JASPER

A friend of mine sent me a link to an "assessment" that Monster is using (through MyMonster) called JASPER--Job Assets and Strengths Profiler. According to the website:

"Based on over 60 years of research, this fun and enlightening test will uncover your job strengths and preferences and help you use them to your advantage.
- Discover your work and leadership style
- Gain confidence in your job related skills
- Enhance your ability to work with others
- Improve your resume, job search and more."

The assessment was developed by Tickle, which appears to be one of these outfits that has a number of "pop" tests of questionable validity, some of which apparently are "PhD-Certified" (whatever that means).

Anyway, it does appear some work went into the development of this test (including factor analysis of survey results, which apparently gives the test "content validity, face validity, and reliability"!), although it looks to be a perfect example of a-theoretical test development. From Tickle's website:

"Led by a team of Ph.D. behavioral scientists, the research team determined which psychological and career concepts were supported by research and would also provide test takers and employers with the most accurate, useful, and in-depth feedback. The team turned to general career research as well as referenced tests such as the Self-Directed Search (SDS), the Strong Interest Inventory, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), and Campbell's Interest and Career Survey (CISS). "

To their credit, they aren't claiming the assessment is the be-all and end-all:

"JASPER does not have what is called predictive validity, meaning that this test doesn't claim to predict one's future success. Rather, its purpose is to accurately assess the test taker's strengths as it relates to the work environment. "

So why am I even talking about this? Two reasons. First, Monster, one of the most trafficked job sites, is using it. Second, it does make use of a variety of different testing formats and measures, including (literally) sliding scales, picture comparisons (wonder how they would deal with accessibility issues?), and scrolling words that must be selected. Nothing earth-shattering, but it's nice to see some exploration of different methods.

Of course I HAD to take the test. Results? Apparently my type is "Mentor", which 10% of test-takers are. My leadership style is "Innovative", my work personality "Rousing", my universal skill "Communication", and my work style "Questioning." What, you thought my results would say "Crazy megalomaniac time-waster?" (Yes, this is a whole heck of a lot of different measurement concepts tossed into a single assessment. Yes, this is very Myers-Briggs-like in that you are a "type." No, reliabilities are not reported anywhere.)

One last thing: the results report is more substantial than many "pop" assessments and makes for interesting reading. This type of thing would be a lot more useful if it was actually tied to specific job requirements, which seems like something Monster could take advantage of for job matching...

Additional information include this whitepaper ("technical manual") from Tickle and this blog post from Monster.