People can’t believe ‘crazy’ quiz needed to work at Olive Garden

After an Olive Garden applicant shared their experience on TikTok, it opened a discussion on the great lengths prospective employees must undertake to land a position with the company. 

TikToker @oh.hxnxy documented her experience after she decided to take on a summer job as a server at Olive Garden. 

“I just need a summer job THIS IS SICKKKK,” the caption read. The video shows her clicking through the online application process. It asks her several questions, such as ‘does she feel easily criticized’ and if she considers herself a ‘freethinker.’

In the video, she got confused by some of the questions. In the final prompt, she is asked whether the animated figure shown on screen has ‘too much work’, and if they are competitive or a perfectionist. The test finishes and she’s classified as a “Mentor” by the Olive Garden personality test.

After she posted the video, many people shared similar sentiments regarding the quiz, writing: “I LITERALLY JUST TOOK THIS TEST. It felt like a trap having this on a job application.”

“I applied to Olive Garden and did this (test), but didn’t get the job,” another said. 

“It’s the skydiving one for me because I had to do that too – like WHAT does that have to do with my part-time job,” one joked. 

“All this for Olive Garden is crazy,” another agreed.

Many service industry jobs currently require applicants to undertake personality tests. According to a report by 404 media, the assessment was created by Paradox.ai. It is being used by several large companies including McDonald’s, FedEx, CVS, and Darden Restaurants.

Darden is the chief operator of Olive Garden, as well as many other chains. 

This has caused frustration among some applicants, exemplified by a post on r/KitchenConfidential. “Man, I just want a dishwasher job,” the post reads, followed by a screenshot of the lengthy quiz.

This isn’t the first time people have taken to TikTok to share their job application woes, as a man revealed that he’d been asked why he was jobless at 5-years-old