Those Frustrating Assesments
Just a quick truth about assessments for those not aware and should really know:
If you don't match certain key parts that their filter is looking for, or respond in certain ways, your application is filtered out and not even looked at by hr.
A lot of companies who have you apply online have those assesments as a way for them to try and filter out applications they don't want to deal with.
For example: I worked as a temp for Sprint. I ran their kiosk on my own for a couple months but with my temp contract running out I had applied to work permanently with Sprint. I didn't pass their assessment and according to the ditrict manager I talked to, no one had been passong their online assessment for months...which explains why in my state none of the kiosks have full time Sprint employees and only third party temps because the assessment is so strict in their filtering no one is passing.
Other companies don't have filters as strict as Sprint's thankfully, and there are still some out there that don't have assessments. Sadly though, it's becoming more and more common for an online assesment.
Be careful with those assesments. And think about your answer the questions. How you answer determines whether HR gets to actually LOOK at your application. Some places that has these online assessments also has a way for you to see the status of your app. So make sure to keep an eye on that.
These assements are there to see aspects of your personality and how it may fit the view of the company, so that filter looks for what the company wants.
Sad sucky truth. So just do what you can with those and do your best not to get frustrated. The long time in getting a response thst I mentioned in a previous post also factors into that.
Tips: Before taking the assessments, research/Google all of the "hot" words or phrases that this particular company or line of work is currently using. Sprinkle those words throughout your answers (intelligently, of course!). Sometimes they're just looking for the right words. Aren't we all?
You are correct. I have worked for a company for 37 years and the assesments weed out people that don't answer the way they want. I work for agents who hire their own employees. But the company weeded me out 5 times.
Frustrating Indeed. Every application has this extra testing section on it so it takes about an hour to complete. It wouldn't be so bad if companies would contact me when I pass. I used to send out anywhere form 2-5 apps per day and now maybe 1 per day. It's so time consuming and not as effective towards landing a job. I'm trying to power through them but OMG... Thanks Ash :-)
I’ve read up on 2 schools of thought around these assessments. One suggestion is to focus on honest answers and not so much on what one thinks are the answers employers want to hear. The other suggestion is to answer honestly but show conviction with your answers by choosing the most extreme answer choices. For example: Q: Showing up to work late is okay as long as you call management 15 min prior to your start time. A) Strongly Agree B) Somewhat Agree C) Disagree D) Strongly Disagree. The idea is to answer either choice A or D never anything in the middle. The type of testing also has a lot to do on how you can chose to answer but this the logic. I’ve used this method in the past with a considerable amount of success but again it depends on the test. The Sprint testing structured so no one can pass sounds like it’s a way for the company to show (internal) permanent job openings with no true intent to hire. The temp worker is less expensive.
Thanks for letting others know about this, Ashley. Very helpful.
Question: did you ever try retaking it until answers match some acceptable version? Not saying you'd want to work there or do this with commitment, but I am wondering if its possible and also wondering if you figured out which questions were the 'real' ones they were focused on......
yes, you have to use Key words, to get through the filters or they won't ever be seen. on your resume'' and your cover! find them online print them out, and use them early and often real often, you will get through filters with no problem.