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I wish the assessment process had been more intensive at my current employer.
I was hired at a company with only a long distance phone interview for 30 minutes. My co-worker was hired with little assessment for a technical job. He can't even sort an Excel spreadsheet. Every time he does an Excel report, I end up having to redo the work to save the dept and company from losing $100k's. I could ignore my boss, when they ask me to fix it. Then, I would be the insubordinate one.
He has been employed for over a year, because my boss doesn't like to fire people.
Wow can you name your employer because we could all use that form of "job security".
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rohirette
I would love this kind of thing, rather than a couple of hours of talking where someone is trying to sell themselves to me without ever actually proving they can do anything.
Talk to HR. We didn't do any work sample projects but for one opening I though it was key, and pushed the idea until they let me do it. Now others are doing it too.
My current job required 3 rounds of interviews, writing samples, an assignment similar to the type of work I would be doing (I had a weekend to produce this, and it took most of the weekend), and having to code on demand via whiteboard in some of the interviews.
It depends on the job. For my most recent job, I had multiple, lengthy assessments in one day, which took people 4 to 8 hours, depending on how good you were. If you couldn't already do the basics, you couldn't do the job. However, turnover is sky high. Recently, an additional assessment was added to weed more people out and reduce turnover. The only thing that changed was fewer people applied and fewer people interviewed. It did nothing for the turnover rate, and did not necessarily bring in more highly skilled people. Unfortunately, for this particular job, I have to agree that these assessments are necessary. Now, for a minimum wage, low skilled job, that would seem ridiculous. But if I desperately needed a job, I'd probably be willing to jump through stupid hoops.
My first experience with this type of interview was a little over 10 years ago, so it's not necessarily new for skilled jobs.
That's basically how my last two jobs were interviewed for. The process was truly daunting both times; internet application, multiple phone screenings, emails, assessments, case studies, in-person interviews, follow-up phone interviews, and then all-day mega interviews. I could barely speak English by the end of the full-day sessions. It's too much.
Interestingly enough, both were for different roles/industries, so this is a "trend" that's making its rounds. Ekk.. I really hope I don't have to go through it again. I'm really happy in my current role, so *knock wood.*
I just started job searching. Two job interviews, two assessment tests. The first was government and the test took 2 hours for an admin job. That was your initial contact with the company. There were 2 more interviews to follow.
I just did an MS Office Suite test. I gotta say, it's not really fair. I mean, if you hover over the icons, nothing happens. That's not realistic. Cuz sometimes I can't recall what it looks like. You also can't do keyboard shortcuts and most of how I access things are keyboard shortcuts. I had to find it the "old fashioned" way. That sucked. I mean, I did great, but still, it sucked.
I will say this. The position that I'm interviewing for right now, the previous hire knew the job was heavy calendar scheduling via Outlook. I don't know if they had them tested or not, or if the person lied, but basically, the person couldn't do the job. It's scheduling appointments, it's not that hard. Nope, woman couldn't figure it out, so I'm told. I feel bad when companies hire idiot who lie. What a waste of time, money, and resources.
My old job, government, still does the 6 month probation. Cuz let's be real, you can be a total screw up, break lots of sexual harassment laws and still be employed (yes, I'm talking about a specific person).
I too would rather get everything done in one day...that way I don't have to take off last minute days off of my current job, to interview at another job. However, I don't think I'd want to do testing and round table interviewing all in one day. Yikes. That's a lot of pressure.
i had to do a work sample for the job i just got, but it was a very short one. it was basically just a test of my communication and critical thinking skills. other than that i had a phone interview and 2 in person ones.
Lots of my friends who are applying for jobs at large companies are just shocked what they have to do to get hired. Just filling out the application online takes at least an hour. Then if they are brought in for an interview, it is not like the good old days where you would chat with the hiring manager for 45 and get an offer a few days later. Instead applicants to large organizations for professional office jobs need to participate in an all day assessment center. You'll now be tested on your communication, problem solving and team working skills. It's all day and very challenging, and few will survive the process.
Here is a link to the next big thing in professional hiring, so you can prepare. What do you think?
Try to find job ads that only require email or faxing resumes instead of online applications because I agree they are a pain. Search your local papers for any type of lead and continue research job sites that don't require you to complete a online application. It's a way around everything
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