What's on Your Mind? Employment Tests, Value of CFA

This week's comments include an anecdote about failing an employer's psychological test, and a fresh thrust in the CFA wars.

More Candidates Face Psychological Testing

J. Anonymous, who works in accounting, relates his experience of being disqualified for a position due to, he believes, his answer to a test question. "What criteria do these companies use to grade these tests?" he writes, echoing comments by other readers. "No communication (is) given to the candidate on how (you) did based on the choices you made on their test. Is this really a fair tool to be judging candidates? Are employers really getting a true picture of a candidate?"

It's certainly frustrating to walk away feeling you "failed" an employment test and never learn why. But the reason might not be as unattainable as you think. Although employers almost never tell rejected candidates where they went wrong, many testing companies work for both candidates and employers. So, the firm that administered the test might be willing to discuss your results with you. Be prepared to pay a fee for this. (Hey, nobody said job-hunting was cheap.)

Add your two cents here.

Assessing the Value of the CFA Charter

Just when we thought the months-long catfight over those sexy three letters had died down, Observer, who works in investment banking, wrote in saying, "The CFA still has the respect it always had....If you check most online job postings for any type of trading or research role they are looking for either an MBA or CFA... For everyone who expressed that MBA's hire CFA's to do their dirty work, a trader needs a CFA designation (but he might make 2 mil in bonuses) while his manager (the MBA) gets his salary of 100k."

Add your comments here. Want more red meat? See the results of this year's CFA compensation survey.

Or, see all of our debates by clicking here.