Shauna Moerke is…

Let me just say, getting caught cheating is so not going to get you the job. My company runs applicants through pre-employment testing, both at the non-exempt and exempt levels, though the tests are different. They aren’t hard tests per se, but because you are timed they can be challenging. We don’t set the bar high, 25th percentile or better, and yet I still have people fail half the time. It can be discouraging when you come across a good applicant who can’t pass, but I think the tests are valuable and useful to have.

Most of the time, the testing is uneventful, people pass or don’t, and with only a few exceptions, if people don’t pass they take it well even though they are disappointed. So imagine my level of grumpiness when I began to suspect an applicant of cheating on the math test. Luckily, he didn’t cheat well, especially if I noticed it. Even with the cheating he did not score high enough, so I was spared the hassle of trying to figure out what to do about my suspicions, but I was not happy. I can understand wanting to get a job, but where is your integrity? What other bad things do you consider acceptable? I mean really, if you are going to cheat at least don’t get caught! (Kidding! I’m totally kidding! Please, please do not cheat.)

I know in a business climate of Enrons and such, some people think it’s okay to do anything to get ahead. But job performance correlates quite high with integrity (.4 or something if I remember correctly) so don’t be lazy and dishonest. You’ll be found out eventually anyway.

Speaking of pre-employment testing though, while I wait for applicants between each test portion, I sometimes go out to the Freerice.com website. Not only is it fun and addictive, I improve my vocabulary and help donate food through the United Nations World Food Program. The time between each test is too short to get work done anyway, or at least that’s what I tell myself. 🙂 It’s fun and for charity so if you haven’t been out there yet do so! I’ve hit the vocab level of 43 and I keep getting better so try to beat my score!