This page should answer some of the common questions that you might have about jobEQ. If you do not find the answer you are looking for, feel free to Contact jobEQ.

What is Emotional Intelligence (EI)?
Emotional Intelligence (EI) indicates how good a person is at handling emotions. On one hand, EI is about a person's own emotions: Do people pay attention to their emotions? Can they manage them? Are they able to motivate themselves? EI is also about paying atttention to the emotions of others: Can they read the emotions of others? Can they use this knowledge to manage their interpersonal relationships?

EQ, or Emotional Quotient, is the measure of a person's EI. As a person's IQ measures how good the person will be at problem solving, the EQ predicts how well a person will be at showing some Emotional Intelligence.

What does EI have to do with my job?
Once you understand Emotional Intelligence, you can begin to use it to your advantage. By increasing your EQ, you can find out what makes you tick, how to make yourself happier and more productive at work. Testing for Emotional Intelligence can eventually reveal what employees work best in a certain environment, how to motivate people, how to make people enjoy work, etc.

Which model of EI does jobEQ use?
We prefer to think of it as the model by which people process their ideas and experiences. Emotional Intelligence definitely has an effect on this process. Ideas first go through the process of Filtering, then Evaluation, and finally lead to Action. In the Filtering stage, the mind notices certain issues and applies attitudes. In the Evaluation stage, the mind uses values to decide what is or isn't important. Taking Action depends on competence and the ability to act on the issue. jobEQ has a product to help increase EQ at each of the 3 stages: iWAM for attitude, VSQ for values, and COMET for competence. You can find a more complete explanation of how people process experience (and how Emotional Intellience affects the mental process) on this page.

Why an attitude test?
Success at work is the product of having the right knowledge and the right attitude. You can teach someone the right knowledge, but you can’t teach attitude. The successful strategy is to hire for attitude and train for competence.

What makes jobEQ's instruments unique?

1. Other instruments have a broad focus and often generalize their findings across all contexts. jobEQ creates tools specifically to use EI to predict how successful people will be at work.
2. jobEQ's questionnaires are recent in design (first introduced in 2000) and incorporate the latest findings of cognitive science (cognitive science as a field was just starting in 1983, older questionnaires often are not compatible with recent findings)
3. We use Models of Excellence, which are customized ideals for each specific organization.
4. Because of the online format, we can often offer services at a much lower price than competitors. This format also makes jobEQ’s questionnaires faster than traditional interviews.
5. jobEQ's tools can be used in private sector as well as government (we have the case studies to prove it!)
6. For more informtaion on this topic, read the article: Comparing iWAM with MBTI and DISC or check out our competitive upgrade offer

What positions and industries can benefit from jobEQ?
jobEQ products can help almost any organization. Everyone could use an improved ability to manage their employees, build effective teams, or hire the right candidates. The same goes for specific positions. Whether we’re talking about sales people, IT technicians, factory managers, or account executives, there are always stand-out employees who are an excellent role model. Just imagine how many executives have thought: “Gee, I wish everyone could be like so-and-so.”

Why are the iWAM and VSQ statements so general?
This is done on purpose. There are no right or wrong answers, and taking the tests does not require any specific knowledge. Given we are studying thinking styles, we want people to think through the questions, filling out what it means for them. Even if they seem general, the sentences are designed to trigger only one metaprogram pattern.

How can iWAM be accurate enough with only 40 questions?
The 40 questions of the iWAM questionnaire compare to 200 test items in a conventional questionnaire. This is because one has to order 5 statements for each question, instead of scoring each statement independently (as a "classic" test does). Statistical tests have shown that the correlation between these 200 test items and the test parameters is very high, while the 48 test parameters are quite independent of each other.

What are the conditions of use of iWAM?
The management report and the attitude sorter report are meant to be readable "as is." Of course, we recommend having a trained person to administer the test (check whether the test instructions are well-understood) and to give feedback on the test (the latter is recommended by the testing standards from the American Psychological Association if the test user wants to interpret the test results further). For the United States, it's important to mention that iWAM complies with the EEOC guidelines. To summarize it, iWAM complies with regulations by testing a person based on what they are required to be doing on the job. For a more complete explanation:

• First, iWAM only measures work-related information. All iWAM parameters refer to important or critical work behaviors or work outcomes.
• Secondly, our tool does not discriminate based on gender, age, education level, etc (but it will show the cultural attitude differences that exist in reality). You can find some comparisons between age groups and genders on the Research page.
• Thirdly, to be completely "safe" we recommend building reference models (produced under supervision of jobEQ). For models of reference, we can provide extensive evidence for the validity of the selection procedure. Basically, if you have a model of reference, we can prove that differences in performance are due to specific attitude requirements of the job and that the required attitude is shown to be present in top performers and absent in others.

How can I customize iWAM?
One of the best things about our products is that they can be customized and branded for each company. Not all companies have the same values, or the same skills necessary for success. Our methods can be customized by creating a Model of Excellence for a particular company. You can examine and rank people based on how they compare with the ideal employee for that particular job. The COMET technology even allows a company to create its own test if desired.

jobEQ partners can create closed user groups for each client they work with, and each CUG can incorporate company colors and logo.

Who can administer the iWAM?
As is the case will all scientific research, jobEQ wants to make sure that testers are competent. Usage of jobEQ's instruments requires certification.

How does certification work?
The requirements you need in order to get certified will depend on your prior training and whether jobEQ or one of its partners will be employed in the rollout to supervise the use of the instruments. People trained to use LAB Profile(TM), for instance, can learn how to use iWAM in one day. Training can either be obtained from jobEQ directly or through jobEQ's partners.

If one profiles a position at work and hires someone with the iWAM profile that best matches the position, will that person not be a match for future jobs in the organization?
It is important to identify whether one only needs someone that is a very good performer for the current job or whether you are also looking further, to possible promotions. This can be built into the profile design by a consultant by blending the multiple profiles, enlarging some scales so that the future behavior/attitude is also taken into account, or by even using the profile for that future job as the recruiting standard and redesigning the first position so that the recruited person can be successful at it. You can choose based on your HR policies. It's almost impossible to have a "perfect" match between a candidate and profile, given that the iWAM profile has more possible combinations than there are people on this planet!

In what languages is iWAM available?
iWAM is currently fully available online in over a dozen of languages (including Chinese, Dutch, Danish, English, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian and Russian) with others in various stages of development, including Spanish, Swedish, Italian, Hungarian, Hebrew and Arab.

The different language versions of the test measure exactly the same constructs. If a test is available in the native tongue of that person, we recommend filling out the test in that language, unless the person is also fluent in another language. Each language version of the iWAM process has been separately calibrated using a standard group. The translation was done by native speakers, in collaboration with jobEQ. The resulting questionnaire was tested for understandability. We asked individuals to fill out the test in different languages, and found that their results were very comparable.

There is no standard group for my part of the world. Can I still compare results to something?
Using standard groups is just one of many ways jobEQ makes it easier to interpret test results. There are some regions, such as the Far East, that do not yet have standard groups established. For these areas, it is best to compare profiles to a Model of Excellence. The Model of Excellence is always the best way to examine if a person has the potential to be a top-performer in a company.

I’ve heard iWAM attached to NLP. What is NLP?
NLP is neuro-linguistic programming. NLP as a field can be described of as "applied cognitive sciences." Basically, the study of NLP helps us understand how people filter information, and people who are trained to practice it are trained to practice it use this knowledge to communicate more effectively or change "non-useful" behaviors.

The iWAM is certainly influenced by NLP, and those with some background in NLP will have less of a learning curve with the jobEQ tools. However, the patterns measured by the iWAM, which are known in NLP as "meta-programs", are also known as "cognitive styles" or "thinking styles" in other scientific disciplines such as cognitive science and linguistics. They all can be traced back to academic sources pre-dating NLP.
(read more about NLP Research and science)

How can you stop people from falsifying the test? How do you know they falsified it?
iWAM is fundamentally designed to minimize cheating. By using only positive statements, we eliminate right and wrong answers. We also provide three ways of checking the consistency and honesty of answers:

1. The graphical and statistical reports include a section to check consistency in the answers.
2. The LAB Profile® interview methodology checks the test information by asking certain questions.
3. The LAB Profile® methodology and the iWAM management report predict which kind of influencing language will motivate the person and which language doesn't. An interviewer is trained to use this language and check the non-verbal effects of using the influencing language.

If a test-taker accidentally caused testing irregularities, it is recommended to withhold the test results and promptly retest the person in case of disputes

When used for self-assessment, behavior-based testing instruments, such as the COMET tests, are easier to falsify, so we have implimented 360° feedback. Having co-workers rate behavior in addition to self-assessment greatly improves the validity of COMET.

Will jobEQ ever deal with my clients?
Except in cases where jobEQ is directly working for an organization, jobEQ's role remains limited to serve as a back-office or helpdesk for its partners. jobEQ will only get into touch with client organizations when asked to do so by its partners. jobEQ will only get in touch with end-users when asked to serve as helpdesk or asked to deal with specific feedback from end-users.
(read more about jobEQ's Privacy and Security Policy)

How much do these services cost?
For the most part, the online format and scalability of our tools allow us to offer tests at a much better price/quality ratio than our competitors. For an exact quote, use this form.

 
You may also find answers on the following pages:
Metaprograms
Models of Excellence
List of Clients
List of Partners

If we have answered all your questions, then continue to the Join Us page.