YAJHU (yet another job hunting update)
So I had the interview with the HR Manager on Monday, and I feel like it went well? It certainly went long; I realised after walking out of there that we'd spent two hours on it!
The position I've applied for is a temporary maternity cover, and the amusing thing is that the current HR Manager is also there as a temporary maternity cover! She's only been at the company for a few months, so she doesn't have all the ins and outs sorted out yet, but we had a good chat about the company and the role.
She didn't ask me any questions intended to throw me off, and we mostly chatted about what I'd done previously, what type of employee I am, what I like and what I don't, that kind of thing. We seemed to be on a similar wave length, and I do like the way she presented the job.
Following the interview, I got invited to a test. It was done online, and consisted of several parts. The first one was easy, I had to go over dozens of statements and rate them according to how well they matched me ("I thrive in a competitive environment", "The company should support its employees career development and goals", and so on). The next bit was timed, and I was presented with groups of graphics and had to pick put which one didn't fit the pattern (to measure my logical induction, apparently). The third section was for concentration (??) and had me clicking "yes" or no" on whether the symbol currently on the screen was a capital E with three dots around it (the symbol changed between letters and numbers, and the numbers of dots varied).
It was the final section that almost did me in. I can hit any deadline you give me, but a ticking clock on the screen will make me completely freeze up and unable to function. The final test was a simulated inbox of a Marketing Manager that had just quit his job, and I was the temporary replacement. I had 15 minutes to sort out his inbox, which started out with 20 emails with more coming in constantly, and I had to prioritise the emails according to certain roles (which project, how long it had gone unanswered, etc.) and then action the emails (forward to someone else, send information, confirm as received, set up a meeting).
It was absolutely nerve-wracking, and I have no idea how I did. I know I failed to flag all the emails as low, medium or high priority, but I think I managed to action all the most important ones. A goodish sign is that the recruiter emailed me on Saturday to ask for references. Surely they wouldn't do that if I'd completely botched the test?
Either way, apparently the the test doesn't get interpreted as is, so I have a meeting with the recruiter on Monday to discuss the results. I can only hope that it will be the last stage. This is a lot of hoops for a one-year (usually) temporary cover.
Originally posted at Dreamwidth. You can also comment there using OpenID.
The position I've applied for is a temporary maternity cover, and the amusing thing is that the current HR Manager is also there as a temporary maternity cover! She's only been at the company for a few months, so she doesn't have all the ins and outs sorted out yet, but we had a good chat about the company and the role.
She didn't ask me any questions intended to throw me off, and we mostly chatted about what I'd done previously, what type of employee I am, what I like and what I don't, that kind of thing. We seemed to be on a similar wave length, and I do like the way she presented the job.
Following the interview, I got invited to a test. It was done online, and consisted of several parts. The first one was easy, I had to go over dozens of statements and rate them according to how well they matched me ("I thrive in a competitive environment", "The company should support its employees career development and goals", and so on). The next bit was timed, and I was presented with groups of graphics and had to pick put which one didn't fit the pattern (to measure my logical induction, apparently). The third section was for concentration (??) and had me clicking "yes" or no" on whether the symbol currently on the screen was a capital E with three dots around it (the symbol changed between letters and numbers, and the numbers of dots varied).
It was the final section that almost did me in. I can hit any deadline you give me, but a ticking clock on the screen will make me completely freeze up and unable to function. The final test was a simulated inbox of a Marketing Manager that had just quit his job, and I was the temporary replacement. I had 15 minutes to sort out his inbox, which started out with 20 emails with more coming in constantly, and I had to prioritise the emails according to certain roles (which project, how long it had gone unanswered, etc.) and then action the emails (forward to someone else, send information, confirm as received, set up a meeting).
It was absolutely nerve-wracking, and I have no idea how I did. I know I failed to flag all the emails as low, medium or high priority, but I think I managed to action all the most important ones. A goodish sign is that the recruiter emailed me on Saturday to ask for references. Surely they wouldn't do that if I'd completely botched the test?
Either way, apparently the the test doesn't get interpreted as is, so I have a meeting with the recruiter on Monday to discuss the results. I can only hope that it will be the last stage. This is a lot of hoops for a one-year (usually) temporary cover.
Originally posted at Dreamwidth. You can also comment there using OpenID.