Why a Psychologist Might Be at Your Next Interview

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Your article is interesting, though in Silicon Valley I have yet to run into it. It is short on facts though. First, some example companies who are doing this would be nice. Assertions without backup facts are questionable. Percentage of employers or some other metric would be useful if you cannot divulge company names.
I am not sure about laws where you are, but this might be tough to do in many states because of what a psychologist would need to ask you to understand your basic personality.
This is probably a passing fad and most people are not going to be interviewed in such a fashion. The idea of companies being more thorough, though, may be true.

John West of CA 5:27PM June 24, 2009

I do not understand why companies think that hiring a person that they believe in somehow needs to be challenged. Is that not what a probationary period is for, a reference check or an interview. I am all for a personality assessment, if you are required to work within a team environment. Because 1 person can sour the entire group of your employees. Why not test CEO's
first they are after all the leader in the company structure,but, most Board of Directors would be so chicken sh^*t to do so.
Regarding the comment how yes, we have sound employees
but they offer no creativity or actual ideas. I see many companies like that but unfortunately the bosses on top are too insecure to ever let a creative, resourceful great resource of a person, be hired in the first place. And that is why gentlemen, our American business is in the state of confusion, running far behind their foreign competitors and lacks growth and development of the very small kind.

Miss M of CA 1:46PM June 23, 2009

I never met anyone who was really, uniquely creative who wasn't at least a little off-kilter. Qualified, decent, hardworking people, sure - but you gotta be a little nuts to hit that next level of creativity.
Of course, if every shrink looked for someone a little "off", people would just make it a point to wear different colored socks to the interview.
Which would be completely unfair to those of us who are socks-challenged.

Rich of CO 4:23PM June 22, 2009

We have had great candidates just simply state that the job is obviously not for them if there has to be a psychologist to interview everyone. Unfortunately, our competition, which is killing us in the marketplace, hired them and their talent. For us, we did hire totally psychologially sound people that were bottom rung and had no actual ideas or talents..... We expect our company to declare bankruptcy in a couple of months.

Jack Rabbit of PA 2:20PM June 22, 2009

You do not have to be a Psychologist to know within the first few minutes if the potential candidate is a good fit or not. If you need a psychologist to do this for you, you should find a career more geared toward your abilities!!

Michelle of OH 1:38PM June 19, 2009

As grad student in I/O psychology it is good to see that our work is recognized in article like this as valuable for the organizations and the individuals that work in it. Hope this kind of publications encourage people, either in business or not, to learn more about our field. As others have said, SIOP web site is an excellent resource.

Israel Sanchez-Cardona 8:04PM June 18, 2009

Great article. My take is that two important things have changed for the better since I was subjected to psychological screening in the late 60s and early 70s. First, there seems to be less use of the standardized test as a final decider. It seems there are more psychologists getting involved in interpretation. Second, the HR folks out there today are much more sophisticated than the ones in my early days in business. Their knowledge of the psychology, job requirements and legal and regulatory issues make them solid partners.

Wally Bock of NC 5:04PM June 18, 2009

As a fellow psychologist, it is true that in the first few minutes of interviewing someone, you have a feel of whether they are a fit or not for the position. There are the select few individuals that are fantastic actors and can fool even the best. Interviewing and testing need to be able to weed out this unique group.

Susan Mejia of MI 10:17AM June 18, 2009

Ben is right. The SIOP web-site has some great information. There's a webinar about careers in I/O psychology posted there; that would be a great place to start: http://www.siop.org/webinar.aspx.

Anna Erickson of MN 7:36AM June 18, 2009

In response to Kailla's comment, industrial/organizational psychology is a fascinating field with a wide range of career options. To learn more, I recommend checking out the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology's Web site: http://www.siop.org.

Ben Baran of NC 5:38AM June 18, 2009