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I worked with someone who told me about a hiring strategy he encountered at a former employer. HR came across some study that showed that people with high IQs
by techiferous 16y ago
I worked with someone who told me about a hiring strategy he encountered at a former employer. HR came across some study that showed that people with high IQs were the most likely to have personnel issues (or didn't work as well on a team, or something like that). So they decided to avoid these personnel problems by giving job candidates IQ tests and only hiring those with IQs that weren't above the company's mean IQ. I kid you not.
- megablast 16y agoWas this the Police Force. They regularly reject people who are too smart, because they would get bored in the job.
- techiferous 16y agoNo, I think it was in the health care industry, but I'm not sure.
- jeffcoat 16y agoI've heard this story, but I can't find any evidence for "regularly". (I'm also not sure what form such evidence would take.) The highest profile case I can find is of Robert Jordan, of New London, CT, who sued for discrimination because his job application was rejected for scoring too high [sic] on the IQ test. (He lost.) (http://www.nytimes.com/1999/09/09/nyregion/metro-news-briefs-connecticut-judge-rules-that-police-can-bar-high-iq-scores.html http://www.nytimes.com/1999/09/09/nyregion/metro-news-briefs...) It appeals to my own personal prejudices, but it was also 10+ years ago.
- techiferous 16y agoFrom the article: "I was eliminated on the basis of my intellectual makeup," he said. "It's the same as discrimination on the basis of gender or religion or race." If he got what he was asking for, employers would not be able to reject job applicants that were not intelligent enough for the job.