Woman withdraws 97 job applications because they had 'intelligence tests,' sparks debate

Job hunting can be a tedious job in itself. In most cases, you can only bag your desired job after sending out thousands of applications and countless rejections. Job sites like Indeed are popular for connecting job aspirants to their ideal positions in various industries. But one job hunter has had enough of sending out applications to jobs that demand her to go through certain trials which she feels is unnecessary.

Content creator Lulu who goes by the handle @celibate_succubus went viral with one of her recent videos where she filmed herself reacting to jobs that require her to sit for 'intelligence tests.' The video features Lulu sitting at her desk, typing away furiously while applying for jobs. Then she pauses for a bit after noticing that jobs, to which she has applied, require her to take a 30-minute long skill assessment test.

He gives the screen a side-eyes judgemental look, stands up from her chair, and walks away from the desk. The text overlay on her video reads: "Withdrawing 97 of my 102 job apps from Indeed because they require a 30-minute intelligence test to determine if I know what a circle is and can add 2 + 2." According to Cliff Notes, intelligence tests have become common in the world of psychological analysis, and they’ve also become regular practice when it comes to certain levels of job recruitment. These tests also work to predict an applicant's behavior in certain situations to an extent.

The viral video which has garnered over 450,000 views as of now has sparked some debate in the comment section where some people claimed that the tests were there to sort out lazy people from trying to apply for the job posts. Other TikTok users sided with Lulu and believed that these time-consuming tests are pointless indeed. @enzobenzorenzo wrote: "I’m glad everyone is complaining about this cause you can clearly decide between people who are actually looking for a job over lazy people." @virgo_solis commented: "I get so angry when they have you submit a resume but have you spend half an hour manually entering everything already covered on the resume."

@mscamillabrownxoxo questioned: "I really just want somebody to explain to me why all of these jobs require you to take a test I’m not being paid to take this test." @ashygengar added: "I gave up on one that wanted 3, 400-word essay questions and wanted me to submit a life experience essay. Sir, this is an entry-level job." @heavydutythiccboy shared his Indeed story too and wrote: "The worst is when they have those skill tests and you have to go off Indeed to apply on their site." Irrespective of the debate that usually ensues upon controversial videos on TikTok, intelligence tests have become an important procedure in terms of recruiting the right candidate for a position by weeding out the lazy or unfit applicants.

You can follow Lulu (@celibate_succubus) on TikTok for more lifestyle content.

This article originally appeared on 7.28.23.