what is the total value of everything you have stolen from work aside from small office supplies like pens and paper. I marked "zero." Should I have marked the "$10-20" answer? Because the truth is I honestly have never stolen anything aside from small office supplies. So if I marked the "small amount" answer I would actually be lying. But if I answer it truthfully they might think that I'm lying.

This is so frsutarting and I cant believe that this dumbass test is causing me so much stress. I REALLY want this job.

And I think the fact that I have failed this twice already raises a red flag about me and I haven't even met these people in person yet. So they probably already have made a judgement about me.

 

[amraeder]

Say you like. Claiming you haven't told a lie since you were 16 will fail you every time.
If you did drugs, I wouldn't admit it. Underage drinking, I would probably admit it.

 

[Buck]

Paging Capt. Yossarian.

 

[The Big Ragu]

Never heard of this but I just hit the google, because the idea of this kind of screening fascinated me. I found this:

http://www.employmentscreeningedu.com/employment_screening_faqs.aspx

What does a "Not Qualified" result mean? An applicant who does not qualify on the Tescor Survey has either:

1. Admitted to current, illegal drug use, and/or
2. Disclosed theft behaviors during the past two years, and/or
3. Exhibited hostile/angry responses on the Survey, and/or
4. Tried to "fake" the survey

Many applicants reveal high-risk behaviors on multiple scales.

 

[Smash Williams]

The other thing to remember is they're looking for the difference in feeling and acting. I think most people have felt angry enough to hit someone at one point. The difference is the impulse control to act on it.

 

[cs2823]

The other thing to remember is they're looking for the difference in feeling and acting. I think most people have felt angry enough to hit someone at one point. The difference is the impulse control to act on it.

Yeah and I got pretty thrown off by this. Have I ever been so annoyed by someone that I felt like hitting them? As a figure of speech, yes. But I'd have to guess the answer is no.

 

[cs2823]

Never heard of this but I just hit the google, because the idea of this kind of screening fascinated me. I found this:

http://www.employmentscreeningedu.com/employment_screening_faqs.aspx

What does a "Not Qualified" result mean? An applicant who does not qualify on the Tescor Survey has either:

1. Admitted to current, illegal drug use, and/or
2. Disclosed theft behaviors during the past two years, and/or
3. Exhibited hostile/angry responses on the Survey, and/or
4. Tried to "fake" the survey

Many applicants reveal high-risk behaviors on multiple scales.

Yeah I also found this online about the 4 things they are trying to detect. 3 of them you cannot safely assume about everyone. 1 of them you can, and I think that's where I went wrong. You can not safely assume that everyone has done drugs. You cannot safely assume that everyone has been in fights. And you can not safely assume that everyone has stolen ****. Therefore, the only way to mess that part up is by admitting to it because they cant possibly accuse you of lying if you say you've never done drugs. Believe it or not, many people haven't.

But you can safely assume that everyone has told a lie before. So if you lie on that question, you're pegged as a liar and assumed that you lied about the drugs, violence and theft as well. I think if I just admit to the lying question I'll be okay. I think that's the one that's screwing me.

I suppose it's a good sign that they are letting me take it for a THIRD time. If they were half serious about it they wouldn't have let me take it a second time, much less a third. So maybe thats a sign that they dont really give two ****s about the test and they just need me to pass it so they can continue with the interview process. At least that's what Im hoping.

In any case, thanks to all who are weighing in on this.

 

[Buck]

Tommy Kelly: If a train left New York at 300 miles per hour, and accelerated speed 15 miles per hour, and traveled a distance of 683 miles, tell me sir: what time would that train reach Chicago?!

Roman Moronie: That's a fargin' trick question!

 

[Moderator1]

Don't lie on the question about how often you whip it. They know. They KNOW.

 

[Ace]

When you retake the test, remember to factor in all the lies you told on the previous tests.

May want to answer the lie question as: () often or () always.

 

[cs2823]

I just took it again and am waiting to hear back from them about the results. The first two times I took it, all my answers were of the most or least extreme, such as "always," "never," "strongly agree" or "strongly disagree." (The answers I gave the second time were the same as the first because I assumed that the first time I took it I made a careless mistake and checked "strongly agree" instead of "strongly disagree" or something like that because maybe I had misread a question. So the second time through I read each one carefully and double checked all my answers. Same result).

So this time I checked a lot more of the in-between answers like "sometimes," "rarely," "mildly agree" and "mildly disagree." My problem the first time was trying to "beat" the test by giving them what they wanted to hear rather than what I really felt.

So the actual test is not the questions themselves. The test is actually to see how you will take it.

I'll let you folks know as soon as I hear back and hopefully this thread will help people be prepared for one of these. From what I hear, more and more companies are starting to use this kind of thing.