Back in time
by Douglas E. Welch
June 4, 1999
In the old days (which in the computer world means 5-6 years ago)
the main information an employer requested from you was your resume
and an interview. Today it seems that employers want to know more
and more about you from further and further in your past. I find
this a disturbing trend; one that threatens to make every minor
indiscretion of college and high school impact our ability to
be employed as adults.
Testing for success?
In a recent article in Businessweek magazine (Nailed to the boards
again, May 24, 1999, p6) I came across the claim that many companies
are now requesting SAT scores from their applicants in an effort
to divine information about who might be best suited for a particular
job. It seems odd to me that employers would be searching for
information in a standardized test that was taken before a person's
higher education had even been started, let alone completed.
SAT scores have faced a growing battle from a wide variety of
groups who complain that the testing discriminates against many
types of people who are outside the "traditional" education structure.
It seems even more odd that employers would be increasing the
use of SAT scores when the tests themselves are coming under attack.
While my own SAT scores were high enough to get me into college
I am certainly more knowledgeable and more responsible today than
my SAT scores might have indicated 17 years ago. It is true that
someone of my age probably wouldn't be asked for these scores
today (even if I could find them), but even recent college graduates
might find that they have changed in ways that aren't reflected
in their college entrance scores. College is the time when we
begin to develop our adult sensibilities and personalities. We
are often quite different people when we complete the rigors of
a college degree. This makes me question the validity of using
such results as an indicator of more than the quality of your
high school education. Once again it seems that we are looking
for the easy way out and hoping to find it in some scientific
metric with questionable usefulness.
Your permanent record
The impact of using SAT scores could be wide ranging if more and
more companies begin relying on them. Will your lack of interest
or engagement in high school haunt you for the rest of your life?
Current information is always the most useful. It seems ludicrous
that employers would make important decisions based on data that
is at least 4 years old, if not older. While I am sure that employers
don't rely solely on SAT scores, their use at all makes me suspicious
of the entire hiring process. What is next; interviews of your
elementary and high school friends to see if you exhibited any
anti-social behavior in second grade? Sometimes we need to take
policies to their most ludicrous end to see how flawed they are.
A growing trend
I believe the use of SAT scores is just another extension of the
current certification trend in high tech careers. Companies are
looking for some foolproof metric that will tell them when a candidate
fits into their organization and has the seeming guarantee of
being the perfect employee. Unfortunately, this utopian world
doesn't exist. There are too many variables in both people and
companies to allow for such a simplistic response. Companies need
to remember that we are effected by our surroundings. The perfect
employee can be quickly destroyed by a bad work environment and
a bad employee can ruin a good work environment. Employment is
an on-going relationship and requires constant adjustment on all
sides.
CNE's, MSCE's and other certifications can be just as damaging
if used in improper ways. While they can be an indicator of what
people know, they show little about the employees personality,
troubleshooting skills, people skills or overall work ethics.
Relying on any one certification, test score or other indictor
is foolhardy for everyone involved. The next time someone asks
you for a particular piece of information be sure to ask them
what other factors they are taking into account. You owe it to
yourself to make sure they see a balanced picture and not just
a series of numbers to be typed into a spreadsheet. Life is too
complex to be boiled down to 1, 2 or even 100 indicators. It is
an intimate dance where every dancer's move effects the others
in ways that are so complex as to be unknowable.
Douglas E. Welch is a freelance writer and computer consultant
in Van Nuys, California. Readers can discuss career issues with
other readers by joining the Career Opportunities Discussion on
Douglas' web page at: http://www.welchwrite.com/
He can reached via email at douglas@welchwrite.com |
