求職路上的新關卡：奇怪的人工智能性格測試
Chloe Berger
2024-03-02
Paradox測試中的一張幻燈片。圖片來源：CHLOE BERGER; SCREENHOT
納美版的西格妮·韋弗（電影《阿凡達》系列中一位女配角——譯注）要讓位了：現在有更出名的藍色形象。如果求職者申請幾家大公司，可能就會發現類似沃爾瑪（Walmart）版迪士尼（Disney）寬眼動畫的藍色形象，這并不是公司的吉祥物；而是入職測試的一部分。
幾家大公司的招聘過程中，藍色形象會出現在漫長又混亂的性格測試里。很多求職者感覺藍色形象不僅奇怪，還有點侮辱人。
藍色形象由Paradox.ai提供，該公司的客戶包括多家數十億美元的大公司，比如麥當勞（McDonald’s）、Wendy’s、Citizens等。值得注意的是，并非Paradox.ai的每家客戶都采用了人格測試，Citizens、3M和CVS Health的多位發言人都證實了這一點。不過人們還是在社交媒體上表示疑惑，既然不少公司都聲稱人員短缺，那么為什么要給求職者設置額外障礙，而且還是冗長又奇怪的性格測試。
“現在去Olive Garden（一家美國休閑連鎖餐廳,專門提供意大利美式菜肴——譯注）應聘洗碗工還得做一家人工智能公司的性格測試，測試中要對60多張與藍色外星人艾什（Ash）相關的幻燈片做出反應。”埃瑪努奧爾·邁貝格發推文稱，他在404 Media一篇更詳細的文章中首次提到該測試。
員工和求職者原本就對工作狀態感到緊張悲觀，再碰上這種測試感覺就像壓死駱駝的最后一根稻草。盡管經濟學家們堅稱當前的就業市場偏緊張，但如今的招聘流程比過去更長也更麻煩，部分原因就是不相關的測驗和面試。根據Josh Bersin公司和AMS的數據，2023年招聘員工的平均時間達到了44天的歷史新高。
Workplace Intelligence的管理合伙人丹·肖貝爾將當前的情況與2008年經濟衰退后的就業市場進行了比較。
申請Olive Garden工作漫長而曲折的藍色道路
如果有人去Olive Garden求職，映入眼簾就是名叫奧利維亞的人工智能聊天機器人（名字與Paradox創始人的未婚妻相同，也使用了其肖像）。
在回答幾個篩選問題后，求職者會看到性格評估彈出窗口，還有奇怪的藍色機器人形象。性格測試說明稱“不存在正確的答案”，但要求看圖片回答問題，根據藍色機器人的描述與自己行為或感受是否符合選擇“是”或者“不是”。面試中有一堆類似幻燈片，其中藍色機器人描述各種場景，例如其他人沒有動手之前拿比薩，或者從事藝術活動等等。面試最后，人工智能系統列舉出求職者的五個主要性格特征。不少人在邁貝格的推文下發表評論，討論性格測試的反烏托邦感覺。有些人建議考試中不要誠實回答，因為可能會影響評估結果。
整個流程主要看求職者的態度是愿意當一顆螺絲釘，還是憤怒反對。公司經常篩掉性格不符合要求的申請人，“因為公司不希望招聘的新員工尋求改變，最希望新人能夠保持現狀?！毙へ悹栒f。
Traitify by Paradox（人格測試的官方名稱）的首席IO心理學家希瑟·邁爾斯告訴《財富》雜志，人格測試不到兩分鐘就可以完成，還聲稱該公司測試的競爭力水平“明顯高于”其他評估，Paradox客戶公司的人員流轉率減少了25%。邁爾斯表示，Paradox的目標是“簡化招聘流程，為求職者減少阻礙”，雖然自動化并不意味著徹底拋棄人力決策過程，但能夠幫助消解困境，打造更高效的工作系統。
不過，Paradox努力降低雇主不滿的同時，激起了員工的不滿，恰好對應公司的名字——“矛盾”（該公司名Paradox直譯即為矛盾——譯注）。肖貝爾稱，該測試只是篩選求職者的一種方式。他補充道，測試可以通過“讓個人經歷挑戰”來了解誰真正想要這份工作，還解釋說該過程“會淘汰很多人”。
“Paradox之所以誕生，完全因為我們自己也很不滿意找工作的經歷?！盤aradox的總裁兼首席產品官亞當·戈德森表示?！八裕覀兎浅＠斫馇舐氄叩目捶?。”他補充道，很多公司招聘過程中存在太多的摩擦和障礙，而我們可以消除障礙和沖突。
但是，如果勞資關系當中有一方非常不滿，顯然是出了問題?！澳繕耸亲尮椭骱蛦T工都滿意整個招聘流程?！毙へ悹柋硎??！叭绻粚σ环接欣褪怯袉栴}的匹配系統，或者有問題的招聘系統。”他補充道，流程冗長會造成更強烈的挫折感，因為精疲力竭的員工等待幫助期間壓力過大。
員工短缺還是雇主挑剔？
盡管Paradox一再強調本意，但性格測試卻似乎引起了人們偏負面的共鳴。
一位求職聯邦快遞（FedEx）的軟件工程師在Reddit上發布了Paradox“奇怪性格測試”的截圖，表示“這種事明顯帶有偏見”，之后在平臺迅速傳播。這位求職者表示已經撤回申請，認為測試結果稱自己還有進步空間的說法不夠準確。
另一位用戶發布了Olive Garden相同的入職測試。“老大，我只想當洗碗工。”他說。評論區里有人斷言：“只說個人觀點，但企業把標準定得這么高，似乎沒有人能夠符合標準，以后再也招不到人了。”
事實上，公司增加性格測試“有自己的原因，主要是因為沒有什么影響。”肖貝爾說。他解釋道，即便企業喊著人手不夠狼來了，求職者人數還是足夠企業篩選。這意味著無論是白領還是藍領，申請流程都越發漫長而且令人疲憊。這并非沒有后果。他引用過往研究補充道，體驗不佳的求職者很有可能不愿意再申請，轉而去社交媒體抱怨，個人生活中也會避開該公司。
過去幾年里，零售和酒店業（Paradox在該行業擁有多家客戶）公司一直抱怨員工不夠。大辭職潮（Great Resignation）期間，不少員工選擇離職，尋找工作壓力更小、薪水更高的機會。
但是，抱怨很難招聘也很難留住員工的公司并未對求職者更友好，連薪水都沒有競爭力，招聘還設置了一系列問題、測試和面試。美國消費者新聞與商業頻道（CNBC）Make It的專家稱，面試過程總體上變得更長。至于招聘經理，“也許太挑剔了。只是他們自己不覺得?！毙へ悹栒f。
Olive Garden方面表示，這只是流程的一部分。“這是本餐廳領導者評估求職者，確保由合適的人擔任合適崗位的方式之一，有利于團隊成員取得成功為顧客提供良好的體驗?！監live Garden母公司達登餐飲集團（Darden Restaurants）的發言人向《財富》雜志提供的聲明稱。
盡管如此，身心俱疲的求職者還是會因為被迫假裝想去某公司工作而有點憤怒，也可以理解?！坝行┤丝赡懿恢?，現在找任何工作都是地獄難度，這就是為什么有一半美國人（包括我）付房租都困難。”有人在推特（Twitter）上引用邁貝格的帖子說。
“我認為勞動力市場很快就會瀕臨崩潰。招聘方完全走偏，人們又疲累不堪。”推特上的一位用戶聲稱。美國人一邊對工作心灰意冷，一邊看著漫長的就業市場?？傊?，各種性格測試讓人們感到，嗯……滿心沮喪。（財富中文網）
譯者：梁宇
審校：夏林
納美版的西格妮·韋弗（電影《阿凡達》系列中一位女配角——譯注）要讓位了：現在有更出名的藍色形象。如果求職者申請幾家大公司，可能就會發現類似沃爾瑪（Walmart）版迪士尼（Disney）寬眼動畫的藍色形象，這并不是公司的吉祥物；而是入職測試的一部分。
幾家大公司的招聘過程中，藍色形象會出現在漫長又混亂的性格測試里。很多求職者感覺藍色形象不僅奇怪，還有點侮辱人。
藍色形象由Paradox.ai提供，該公司的客戶包括多家數十億美元的大公司，比如麥當勞（McDonald’s）、Wendy’s、Citizens等。值得注意的是，并非Paradox.ai的每家客戶都采用了人格測試，Citizens、3M和CVS Health的多位發言人都證實了這一點。不過人們還是在社交媒體上表示疑惑，既然不少公司都聲稱人員短缺，那么為什么要給求職者設置額外障礙，而且還是冗長又奇怪的性格測試。
“現在去Olive Garden（一家美國休閑連鎖餐廳,專門提供意大利美式菜肴——譯注）應聘洗碗工還得做一家人工智能公司的性格測試，測試中要對60多張與藍色外星人艾什（Ash）相關的幻燈片做出反應。”?，斉瑠W爾·邁貝格發推文稱，他在404 Media一篇更詳細的文章中首次提到該測試。
員工和求職者原本就對工作狀態感到緊張悲觀，再碰上這種測試感覺就像壓死駱駝的最后一根稻草。盡管經濟學家們堅稱當前的就業市場偏緊張，但如今的招聘流程比過去更長也更麻煩，部分原因就是不相關的測驗和面試。根據Josh Bersin公司和AMS的數據，2023年招聘員工的平均時間達到了44天的歷史新高。
Workplace Intelligence的管理合伙人丹·肖貝爾將當前的情況與2008年經濟衰退后的就業市場進行了比較。
申請Olive Garden工作漫長而曲折的藍色道路
如果有人去Olive Garden求職，映入眼簾就是名叫奧利維亞的人工智能聊天機器人（名字與Paradox創始人的未婚妻相同，也使用了其肖像）。
在回答幾個篩選問題后，求職者會看到性格評估彈出窗口，還有奇怪的藍色機器人形象。性格測試說明稱“不存在正確的答案”，但要求看圖片回答問題，根據藍色機器人的描述與自己行為或感受是否符合選擇“是”或者“不是”。面試中有一堆類似幻燈片，其中藍色機器人描述各種場景，例如其他人沒有動手之前拿比薩，或者從事藝術活動等等。面試最后，人工智能系統列舉出求職者的五個主要性格特征。不少人在邁貝格的推文下發表評論，討論性格測試的反烏托邦感覺。有些人建議考試中不要誠實回答，因為可能會影響評估結果。
整個流程主要看求職者的態度是愿意當一顆螺絲釘，還是憤怒反對。公司經常篩掉性格不符合要求的申請人，“因為公司不希望招聘的新員工尋求改變，最希望新人能夠保持現狀。”肖貝爾說。
Traitify by Paradox（人格測試的官方名稱）的首席IO心理學家希瑟·邁爾斯告訴《財富》雜志，人格測試不到兩分鐘就可以完成，還聲稱該公司測試的競爭力水平“明顯高于”其他評估，Paradox客戶公司的人員流轉率減少了25%。邁爾斯表示，Paradox的目標是“簡化招聘流程，為求職者減少阻礙”，雖然自動化并不意味著徹底拋棄人力決策過程，但能夠幫助消解困境，打造更高效的工作系統。
不過，Paradox努力降低雇主不滿的同時，激起了員工的不滿，恰好對應公司的名字——“矛盾”（該公司名Paradox直譯即為矛盾——譯注）。肖貝爾稱，該測試只是篩選求職者的一種方式。他補充道，測試可以通過“讓個人經歷挑戰”來了解誰真正想要這份工作，還解釋說該過程“會淘汰很多人”。
“Paradox之所以誕生，完全因為我們自己也很不滿意找工作的經歷。”Paradox的總裁兼首席產品官亞當·戈德森表示?！八?，我們非常理解求職者的看法?！彼a充道，很多公司招聘過程中存在太多的摩擦和障礙，而我們可以消除障礙和沖突。
但是，如果勞資關系當中有一方非常不滿，顯然是出了問題?！澳繕耸亲尮椭骱蛦T工都滿意整個招聘流程?！毙へ悹柋硎尽！叭绻粚σ环接欣褪怯袉栴}的匹配系統，或者有問題的招聘系統?！彼a充道，流程冗長會造成更強烈的挫折感，因為精疲力竭的員工等待幫助期間壓力過大。
員工短缺還是雇主挑剔？
盡管Paradox一再強調本意，但性格測試卻似乎引起了人們偏負面的共鳴。
一位求職聯邦快遞（FedEx）的軟件工程師在Reddit上發布了Paradox“奇怪性格測試”的截圖，表示“這種事明顯帶有偏見”，之后在平臺迅速傳播。這位求職者表示已經撤回申請，認為測試結果稱自己還有進步空間的說法不夠準確。
另一位用戶發布了Olive Garden相同的入職測試?！袄洗螅抑幌氘斚赐牍??！彼f。評論區里有人斷言：“只說個人觀點，但企業把標準定得這么高，似乎沒有人能夠符合標準，以后再也招不到人了?！?/p>
事實上，公司增加性格測試“有自己的原因，主要是因為沒有什么影響?！毙へ悹栒f。他解釋道，即便企業喊著人手不夠狼來了，求職者人數還是足夠企業篩選。這意味著無論是白領還是藍領，申請流程都越發漫長而且令人疲憊。這并非沒有后果。他引用過往研究補充道，體驗不佳的求職者很有可能不愿意再申請，轉而去社交媒體抱怨，個人生活中也會避開該公司。
過去幾年里，零售和酒店業（Paradox在該行業擁有多家客戶）公司一直抱怨員工不夠。大辭職潮（Great Resignation）期間，不少員工選擇離職，尋找工作壓力更小、薪水更高的機會。
但是，抱怨很難招聘也很難留住員工的公司并未對求職者更友好，連薪水都沒有競爭力，招聘還設置了一系列問題、測試和面試。美國消費者新聞與商業頻道（CNBC）Make It的專家稱，面試過程總體上變得更長。至于招聘經理，“也許太挑剔了。只是他們自己不覺得?！毙へ悹栒f。
Olive Garden方面表示，這只是流程的一部分。“這是本餐廳領導者評估求職者，確保由合適的人擔任合適崗位的方式之一，有利于團隊成員取得成功為顧客提供良好的體驗?！監live Garden母公司達登餐飲集團（Darden Restaurants）的發言人向《財富》雜志提供的聲明稱。
盡管如此，身心俱疲的求職者還是會因為被迫假裝想去某公司工作而有點憤怒，也可以理解?！坝行┤丝赡懿恢?，現在找任何工作都是地獄難度，這就是為什么有一半美國人（包括我）付房租都困難。”有人在推特（Twitter）上引用邁貝格的帖子說。
“我認為勞動力市場很快就會瀕臨崩潰。招聘方完全走偏，人們又疲累不堪。”推特上的一位用戶聲稱。美國人一邊對工作心灰意冷，一邊看著漫長的就業市場?？傊鞣N性格測試讓人們感到，嗯……滿心沮喪。（財富中文網）
譯者：梁宇
審校：夏林
Step aside, Na’vi version of Sigourney Weaver: A new blue avatar is becoming famous. If you apply to one of several large corporations today, you might see a blue guy that looks like the Walmart version of Disney’s wide-eyed style of animation. No, it’s not a company mascot; it’s actually part of your evaluation.
The blue avatars are part of a long and confusing personality quiz in the hiring process at a handful of big companies. Many applicants find their presence not only bizarre, but also a bit insulting.
The blue people are courtesy of Paradox.ai, which boasts several billion-dollar companies as clients, including McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Citizens, and more. It’s worth noting that not all of the clients of Paradox.ai use the personality test feature, as different spokespeople from Citizens, 3M, and CVS Health all confirm. Still, many have taken to social media to express their confusion as to why this extra hoop—a long, bizarre personality test—is being placed in front of applicants considering many of these same companies claim to suffer a staffing shortage.
“Getting a dishwashing job at Olive Garden now requires a personality test from an AI company where you respond to more than 60 slides featuring a blue alien called Ash,” tweets Emanual Maiberg, who first reported on said quiz in a larger piece for 404 Media.
Already strung out and cynical about the state of work, employees and job applicants found these types of assessments to be the final nail in the coffin. Although economists maintain that we’re in a tight job market, the hunt is longer and trickier than it used to be in part because of extraneous quizzes and interviews. Just last year, the average time it took to hire an employee reached a record high of 44 days, per Josh Bersin Company and AMS.
“Companies are quick to fire and then are very slow to hire,” says Dan Schawbel, managing partner at Workplace Intelligence, comparing the current situation to the job market coming out of the 2008 recession.
The long, winding, blue road to an Olive Garden job
Let’s say you decide to apply for a job at Olive Garden. One of the first things you’ll see is an A.I. chatbot named Olivia (named after, and using the likeness of, the Paradox’s founder’s fiancée).
After answering a couple of screening questions, you’ll get a pop-up for the personality assessment, illustrated with weird blue humanoids. The personality quiz itself will tell you there’s “not one right answer,” but to look at the picture and either click “me” or “not me” if the depiction of the blue avatar describes how you might act, or feel. You’ll see a bunch of slides like this, featuring the blue avatars in situations like grabbing pizza before others partake, or engaging in artistic endeavors. The process culminates with the AI system telling you your Big 5 personality traits. Many have commented on Maiberg’s tweet to discuss how dystopian these tests feel. Some suggest not being honest on the tests, as answers can be used against you.
Part of the whole process is seeing if you’ll be a willing cog in the machine or rage against it. Companies often shirk applicants that aren’t personality fits “because they don’t want this person that they’re hiring to shake things up. They really want someone to fall in line with the status quo,” says Schawbel.
Dr. Heather Myers, chief IO psychologist at Traitify by Paradox (the official name of the personality test), tells Fortune the personality test can be done in under two minutes, claiming the competition rates for their tests are “significantly higher” than other assessments and that turnover has decreased by up to 25% for Paradox’s clients. Myers says Paradox’s goal is to “simplify the hiring process and remove friction for job applicants,” and that while it’s not meant to eliminate a company’s human decision-making process, automation can help neutralize dead ends and create a more efficient job system.
But in attempting to alleviate employers’ frustration, Paradox is stirring employee frustration—it’s a bit of a paradox, if you will. The test is a way to filter out applicants, according to Schawbel. Adding that it’s a way of seeing who really wants the gig by “put[ting] individuals through the gauntlet,” he explains it “weeds out a lot of people.”
“Paradox was created entirely because we were frustrated by the experience of finding and getting jobs, too,” Adam Godson, Paradox’s president and chief product officer says. “So, we fully appreciate the job seeker perspective.” He added that there’s been too much friction and obstacles in the hiring process at many companies, and that Traitify is a way to take out those obstacles and conflict.
But if one side of the relationship is this irritated, obviously something is wrong. “The goal is, how do we make the entire hiring process good for employers and employees,” says Schawbel. “And if it’s only good for one party, then it’s a broken matchmaking system, or broken hiring system.” He adds that a long process creates more frustration, as burnt out employees are overburdened while they wait for help.
Worker shortage or picky employers?
Despite Paradox’s asserted intentions, the personality tests seem to have struck a chord with people, and not in a good way.
A prospective software engineer for FedEx went viral after posting screenshots of Paradox’s “bizarre personality test” to Reddit, voicing their frustration about “how blatantly prejudicial this type of thing is.” The applicant said they withdrew their application, having felt unrepresented by the results and areas of the test saying they had room to grow.
Another user posted about the same test that Olive Garden gave them. “Man I just want a dishwasher job,” they said. Someone in the comment section asserted, “this is just my opinion, but companies cant [sic] find anyone to hire anymore because they have set their standards so stupidly high that no one seems worth while.”
Indeed, companies are adding these personality tests “for a reason, because they can get away with it,” says Schawbel, explaining that, even if they cry hiring shortage wolf, they are getting enough qualified applicants to want to filter some out. It means that both within the white-collar and blue collar fields, application processes are feeling increasingly long and tiring. And that doesn’t come without consequences. These candidates who have a bad experience are also more likely to be deterred from applying again to the company, to complain about it on social media, and also avoid said company for services in their personal lives, he adds, pointing to past research and studies.
Over the last couple of years, companies in the retail and hospitality sectors (the sectors in which Paradox has many clients) have complained of staffing issues. During The Great Resignation, many workers left their jobs to find opportunities with less stressful working conditions and greater pay.
But the companies complaining it’s hard to hire and retain right now aren’t making applicants’ lives any easier as they deliver a slew of questions, quizzes, and interviews for jobs that don’t even offer competitive wages. Interview processes have gotten longer in general, according to experts from CNBC Make It. As for the hiring managers, “maybe they’re being too picky. But they don’t think they are,” Schawbel says.
It’s just part of the process, if you ask Olive Garden. “This is one of many ways our restaurant leaders assess candidates to ensure they have the right people in the right roles — which sets our team members up for success and provides great guest experiences,” a spokesperson for Darden Restaurants, which owns Olive Garden, said in a statement to Fortune.
Still, tired job applicants are understandably feeling a bit bristled by having to take the time to pretend to want to work somewhere. “Just in case you’re wondering, it’s absolute hell trying to get jobs of any kind out here, and that’s why half of America is struggling to pay rent (including me),” one person said, quote-tweeting Maiberg’s post.
“I think we’re going to reach a breaking point in labor soon. employers have gone completely off the rails and people are exhausted,” a Twitter user claimed. Americans are feeling disenchanted by their jobs and staring down the barrel of a long job market, these personality tests are all enough to leave us feeling, well … blue.
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