Online tests should be banned! They should be scrapped ASAP!
Online tests are ruining my life atm. Especially, situational judgement ones! The HR department are very lazy people, using such techniques to screen candidates. Absolute rubbish! I bet next week we will hear of a newspaper headline or some daft MP saying that graduates lack skills needed in the workplace. I find this FALSE! The skills are just not being measured using the right tools. How does a test with a bunch of shapes and patterns assess your ability to do the job?
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Original post by B3uecq
Online tests are ruining my life atm. Especially, situational judgement ones! The HR department are very lazy people, using such techniques to screen candidates. Absolute rubbish! I bet next week we will hear of a newspaper headline or some daft MP saying that graduates lack skills needed in the workplace. I find this FALSE! The skills are just not being measured using the right tools. How does a test with a bunch of shapes and patterns assess your ability to do the job?
It's not so much the shapes ones that annoy me but the reasoning ones. Greggs are awful. The questions they ask you are things you would learn in training or on the job. So glad I stopped bothering applying there as soon as I turned 18.
Original post by EloiseStar
It's not so much the shapes ones that annoy me but the reasoning ones. Greggs are awful. The questions they ask you are things you would learn in training or on the job. So glad I stopped bothering applying there as soon as I turned 18.
That is the same for Boots, the questions they were just
. Like why? Like we already take tests at university! So puzzled. Your lucky, I still have to keep applying.Original post by Safiya122
maybe it's checking your memory?
I don't think verbal reasoning tests check your memory, to be honest, if they wanted to test the memory of candidates they might as well all give us documents to memorize.
Original post by B3uecq
That is the same for Boots, the questions they were just . Like why? Like we already take tests at university! So puzzled. Your lucky, I still have to keep applying.
. Like why? Like we already take tests at university! So puzzled. Your lucky, I still have to keep applying.The Boots one sucks because I'm pretty sure you can't apply for another 6 months
Original post by EloiseStar
The Boots one sucks because I'm pretty sure you can't apply for another 6 months
I would love to give every senior employee these tests. Just imagine the results. I don't think 50% of them would pass.
Original post by B3uecq
Online tests are ruining my life atm. Especially, situational judgement ones! The HR department are very lazy people, using such techniques to screen candidates. Absolute rubbish! I bet next week we will hear of a newspaper headline or some daft MP saying that graduates lack skills needed in the workplace. I find this FALSE! The skills are just not being measured using the right tools. How does a test with a bunch of shapes and patterns assess your ability to do the job?
Online tests are a useful way to screen candidates.
Can you imagine the costs in time and money it would take a company to screen 1000 applicants
They're useless and don't measure what they're supposed to, they measure one artificial variable, how good you are at the test. Anyone with sense on first receiving one of these things will go home and study them, the next day they will ace it. Any company that uses this pseudoscience deserves to fail.
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by MatureStudent36
Online tests are a useful way to screen candidates.
Can you imagine the costs in time and money it would take a company to screen 1000 applicants
Can you imagine the costs in time and money it would take a company to screen 1000 applicants
Hmm useful? Because it is cheap and cheerful for the employers. I understand the use of numerical tests, which is perfectly fine for jobs which require interaction with numbers. But, for other jobs like marketing, like seriously?
same i also think that arbitrary grade boundary filters should be removed, and it should be up to the admission officer (for grad jobs) to use their own discretion in deciding to interview. too many skilled candidates fall through the net due to mistakes made in years past, which most of the time have been rectified in university
Original post by B3uecq
Hmm useful? Because it is cheap and cheerful for the employers. I understand the use of numerical tests, which is perfectly fine for jobs which require interaction with numbers. But, for other jobs like marketing, like seriously?
It's a method of screening. Psychometric testing is a useful tool.
To be perfectly blunt, a university graduate has very little life experience to differentiate themselves from other candidates. Went to school, went to Uni, did a part time job. Maybe did a gap year. They're a nightmare for HR departments to interview. They can only differentiate on tests and grades.
If you're struggling with the tests do some practice ones.
I agree. Applied for a job through online testing about two months ago now, aced it and got the job. Had my dad help me on the situational skills test though i.e. he did almost everything for me or at least checked my answers when I was unsure. Why they expect teenagers who are applying for their first ever job and therefore have no situational experience to do these tests is beyond me. However even now, after over a month of working at this job I notice they do not impose training new employees on situational skills/rules, they just kind of expect you to know everything.. awkward situation for a first timer, really.
Original post by J-SP
That's the only issue with online tests - it's easy to cheat on them, although if administered correctly those who cheat should be picked up elsewhere in the recruitment process.
How else should they test someone with no experience though?
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How else should they test someone with no experience though?
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They shouldn't test, they should train and see how they handle real-life situations. Well, this is a form of testing as well I admit. But if the candidate shows numerous incapabilities during or after this they would have to simply let them go. In a way, most if not all places have something like this (probation period).
Original post by J-SP
So if you get 100 people apply to one vacancy, how are you supposed to fairly select say 10 candidates out of that 100 to interview? You can't be suggesting they train 100 people?
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of course you look at the application itself, the cv and cover letter show academics and a sample of character which tend to be good starting factors when judging candidates. that being said, it may not even be necessary in some cases as not all of the 100 people that apply for the vacancy will be first timers. if they've had experience it will also show through their application. I think you are also focusing on the word 'train' too much. some places, such as next for example (even though they do also have online tests) have tests face-to-face which is a mix of an interview and situational test, all within an hour. under supervision, the candidate is tested on their ability to act in particular situations in the store and that's how they are judged. can't really cheat on that one but it's a different, somewhat better solution.
They can be annoying, yes. But employers use it because it is effective for them and saves a lot of time as well.
We just need to adapt and do well in tests.
If people can't pass the test then they aren't right for the company. That is just how it is?
I remember trying to apply to Sainsbury's for years (on and off)...
I finally passed the situational judgement test because I actually KNEW what to put. Not because I guessed or actually had help but I genuinely knew how to act in certain situations.
When I was failing I was like what is this madness? What kind of nonsense is this? Why do they make everything so difficult? Surely they don't want anyone if they are making us do these dumb questions?
Looking back on it I'm not surprised I flopped the tests...I wasn't right for the company (well...retail in general) at that stage in my life.
Edit: Maybe try applying for 'normal' jobs as well? Without those questions and also practise the questions and then apply.
We just need to adapt and do well in tests.
If people can't pass the test then they aren't right for the company. That is just how it is?
I remember trying to apply to Sainsbury's for years (on and off)...
I finally passed the situational judgement test because I actually KNEW what to put. Not because I guessed or actually had help but I genuinely knew how to act in certain situations.
When I was failing I was like what is this madness? What kind of nonsense is this? Why do they make everything so difficult? Surely they don't want anyone if they are making us do these dumb questions?
Looking back on it I'm not surprised I flopped the tests...I wasn't right for the company (well...retail in general) at that stage in my life.
Edit: Maybe try applying for 'normal' jobs as well? Without those questions and also practise the questions and then apply.
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by J-SP
The reality is these tests level the playing field. They are a fair way of assessing someone as it is a standardised test for all. When used correctly (i.e. the test assesses something vital to the job such a verbal comprehension) and when they are validated, they are often by far the strongest and most reliable indicator of someone being able to do the job.
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The reality is these tests level the playing field. They are a fair way of assessing someone as it is a standardised test for all. When used correctly (i.e. the test assesses something vital to the job such a verbal comprehension) and when they are validated, they are often by far the strongest and most reliable indicator of someone being able to do the job.
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Interesting, can you link me evidence to say it's the strongest and most reliable indicator of someone being able to do the job.
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Original post by B3uecq
That is the same for Boots, the questions they were just . Like why? Like we already take tests at university! So puzzled. Your lucky, I still have to keep applying.
. Like why? Like we already take tests at university! So puzzled. Your lucky, I still have to keep applying.Yeah Boots online assessment is really annoyed. If you fail test, you have to wait to apply for 12 months...
The worst ones are the numerical ones due to the time pressure. And yet I can do maths proofs with matrices and exponentials 
Situational judgment is mainly common sense, logical reasoning is identifying patterns and critical thinking is just practice.
Situational judgment is mainly common sense, logical reasoning is identifying patterns and critical thinking is just practice.
Original post by J-SP
Evidence is usually specific to the organisation using the test and is therefore often private. But there's plenty of journals out there that show they are more reliable that interviewing or academic indicators. I would link to some but many require a subscription to an accredited association like the CIPD.
The tests do have to be used in a correct manner, and unfortunately such tests are incorrectly used from time to time.
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The tests do have to be used in a correct manner, and unfortunately such tests are incorrectly used from time to time.
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Thanks. From your experience, does it usually apply to all industries in general or to more specific industries?
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