Some Answers to the Unicru personality test

Commentary by Timothy Horrigan; January 27, 2009 (last updated November 15, 2011)

Many of us find ourselves in need of whatever dumb job we can get. And one dumb job which is still reasonably abundant even in these bad times is "Big Box" Retail. Many of these stores use a seemingly inscrutable personality test called the " Unicru " test. Even though I tend to be good at standardized tests and have even worked in the testing industry for a while, I have flunked this one a time or two. Happily, I found one of several answer keys which is floating around the internet, and I tweaked it a little.

I do have an MBA in Marketing from the Marshall School at the University of Southern California, and I did work for the educational testing company Measured Progress for a while, but I am not a trained psychologist. This is a totally unofficial key, based on random materials which have been floating around the web for years. Use it at your own risk. I got the basic info from a blogger named "Yowling Cat" on an autism/Asperger's blog called WrongPlanet. He or she got it from someone named Daniel. I tweaked it by sorting the prompts by the expected answers— which are always "Strongly Agree" or "Strongly Disagree."

You have four options to choose from, when asked whether a statement applies to you or not. Supposedly, the right answer is always "Strongly Agree" or "Strongly Disagree":

Strongly Disagree Disagree Agree Strongly Agree



There are (supposedly) 99 questions in this list. I have taken this test several times, and I am pretty confident all these questions are still in use, and I don't specifically recall any other questions, though there I would not be shocked if new ones got added. You will not have to answer all 99 of them, but you will be asked about half of these questions.

If you get enough right answers, you go in the Green pile and you may be called in for an interview. If you get almost enough right answers, there is a Yellow pile, which is used if no one from the Green pile wants the job. If you get too many wrong answers, you go in the Red pile and the store will be unable to proceed with the hiring process.

The general drift of the test is to try to make sure that you are honest and hard-working but not too ambitious— and you must be cheerful all the time and enjoy being around people all day. The answers are mostly straightforward. The only surprising answers are that they think it is good if you think that "You are somewhat a of a thrill-seeker" and that it is bad if you think "Many people cannot be trusted." To quote someone who commented on Reddit.com a while ago: "I find all of these tests are best approached by answering all the questions as Ned Flanders."

The Unicru test is one of many HR-related products made by Kronos, Inc. of Chelmsford, Massachusetts.

Question Answer Any trouble you have is your own fault SA It is easy for you to feel what others are feeling SA It is fun to go to events with big crowds SA It is maddening when the court lets guilty criminals go free SA When someone treats you badly, you ignore it SA When you are done with your work, you look for more to do SA When you go someplace, you are never late SA When your friends need help, they call you first SA You agree with people more often than you argue SA You always try not to hurt people's feelings SA You are a friendly person SA You are always cheerful SA You are careful not to offend people SA You are proud of the work you do at school or on a job. SA You are somewhat a of a thrill-seeker SA You avoid arguments as much as possible SA You can wait patiently for a long time SA You chat with people you don't know SA You could describe yourself as 'tidy' SA You do not fake being polite SA You do things carefully so you don't make mistakes SA You finish your work no matter what SA You give direct criticism when you need to SA You got mostly good grades in high school SA You hate to give up if you can't solve a hard problem SA You have always had good behavior in school or work SA You have confidence in yourself SA You have no big regrets about your past SA You have no big worries SA You ignore people's small mistakes SA You keep calm when under stress SA You know when someone is in a bad mood, even if they don't show it SA You like to be in the middle of a big crowd SA You like to plan things before you do them. SA You like to talk a lot SA You love to be with People. SA You love to listen to people talk about themselves SA You make more sensible choices than careless ones SA You rarely act without thinking SA You think of yourself as being very sensible SA You try to sense what others are thinking and feeling SA You were absent very few days from high school SA You work best at a slow but steady speed SA You would rather work on a team than by yourself SA Your friends and family approve of the things you do SA Your moods are steady from day to day SA It bothers you a long time when someone is unfair to you SD It bothers you when you have to obey a lot of rules SD It is hard to really care about work when the job is boring SD Many people cannot be trusted SD Other people's feelings are their own business SD People are often mean to you SD People do a lot of annoying things SD People do a lot of things that make you angry SD People who talk all the time are annoying SD People's feelings are sometimes hurt by what you say SD Right now, you care more about having fun than being serious at school or work SD Slow people make you impatient SD There are some people you really can't stand SD There's no use having close friends; they always let you down SD When people make mistakes, you correct them SD When you are annoyed with something, you say so SD When you need to, you take it easy at work SD You are a fairly private person SD You are more relaxed than strict about finishing things on time SD You are not afraid to tell someone off SD You are not interested in your friends' problems SD You are unsure of what to say when you meet someone SD You are unsure of yourself with new people SD You change from felling happy to sad without any reason SD You could not deal with difficult people all day SD You criticize people when they deserve it SD You do not like small talk SD You do not like to meet new people SD You do not like to take orders SD You do some things that upset people SD You do what you want, no matter what others think SD You don't act polite when you don't want to SD You don't believe a lot of what people say SD You don't care if you offend people SD You don't care what people think of you SD you don't work hard because it doesn't pay off anyway SD You don't worry about making a good impression SD You get angry more often that nervous SD You get mad at yourself when you make mistakes SD You have friends, but don't like them to be too close SD You have to give up on some things that you start SD You ignore people you don't like SD You like to be alone SD You like to take frequent breaks when working on something difficult SD You look back and feel bad about things you've done SD You say whatever is on your mind SD You show it when you are in a bad mood SD You sometimes thought seriously about quitting highschool SD You swear when you argue SD You would rather not get involved in other people's problems SD You'd rather not compete very much SD You've done your share of troublemaking SD Your stuff is often kind of messy SD





Kronos views the hiring process (and yes, some people actually do get hired on occasion as a result of this process) as a six-step process. The Unicru test corresponds to steps 2 thru 5 of the following schema: Source: Branded career site Apply: Legally compliant application Screen: Minimum job requirements



State specific knockouts



Background checks



Work Opportunity Tax Credit eligibility checks Assess: Assessed for behavioral traits and job fit Interview: Hiring Manager Console



Behavioral Interview Guide Hire & Onboard: (which actually happens about 2% to 4% of the time): Pre-populated forms



Electronic onboarding



HRIS integration













See Also:

The people who make the Unicru test possible— Kronos's Indian IT team— at Christmas time. (Yes, indeed, there is nothing quite like Christmas in Bangalore): Click here to see video of their award-winning Christmas carol











