The front page of the Shenyang Evening News (沈阳晚报) today explains what happened when ten new interns, all of post-90s age, were given a ‘psychological test’ from their new boss (who happened to be a renowned former psychology major) on their first day at work. When they were asked each to name some strong points and at least five shortcomings of their fellow new interns, the new batch collectively lost it.
The senior year students must have thought they landed a great internship opportunity when a training company in Shenyang’s Huanggu area (皇姑区) offered them positions. The CEO of this company is a well-known business graduate from Beijing University as well as an expert in psychology quite famous in Liaoning province. Not only would they be paid a salary of 600 yuan, they would also get a 10% commission on sales as well as extra training in business management and psychology.
So yesterday was the first day on the job for the ten interns. They had already been told that they would be give a ‘psychology test’ on their first day to probe their personalities, abilities and weaknesses. So at 9 am there they were in the meeting room with the CEO, and the ‘test’ duly followed: they were given ten minutes to name a few strong points and at least five weaknesses of each of their fellow new interns. As soon as the words left the CEO’s mouth, a collective sound of consternation went up among the interns.
Yet half an hour later, the test (and the damage) was done. One of the new interns, a girl called Little Zhou (小周) saw what the others had written about her, and it went as follows:
- Strong points – Self-confident (自信), Frank and kind (率真), Beautiful (漂亮)
- Weaknesses – Egotistical (自我), Insensitive to others (不考虑别人的感受), Being offensive (有攻击性), Cold and detached (冷漠), Doesn’t laugh often (不会笑)
When Little Zhou heard the results, her face turned red and she started feeling ashamed and taken advantage of. She ran to the company bathroom and had a good cry. The other nine interns fared little better: when Little Wang (小王) heard what the others thought about him, he nearly collapsed in a heap on the floor, but ran out of the office. By noon, the other eight had all gone missing as well. Some said they were sick and wanted to go home, and some just said straight up they had had enough. The CEO just shook her head and said, they are so weak, what a pity.
Links and sources
Shenyang Evening News: 心理测试后，90后新员工集体辞职