McKenna Long & Aldridge to Include Psychological Test as Part of its Hiring Process

McKenna Long & Aldridge, an leading international law firm with more than 475 lawyers, announced that aside from grades, law review note, or Dalai Lama internship, the firm is now including another step in its hiring process- a psychological test. McKenna is now taking the recruitment process to a whole new level by employing a psychological test. McKenna is now requiring their potential associates to undergo a psychological test as part of the firm’s callbacks. Aside from the usual behavioral questions, the firm wants their new recruits to take psychological test to asses their psychological makeup.

Jennifer Queen, the firm’s head of recruiting and development, explained that the main reason behind it is the fact that they want to invest in the right people. “We started looking into [how we hire associates] back in 2007 when the salary increases hit. The salary was at $160,000 in D.C., and there were rumors that it might go to $180,000. That’s serious money. We’re a business, and want to invest in candidates the right way.”

Queen added that those who want to be part of McKenna will have to go through the new hiring model. “There’s the on-campus interview, where we look at the package of grades and experience. For the callback, we ask for a writing sample, and we ask candidates to do an online assessment test that takes 30 minutes. Then they come in, and lawyers are designated to ask certain questions-like “Tell me about the time you shared credit for an accomplishment,” or “the time you worked with someone you had a disagreement with.”