Psychometric tests are becoming commonplace at workplaces in the US today, especially at consulting firms, hedge funds and startups; personality testing is a $500 million industry
(The Office: An Analysis)
On his first day working at the University of Phoenix, Eric Shapiro found out the good news: He had tested red-yellow.
To the layperson this doesn’t mean much. But to those well-versed in the psychology of Taylor Hartman’s “Color Code,” as all employees of the University of Phoenix’s enrollment office were required to be, it was a career-maker.
Red meant you were a person motivated by power and yellow by fun. This was an ideal combination for someone looking to climb the ranks in an admissions team that demanded the ability to schmooze and then hit recruitment targets: equal parts charisma and competitiveness.
“The dominant people in the office, most of the leadership staff including myself when I got promoted, we were heavy red and yellows,” said Shapiro, 36. “Yellows tend to be really good at working the room. Reds tend to be more type A, like bulls in a china shop. You’re passionate, you’re not sensitive, you get over things quicker.”
As Shapiro rose to be a manager, he became fluent in the color-code vocabulary. It helped him diagnose office problems (“Sally is really struggling because she’s a blue, so every time she gets rejected on the phone she stews about it,” he said) and identify areas for professional growth (“Billy, the yellow guy, is really good on the phone and everybody loves him, but he can’t sit still because he’s always trying to crack jokes”).
©2019 New York Times News Service