What Employers Actually Test For

About the talk

Dr. Priscilla Amankwah, organizational psychologist studying hiring assessment, spoke at UW–Porter Falls in May 2026 as part of the Distinguished Lecture Series, nominated by the College of Education, Health & Human Sciences.

What the talk covered

Amankwah presented research on the gap between what hiring managers say they value in an interview and what their own assessment data shows actually predicts good hires, with implications for how students should prepare for interviews.

A line worth remembering

“Employers tell you they want a culture fit. Their own data almost always says they hired the person who asked the best follow-up question.”

— Dr. Priscilla Amankwah

If you missed it

Distinguished Lecture Series talks are recorded and streamed live from the Halvorsen Library auditorium, and a recording is typically posted afterward through the sponsoring college's page. Reach the College of Education, Health & Human Sciences directly if you are looking for a specific talk that is not yet posted.

How it connected to coursework

The College of Education, Health & Human Sciences typically builds a short discussion or reflection assignment around its nominated speaker into at least one course that term, so students who could not attend live still engage with the ideas secondhand. Faculty who teach in areas adjacent to “What Employers Actually Test For” say the Q&A after the formal talk is usually where the most specific, applicable answers come out — worth staying for if you do attend in person.

Common questions

Can students propose a speaker? Each college nominates its own speaker; a student with a suggestion should raise it with a faculty member or the department office in the relevant college, since faculty typically make the actual nomination.

Is attendance required for any course? Some instructors offer extra credit or a short reflection assignment tied to a relevant talk, but attendance is never a blanket requirement across the university.