Does the result of an IQ paper really matter?

Posted on March 14, 2016 Updated on March 14, 2016

Hi everyone, this time it is not anything related to technical stuff. I just thought to speak out my mind based on what I experienced. This may be a reason for some to think negative about me (specially the employers, since I am still a job seeker who is in search for my career), while this may give a different view on the IQ paper for most job applicants, HR departments and whoever read this.

So what is this IQ (Intelligence Quotient) paper? Most of them say, it is used to measure the intelligence of their applicants. Evaluate the problem solving skill of the applicant. The paper consists of bunch of question which take the form as follows.

• Select the figure which should come next to complete the sequence
• Select the figure that doesn’t match
• Identify the number / letter to complete the sequence
• Some practical questions (E.g: Filling 7 ltr jar using 5 ltr and 4 ltr jar at steps)
• Guess the letters that change the meaning of the given words when they are added at front or at end
• Guess the age, time, tallest / shortest one etc.

My question is can you really measure the intelligence of a person based on the marks of the IQ paper? Does the marks really matter even when your applicant has shown knowledge in the field he/she is applying for? Is the score really important when the candidate has shown their capability with what they have provided in their CV? (sometimes they may doubt about the accuracy of the content, or whether those achievements are really based on candidate’s efforts)

So far I have come across three different papers scheduled for one hour as follows.

• Paper 1 : around 20 IQ questions which cover selecting mismatch, pick the next number in sequence, pick the image to complete the square.
• Paper 2 : 20 questions with one mismatch finding question, two or three sequence guessing questions, fill the last row of a matrix with bunch of numbers, connect nine dots with one line, rest with some maths questions and some other questions
• Paper 3 : 60 MCQ questions on picking mismatch, next best, letters to complete sequence and finding next number in sequence

First and third contains general questions a person can figure out when he/she is given the paper for the first time. Specially, if the candidate didn’t practice those questions before hand. Therefore, it may be fair for the person who didn’t practice IQ questions beforehand. But when it come to the second paper, the person who didn’t practice IQ papers, or didn’t know answers for those questions before hand is really going to struggle when answering.

For an example there was this question about a fork on the road, two men standing near it, one is lying and one is only saying the truth. What is the question you should ask from any one of them, if you are given the chance to speak to only one of them? (I don’t think an average person will be able to figure the right question for it if you have only one or two minutes) But what if the candidate has already done this question somewhere and know the answer beforehand?

Then, whoever is going to evaluate the candidates intelligence based on the paper is going to favor the person who knew the answer beforehand. Is it really fair?

Can you really measure the one’s intelligence based on these questions? Does making the question paper really hard with all the maths questions and all other hard questions helps you to pick the right candidate?

My point is to figure out who does employers value most?

• Is it the person who try to solve a problem then and there?
• Is it the person who knew answers to all the questions beforehand?

Because, when you know the answer for a question you just don’t even have to think, sometimes the picture given or one reading of the question is enough for you to recall the exact answer. Then it would take only 20 to 30 minutes for a person who did lot of papers to answer entire paper, while a person who try to solve them for the first time will take whole hour to answer the paper.

The third paper, although it contained 60 questions, I found it more comfortable. Because that is something which anyone can answer without practicing questions. If someone is going to pick the candidate by giving the hardest paper with all the maths and other logical questions as the two paths questions as above, they may be looking for a mathematician or a person with highest memorizing skill.

Therefore, in my opinion if an employer wish to evaluate the problem solving skill or intelligence of a person through an IQ paper it should be prepared while considering follows,

• Making the paper fair for both parties, those who study IQ papers and those who try to solve problems then and there when a problem occurs
• Whether you need a person with best memory or a person with a desire to learn and give their best
• If you want to give the hardest paper with all the maths question, at least give value to their effort by checking the draft paper (not just the answers, because that would help you to know that person did give his/her best to figure out an answer)
• Ambiguity of questions (As it is hard to understand one long statement connected with lot of conjunctions, some questions are hard to figure out unless you are the writer of the question. E.g: time related questions.)

Well, some may see this as criticism of an IQ paper. But if you look at these points as a person who tried to answer those papers without practicing IQ papers, and know your ability to solve problems based on your own ways, I am sure that no one is going to disagree with me. If someone is going to drop a person solely based on their marks for one hard IQ paper which doesn’t follow the normal IQ paper format and being bias with all those age comparisons, height comparisons, time comparisons and other maths questions, they should at least check their candidates’ other values as well.

As a job seeker this may look like criticizing an employer because they didn’t recruit me. Some may laugh and some may this is a stupid thing to do as a job seeker. But I am just speaking out my thoughts. Speaking out, what I would do if I get to evaluate a person based on such paper. Some may not agree with my opinion. Therefore, you are free to share your opinions as well. This is just my view. Hope this didn’t make anyone mad at me….. 🙂

Thank you for reading. Till the next post, bye bye everyone ….. Have a nice time. 🙂