Part 1: Introduction

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I have used psychological assessments for missionary candidates for 34 years. In most of those years, I was doing assessment with a narrow focus. That is, I was only doing it from a professional, psychological perspective and leaving any legal, HR, or other issues as the responsibility of the referring agency.

As more and more agencies have brought themselves up to date with statutes, regulations, and legal requirements regarding the hiring of employees, I get questions about what can be done in the interview process, how to do it, what information to ask, and whether it can be done in a nondiscriminatory fashion. We also do psychological assessment when people are having problems.

This series of conversations will discuss some issues around how to do or use psychological assessment, either within the larger interview process, or in a remedial way. This is one of the most frequent questions that I get and I am very grateful that Theresa can help us clarify this. Hopefully by the end of this thread, you will understand the landscape of using assessments well.

What are my own goals in assessments? I want to help the person help himself or herself, help the organization help the person, and avoid discriminatory practices and other HR dilemmas. We hope you find this useful!

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Disclaimer: not official legal or psychological advice or opinion