To be weirded out by this candidate's personality test

[salsamillion]

I'll keep things vague for reasons of obvious confidentiality. I'm recruiting a senior manager for a role in a large company. The post includes line management of around 10 staff as well as some direct customer facing responsibility. We are through to final (third) interview this week and one candidate has included a personality test they completed at their current employer. It shows them to be organised, target focussed etc, all good. BUT it also shows them to have unusually low levels of altruism.
Does anyone know what that actually means? I've contacted the company who did the test and they refuse to comment on individual cases without their written consent, which I don't want to do at this stage.
So what does it mean in real terms? Are they likely to be a sociopathic serial killer?

GPs write and publish books all the time under pseudonyms about how annoying their patients are. I've read several. They're very entertaining. Was James Herriott unprofessional?

Absolute nonsense. I'm not breaching any contract, implied or otherwise, I have no duty of care, no hypocratic oath, and I'm not in an implied position of authority over the candidate. They've applied for a job and submitted information to the company not to me personally, and im not in any medical capacity.

Your analogy is completely silly.

Exactly, Jessie. And Kawliga, I haven't described the candidate as annoying or stupid. I've (and I'm bloody repeating myself) how a person with low altruism might present. But Kawlinga you seemed to have backed yourself into some odd corner where you're determined to imagine some offense. Bizarre.

And as for your hilariously school-ma'am "way you've behaved on this thread" you have no idea what my profession is. I could be an arms dealing pimp, or run a charity for thumped kittens, but you've no idea, so you also have no idea of what my professionalism should be.

OP, you're still rumbling on convinced that you're right. Others think that you aren't. Regardless, the following are facts:

1. You don't have the knowledge to interpret the test
2. You're asking other people who also have no knowledge of this test
3. You have google at your disposal and umpteen dictionaries that will give you the definition; any interpretation of this by others is pure surmise.

You say that you're a senior manager. I agree with MistressDeeCee that you lose credibility for your crass 'joke' but not only that, the fact that you don't appear to be able to marry up the requirements of the role with the application and come to your own conclusions without a forum consensus. It's a pretty widely assumed notion that a senior manager ought to be able to take this in their stride.

Horses for courses.

I'm not sure OP was seeking an endorsement of her credibility from Mumsnet! This wasn't Linked In last time I looked.

No, she just wanted to know if she was BU to be 'weirded out' by a candidate's personality test...

I'm 'weirded out' that a senior manager can't think for themselves without running something so niche/HR-focused, via a forum.

This has all the potential of a hamster-wheel with no end in sight. Some agree with OP, some do not.

... and as another poster said up-thread, this would have been different as a hypothetical question, phrased differently. I think the responses would have been very different and OP might have got more insight from her question.

As it is, anytime that a professional posts here asking questions that a) if they're in the field they ought to be able to find out from legitimate sources, and b) display their own lack of knowledge yet they seek it from a chatboard, makes my skin itch. It's really unprofessional and shows a lack of awareness of bounds. That is just my opinion but it also makes me think that whatever level the person holds, it's not the right one for them. It's not just the OP here, it's anybody who thinks a social chatboard is the right venue for this.

Three interviews, and you still don't know whether to employ this person. Wow.
Does your business make a profit?

Lyingwitchinthewardrobe just to clarify (again)

1. You don't have the knowledge to interpret the test never disputed this. I asked about low altruism and outlined why I was asking.

1. You're asking other people who also have no knowledge of this test the test is irrelevant. I asked about low altruism.

1. You have google at your disposal and umpteen dictionaries that will give you the definition; any interpretation of this by others is pure surmise. theres very little written about how low altruism presents, which is why I started the thread.

Redbindippers101 what a pointless dig! I didn't ask whether we should employ them! And three interviews isn't unheard of for middle/senior grade posts. It's a large company, not a coffee shop!

Low levels of altruism...Is that not just another way of say "I'm a selfish, self serving, self centred bastard"?

I reckon, breezy - at least when the profile said unusually low level of altruism.

I certainly do have an opinion, with a couple of theories thrown in for good measure, about the type of character who is likely to present this assessment as part of their 'brag' file. I'd tend to assume they don't even realise most normal people view altruism as a positive and, further, that they themselves see it as a weakness.

I haven't met the candidate or done due diligence on them, however, so mine's just an unprofessional opinion for anyone who wants it.

I'm still inclined to view it in the light of "when someone tells you who they are ..."

It would be informing my next conversation with the candidate, certainly.

Well, a fair few posters on this thread think YABU, which is what you came on AIBU to discover.

YABVVVU to ask this question and to joke about a job candidate being a serial killer. It is unreasonable to make jokes online about this person's job application.

Pmsl at all the indignation here! Fgs, OP hasn't breached any confidentiality.

:massive eye roll:

A lot of selfish people do well in business. If they care about the business as well as themselves they will do well. So it depends on his other skills.

Not getting the 'confidentiality' here. You should never say anything in an interview that you don't expect the whole company to get to know.

Is there some kind of implied belief that interviews are confidential - I have never assumed so - with the possible exception of previous salaries etc.

The whole world does not necessarily work to some huge public sector rule book.

It's not breaching confidentiality but what would you say to your superiors if the candidate stumbles across this thread, recognises themselves (can there be that many people who applied for a managerial role recently who included a test with those scores?), and mentions it to your seniors? Would you be happy to tell them you asked for advice on Mumsnet?

It's unlikely but not impossible.

I post questions on a website aimed at my profession all the time. Identifying factors are removed - but if you actually knew who I was - and worked where I do - you could possibly work backwards and realise what I was asking.

That's fairly common in a lot of professions I expect.

Even if I was the candidate - nothing has been revealed about who I am as a person.

I'm constantly astonished by the levels of sanctimony on MN.

No idea re altruism in personality test terms (I think they are all bollocks tbh), though id certainly be concerned that the person thought it was something to brag about!

I'd say that the candidate is likely to blame others for a mistake that he/she did and has no qualms about shoving someone under a bus to further themselves a bit like my old boss

I agree Zoe. I think it has got worse recently too.

Redbin you are displaying a huge amount of ignorance if you think multiple interviews are unusual in certain professions, what a nasty little post.

I'm repeat myself in an attempt to answer the OP's original question-
OP, was this a CCR3 profile?