But Can On-Line Dating Systems Learn Anything From On-Line Recruitment Systems?
January 28, 2005If you have ever tried an on-line dating system, you might find this article rather interesting, or amusing, as the case may be.
Charles Handler recieved permission from his wife (if you believe him; I’m not sure!) to conduct research on on-line dating systems to learn how they operate (hey, what a clever way to cover your tracks, Charles!).
He just recently produced a highly readable article on what we can learn from on-line date systems and apply to on-line recruitment systems. Here are some of the lessons he draws from the experience:
Both online dating and online job searching can involve the following basic steps:
- Set up an account and create a profile.
- High-level knock-out questions are used as pre-screens.
- Personality testing is used in both.
- Both systems use some form of algorithms to compare profiles and calculate matches, but the on-line dating system uses a much more sophisticated approach.
- In online dating, you are provided with the results of your personality profile to help you better understand yourself in terms of what you need in a relationship. This is not the case in on-line recruitment!
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Comment by George
And I repeat my mantra about personality tests:
1) Both systems require accurate personality measurement;
2) Both systems presume to know what makes a good match based on the personality test results.
Dating services (and hiring systems) eventually could acquire large enough databases to longitudinally study the accuracy of their predictions in terms of the correlation between their prediction of a good match and some measure of ultimate outcomes (perhaps durable marriages, if the service is pitched to people seeking that, and long-term productive employment).
Until then, how can you defend in court the use of such a process for hiring if it has a disparate impact?
Comment by George
OK, I confess: I made that comment having just read Michael’s post, not the article. Now I’ve scanned the article, and I think my point was pretty much covered in the article. After my recent adventure personality testing myself, as covered in an earlier post, I will agree wholeheartedly with the final sentence:
When chosen correctly within the correct system, personality tests can be used to enrich our lives in many ways. When chosen poorly or relied upon exclusively for classification or decision making, they can often have a negative impact.
I wish the author had gone further, though I understand it would have pushed the limits of his wife’s tolerance, and gone on some computer-arranged blind dates!
Which reminds me, one concern I would have in both arenas is a certain blandness and predictability that might result from finding matches that are “too good.” Do we really want spouses who are just like us? Do we really want all employees to fit specific personality profiles?
I say: “variety is the spice of life,” “vive la difference,” and “be careful what you ask for, you just may get it.”