Online tests can prove to be a first hurdle which you can unexpectedly trip over if you are unprepared. Often done late at night on the day of the deadline, when your tiredness can easily let you down. I have set out some helpful notes on how to prepare and what you will face on the day.
These tests, they aren't difficult, they are designed to trip you up though. Don't be the incredibly capable individual amongst your friends who didn't even pass the online tests!
General advice
These sorts of tests can at times seem drawn out, frustrating and inconsistent. This means you need to prepare for them adequately to ensure you are successful. There are, therefore, certain pieces of advice which apply to all the tests.
1. Take your time
The absolute worst thing you can do is wait untiil the last day to do tests. You will find yourslef tired, that evening, and pressured to finish before submitting everything else. I would recommend you complete them as early as possible, find a day when you are rested, well and not burdnered with other things. A weekend is good for this, doing one test a day, or ever a series of weekends.
2. Consider what is being assessed
A key advantage we have, as prepared applicants, is that we are told what is being assessed most of the time; those times when we aren't told, we can easily infer what is being assessed. This shows you what really ought to be the best and worst answers, by aligning it with what you think is being assessed.
3. Beware friendly 'help'
Everyone who undertakes a test agrees to not have external help whilst doing the test. This is not only a question of honesty and integrity, but also confidence. I am aware of many times when someone, having passed the test with a high mark, offers to help someone else who subsequently receives a low, or even failing, score. If you are approached by someone, or tempted to ask yourself, for help during a test, don't take it. A better strategy would be to practice the tests...
4. Practice the tests
Getting a feel for the tests is one of the best things you can do to prepare. Practice tests allow you to use your skills of analysing the question to see hat they are testing for, as well as to build up your stamina for these sorts of exercises.
If you do the test once, you will get really good feedback which will tell you where you did well, where you scored average and where below average in each of the assessment parts.
Verbal reasoning
Verbal reasoning is a deceptively simple test for most. I would recommend that you, firstly, read the statement fully, so you understand the conten. Secondly, read through the question, then reread the statement and find the area it discusses. Lastly ask yourself one or two questions:
Can I answer this with the information in the statement?
If I can, what is the answer?
The temptation is to run through the test, it is always safe to double check!
Mathematics
Even if Maths wasn't your strong suit at school, this test, if it comes up, isn't an automatic exclusion if you remember the following.
I would reccomend you get yourself a scientific calculator, such as this one. These let you type out what you are doing, enabling you yo visually check against your notes.
Basic percentages can trip people up, but use the following formualae to nail it every time:
To get a percentage of a whole, divide the subset by the entierity, like this.
Write down what they are asking you and how you will get that number in plain English, then translate that into maths, run it through your calculator.
Situational judgement
Situational judgmenet tests are used to test how you would react in situations you are likely to face in the role you are looking to take up. This makes them an effective was to assess a candidate's suitability for a role.
As time progresses, the SJT has been replaced by two tests, management judgment tests and work strengths tests. Whilst I cannot guarantee that you will never see the SJT again, the lessons learned by doing it apply to the newer tests and visa versa. So, if you have a SJT look at the other two tests to get help.
Management judgment test
This test tests five behavioural aspects:
- collaborative: Empowering and developing others, working as a team, sharing knowledge;
- Decisive: using evidence to make effective and fair deicsions;
- Empathetic: Considering others' needs and feelings, acting in a calm and resilient manner
- Confident: Having courage in your convictions, taking responsibility and setting expectations;
- Agile: Self aware anda ble to adapt quickly to change;
These aspects are probably the most important ones for HEO and SEO recruitment.
There are fifteen scenarios, which each have four options for action.
I was asked to identify the action I was most likely to take, and the action I was least likely to take. It seems to me to be the case that the easiest thing to do is identify the most likely option, much more difficult, and probably the deciding factor, is what is the option least likely to be taken.
The best piece of advice here is to consider what is being assessed. Once you know that,it is much easier to see which are the best and which are the worst options.
Work Strengths test
This test uses the strengths element of success profiles to asses your suitability for a role. It will assess the following strengths:
- Analytical/Problem Solver;
- Relationship builter/Team Leader;
- Adaptable/Resilient;
- Explainer/Influencer; and
- Organiser/Strategic.
There are three parts to the test. Part I tests you against statements, part II asks you to evaluate responses to a scenario and mark their effectiveness and part III asks you to select the option in a scenario you would most likely take and least likely take.
Part I
There are two things to remember for this section, firstly, double check what each statement means. Some of the statements are negatives or even double negatives. Secondly, remember to select the most strong agreement/disagreement.
Part II
When considering the responses, you need to bear in mind what each of the options mean:
- Effective: is a good action that wouold help to resolve the situation;
- Fairly Effective: A useful action that would be of some help to the situation;
- Ineffective: A poor action that would not help the situation;
- Counterproductive: an unacceptable action that would make the situation worse.
Identify what the issues are exactly that need to be resolved, do any of the particular issues get addressed, or not addressed, by the answer?Consider which strengths are being evaluated.
Part III
Again in this part, consider which strength is being assessed. Look at the strengths dictionary to see what each strength means to get a feel for them. This will guide you in terms of finding the best and worst options.
The most feared
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