Why cheating on a Psychometric Test isn’t the answer - MindModelling

A CV, references and cognitive assessments are all used to assess an individual’s hard skills. However, getting a sense of a person’s emotional intelligence and ability to fit into an existing team, and office culture can be more difficult.

Behavioural Assessments are most often used to evaluate soft skills, from communication and decision-making to collaborative style, this helps the employer spot any areas for development and any potential points of conflict. Psychometric assessments also help the manager better support and interact with the potential new hire.

Can you pass or fail?

One of the biggest misconceptions about psychometric Assessments is that an individual can pass or fail. Extended DISC is not a test. The only way to fail an Extended DISC assessment is to lie. Extended DISC assessments have an internal measure of consistency. Consistency measures can detect if an individual has answered inconsistently. Inconsistency can indicate that a person may have tried to manipulate their answers or simply that the person does not know which style they need to be to succeed in their current role. In extreme cases of inconsistent answer an invalid report is produced, and the candidate asked to complete the questionnaire again.

Why cheating the system is counterproductive

There are several reasons why cheating on a DISC assessment is ineffective:

• Internal consistency measures may recognise inconsistent answering
• You do not know which specific competencies an employer is looking for
• DISC assessments are not a ‘pass or fail’ or ‘can or cannot do’ scenario, they indicate low and high energy use areas
• Misrepresentation of yourself may land you with a job you do not enjoy

If you are tempted to manipulate your answers, the simple truth is that being dishonest does not pay off in the end. Even if you got over the guilt and beat the internal consistency measures, you may “win” a job that’s not right for you because you misrepresented yourself.

Extended DISC Assessments are only part of the selection process and help build the most precise picture of a possible candidate and whether the job is the best fit for the applicant. Often, we do not know what specific qualities an employer is looking for, so cheating an Extended DISC assessment may lead you to get a job you eventually dislike as you are better suited to doing something else.

Extended DISC measures your natural and adjusted behavioural style so a future employer can understand your most comfortable way of behaving. Extended DISC Assessments help the prospective employer to know whether you would be happy doing the work required in the role and how they can best interact and work with you. Chances are your assessor wants to use DISC to see how you would fit with different team members, whether you’d be happy doing the type of work required, or how they may work best with you.

How should I answer?

Extended DISC Assessments are most effective when you are yourself and answer honestly. Follow the online instructions. There are no trick questions. Some of the questions may seem similar. The questionnaire is designed to get the most precise and reliable results from you.

The best practice is to select the answer that first comes to mind, try not to over-analyse the questions and go with your gut instinct choosing answers that are most like you not exactly like you. Select answers as you see yourself, not how you believe others should see you. Remember to give yourself 10-15 minutes, so you don’t need to rush. Pick a quiet spot to complete the questionnaire so you do not get interrupted as you may mix-up the questions if you get distracted.