Five Tips for Pre-Employment Assessments

I recently applied for a job with a national retail company.  This company has been around for 30 years, with several outlets in my area, and I shop there all the time.  It’s not in human resources, which is my background, but the job posting listed hospitality experience as one of the requirements, so that’s all the encouragement I needed.

This company, like so many others, requires an applicant to set up an account.  I had already applied with this company, so I just had to log in (forgot my password—had to set up a new one).   I went through the process and updated my resume and cover letter.  This time, I revised my cover letter and resume to include keywords from the job posting.  To my delight, a few days later I got an email with a link to a pre-employment assessment quiz.

I completed that quiz, only to get another email asking me to take the next one.  This was a longer version with math questions.  The questions weren’t difficult.  The instructions said there were no right or wrong answers.  It even said not to try to outsmart the test by answering to make yourself look good.  Even so, these assessments can be tricky, and a few tips can help make the test work for you.

1.      Believe the instructions.  There are no right or wrong answers.  Be honest and go with your gut.  Don’t over think the questions and answers.  You can’t outsmart the test, so don’t bother.  Your first answer is probably the best one.  There was an opportunity to review the answers before going to the next section.  I wondered if reviewing the questions would show up somewhere in a scale of “confidence.”  I only reviewed one section

2.      Be honest. Somehow, they can figure out if you’re being honest when you take the test.  A low score in the “honesty” section for test taking is a red flag for honesty on the job.   The questions repeat themselves, in slightly different ways and in different combinations, so it’s difficult to try to manipulate the results. 

3.      Read the directions.  Sometimes answering the questions isn’t the difficult part.  The questions were divided into sections.  Similar questions had different instructions and scoring methods.  Some sections had a set time period to complete the section or individual answers.   I have a feeling they are also scoring you on ability to follow directions. 

4.      Remove all distractions.  Turn off the phone and find a quiet place away from the kids, dog, TV, etc.   You need all your wits about you to figure out the questions and choose the best answer.  The assessment I took didn’t allow you to pause, save answers and come back later. 

5.      Forget the past.  Were you someone who hated tests in school?  Some brilliant people don’t do well on tests.  The stress and time pressures can be tough.  Relax!  You are the subject matter for these assessments, so for these tests, you are the expert.  Make your best choices for each question and be happy when you’re finished. 

After applying for so many jobs, I was thrilled to get past the resume software screening and advance to the next step in the process, the phone interview.