

A French love affair... with graphology - gadders
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22198554

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emillon
It is becoming very, very rare. Given that the source for the 50% figure is
graphologists, I wouldn't give it too much credit. As a french person, last
time I heard about someone that needed a handwritten cover letter was in the
early 2000s. At least in the tech circles this is definitely something unseen.

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jakub_g
> At least in the tech circles this is definitely something unseen.

There's a scarcity of tech people, so it would be ridiculous to add yet
another level for rejection. However I may imagine that this could be used for
some jobs with high ratio of candidates to vacancies (so called "beauty
contests").

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brazzy
> And just because we cannot measure its success rate using mathematics or
> statistics - that doesn't mean it is not a valid tool.

Wrong. It means _exactly that_.

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bnegreve
Usually when something is _not_ statistically relevant you can also prove it.
I am not sure how you would do it in this case.

It probably works to some limited extents: for example, I am sure they can
guess rather accurately whether the candidate is male or female.

So I _do_ see a difference between a non valid tool and a tool whose
efficiency is hard to evaluate.

Now, don't get me wrong, I wouldn't use graphology.

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edent
No different to the American love affair with Myers-Briggs. People love
superstitious rituals - especially when they're drenched in the language of
science.

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netrus
What's wrong with Myers-Briggs? One shouldn't spend too many thoughts about
it, but I find the test results to be quite stable and fitting for me and many
peers. Combine that with the idea that diversity is good, and that there is no
right and wrong in personality.

I'm from Europe, had some courses on MBTI and I liked it. Not sure if the
American love affair goes way beyond that.

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dizzystar
It has been widely debunked.

Many employers take this stuff seriously, so someone who may have otherwise
gotten the job gets rejected on the basis of a fantasy tool.

Companies are dumping off money that could be used for hiring more people or
intelligent investments that create jobs, but billions of dollars are being
wasted on something that is about as useful as The Secret.

If you want to shake your head, go ahead and apply online at places like
Target, Walmart, or Starbucks. Each application takes over one hour to
complete the questionnaire part. So, not only is it a massive money dump, it
is a time vampire as well.

~~~
shin_lao
MBTI shouldn't be used for recruitment, as the official MBTI guidelines
mention because it's too easy to cheat.

It's a tool to assess the difference of personality within a team, detect
potential weaknesses and to communicate about it.

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yardie
I wonder how long until the headshot photo requirement is finally put to rest.
The only use I've seen for it is a bunch of guys ogling over female CVs,
basically trying to hire the prettiest or least ugliest candidates; actual
qualifications be damned.

~~~
vowelless
I learnt about this practice from my girlfriend who is from France and was
quite surprised by it. She, on the other hand, was surprised by the American
practice of asking about race and ethnicity on various official forms.

~~~
yardie
This. One policy is voluntary and is to ensure companies aren't racially
discriminating during the hiring process. The other sort of puts you all out
there and there has been lots of news made about reducing discrimination by
removing photos, names, and addresses so hiring managers can only focus on
your qualifications.

As an american I sort of prefer the American method. The checkbox means
ethnicity is measured so you have a metric. The french system sort of assumes
equality (it's in their motto!). With plausible deniability you can say you
don't discriminate and no one can argue against it.

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guard-of-terra
This is just stupid and I can't imagine it not being exaggerated. (I'm not
french obviously)

I can't write (anything longer than a few phrases, anyway) and soon nobody
will. Why if you type all the time?

This is as useful in 21-th century as using bird intestines to predict
weather. We have better ways now, indeed.

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EliRivers
"I can't write (anything longer than a few phrases, anyway) and soon nobody
will. Why if you type all the time?"

I type all the time. Code, reports, all that sort of thing. I also get through
about two A4 sized daybooks each year full of handwritten notes, plans,
observations, minutes, analysis, calculations and all that sort of thing. The
convenience and (relative) permanence of writing on paper using a pen is huge.
It's not going to vanish anytime soon.

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carlob
I don't know if this is exaggerated, but the requirement of handwritten
letters or the presumption on the part of the job prospect that there is such
a requirement is certainly still true.

I remember a friend, that was trying to find a part time student job as a
clerk, writing literally a hundred different motivation letters all by hand.

At the time I found it odd and I questioned the sanity of requiring a
motivation letter for a retail job, now that I read this I understand what the
motive behind it could be, and I find it even odder.

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jgrahamc
Hmm.

I wonder if I could make a fortune in France by writing some software that
looks for patterns in typing cadence. The employers could get applicants to
type something on a computer and get a score indicating what their
'personality' was like.

