I got turned down by B&Q!!!

Got a letter from B&Q this morning, turning me down for a job working on the checkout. I'll quote the reasons in a sec, but bear in mind when you read them that I only wanted a bit of pocket money before I start my course, and was not intending this to become my career.

Basically, I took one of those personality tests over the phone where they say a word, and you say how much you see yourself as that word by punching numbers on the keypad.

"You have scored 7 on the Agreeableness scale ... that is to say that you are likely to be a people-focused individual ... [so far, so good] ... However you ... might be a little unsettled if dealing with individuals who were abrasive in their manner towards you."

Okay, I think that's probably a fair point. It goes on...

"Your score of 5 on the Conscientious scale is average and suggests that you are a reasonably organised person ... If you were placed in a role that required a constantly meticulous and painstaking approach, you could soon begin to find it quite boring."

What?! I was applying for part-time seasonal work - I expect it to be boring! I'll be operating a till, something that I wouldn't describe as either meticulous or painstaking. Just boring. I can handle that for a few months in the mornings. But my favourite bit...

"You achieved a score of 2 on the Conformity scale and this is a low score indicating that you are probably a fairly unorthodox individual and probably like to see yourself as something of a non-conformist. [Hooray!] You probably don't pay too much attention to those conventions that you find to be restrictive so many of the people who work for B&Q and customers could sometimes find you to be a little too informal in your manner ... [I'm not going to start snogging them in the bloody aisles] ... Given the chance, you are likely to try to introduce new working methods into your job, even if their not your own ideas."

And what's so wrong with that? I've done it before, and no one complained. Are your employees not allowed to suggest improvements in the way you work? Surely they'd be some of the best people to ask about such things?

Madness.

Just as well I've got a full-time job at the university starting on Monday, then, involving the painstaking and meticulous work of entering posgrad application details into a database.