Aptitude test gone wrong! ...help!
Discussion
need advice please!! Last week I had some interview questions for a grad job I applied for. I nailed the interview questions and got through to the next stage which was the aptitude test.
well today I had the aptitude test which consisted of Numeracy, Literacy and Abstract Analysis. I was provided with practice papers to give me an idea of the level of the questions to expect. I spent an entire day practising and actually gained full marks on the papers, with no problem and feeling confident for the real thing. I did the real test today and it was not what I was expecting in terms of level wise (the actual test was far far more complex). I truly struggled and began to panic and it just went downhill from there. Im pretty sure i've done badly and not sure what to expect now. I just feel a little angry that the practice papers provided were not a true reflection of what to expect in the real test. Im just soo gutted as I know im pretty sharp in terms of test and the performance given was not a true reflection of my abilities, and I know I would be great in the job position that I applied for. Am I over-reacting and worrying too much? How important is the performance of an aptitude test? any advice would be appreciated.
well today I had the aptitude test which consisted of Numeracy, Literacy and Abstract Analysis. I was provided with practice papers to give me an idea of the level of the questions to expect. I spent an entire day practising and actually gained full marks on the papers, with no problem and feeling confident for the real thing. I did the real test today and it was not what I was expecting in terms of level wise (the actual test was far far more complex). I truly struggled and began to panic and it just went downhill from there. Im pretty sure i've done badly and not sure what to expect now. I just feel a little angry that the practice papers provided were not a true reflection of what to expect in the real test. Im just soo gutted as I know im pretty sharp in terms of test and the performance given was not a true reflection of my abilities, and I know I would be great in the job position that I applied for. Am I over-reacting and worrying too much? How important is the performance of an aptitude test? any advice would be appreciated.
That's exactly the sort of test I'd set 
Reasonable examples, then for the actual test, bring on the really complex stuff... see how you react to it. To be honest I'd probably not give you any examples at all, and just see how you did. So... what next, well you've already done it, so why worry? Easy to say, not so easy to do of course.
Everyone else will have been in the same boat and you don't know how they reacted (even if you got to talk to them afterwards).
Wait and see, in my opinion the interview is a better measure of whether they want you to work for them.... and of course, whether you want to work there.
Best of luck
Reasonable examples, then for the actual test, bring on the really complex stuff... see how you react to it. To be honest I'd probably not give you any examples at all, and just see how you did. So... what next, well you've already done it, so why worry? Easy to say, not so easy to do of course.
Everyone else will have been in the same boat and you don't know how they reacted (even if you got to talk to them afterwards).
Wait and see, in my opinion the interview is a better measure of whether they want you to work for them.... and of course, whether you want to work there.
Best of luck
Maybe it was done for a reason ...
If I was an employer especially in a customer facing situation I'd like to do exactly that to a prospective employee - i.e. put them under extreme pressure - and watch their behaviour, if they fall apart - they are also likely to do so in a real life situation...
Now I'm evil and twisted - but I'm sure someone on here knows how recruitment guys are thinking these days...
Hope it is not as bad as you fear - good luck..
ETA - bah - beaten to it ;-)
Simes.
If I was an employer especially in a customer facing situation I'd like to do exactly that to a prospective employee - i.e. put them under extreme pressure - and watch their behaviour, if they fall apart - they are also likely to do so in a real life situation...
Now I'm evil and twisted - but I'm sure someone on here knows how recruitment guys are thinking these days...
Hope it is not as bad as you fear - good luck..
ETA - bah - beaten to it ;-)
Simes.
Edited by 51mes on Monday 23 May 22:21
Edited by 51mes on Monday 23 May 22:22
FezzaDude said:
it was for the Graduate Wide Programme for a well known supermarket. So the idea is that once you get onto the programme you experience all areas of the business then decide on a speciality.
My advice is too look for a proper job, graduate schemes are under paid and you will be treated like s
t 16 hour days on salary aint goodthe interview questions - were these face to face or online/telephone.
if the latter then if the test went as badly as you thought then you've just been culled. forget about it, practice more tests at a higher level, move on. all you can do is learn from it and survive the cull on all future grad schemes you apply to.
i tend to think they have no real validity in practice, but then HR depts have to whittle down the 1000s of applicants somehow.
if the latter then if the test went as badly as you thought then you've just been culled. forget about it, practice more tests at a higher level, move on. all you can do is learn from it and survive the cull on all future grad schemes you apply to.
i tend to think they have no real validity in practice, but then HR depts have to whittle down the 1000s of applicants somehow.
pokethepope said:
Can you remember any of the questions? I'll be applying for graduate jobs soon and will be looking at the supermarkets, would be interested to see what sort of questions they ask you?
cant remember the questions off the top of my head. The Numeracy test was based on table's, graphs and charts and then making calculations based on these, Literacy was reading blocks of text and writing answers based on this and the abstract test was working out pattern sequences and filling in the missing gaps in a sequence. Each section had 8/9 questions with and a max time of 1.5-2mins to answer. 
shirt said:
the interview questions - were these face to face or online/telephone.
if the latter then if the test went as badly as you thought then you've just been culled. forget about it, practice more tests at a higher level, move on. all you can do is learn from it and survive the cull on all future grad schemes you apply to.
i tend to think they have no real validity in practice, but then HR depts have to whittle down the 1000s of applicants somehow.
the interview questions were on-line. not looking good if the latter then if the test went as badly as you thought then you've just been culled. forget about it, practice more tests at a higher level, move on. all you can do is learn from it and survive the cull on all future grad schemes you apply to.
i tend to think they have no real validity in practice, but then HR depts have to whittle down the 1000s of applicants somehow.
You might be OK - I did some online aptitude test last year on my lunch break when I thought I was guaranteed not be be interrupted, and all hell kicked off in the office. I ended up just having to pick answers at random.
I got through to the next stage, though pulled out because I wasn't that interested in the job to do a 1 day assessment centre and group interview (esp as I'd just found out I'd been selected for retention in that round of redundancies).
Anyway, what I wanted to say that you don't know how high it was pitched - at the end of the day it will be a relative measure not an absolute one. I've had other really tough assessment centre tests and have actually had good feedback regarding them even though I thought I was doing badly.
I got through to the next stage, though pulled out because I wasn't that interested in the job to do a 1 day assessment centre and group interview (esp as I'd just found out I'd been selected for retention in that round of redundancies).
Anyway, what I wanted to say that you don't know how high it was pitched - at the end of the day it will be a relative measure not an absolute one. I've had other really tough assessment centre tests and have actually had good feedback regarding them even though I thought I was doing badly.
Edited by oldbanger on Monday 23 May 23:42
SWH said:
Everyone else will have been in the same boat and you don't know how they reacted (even if you got to talk to them afterwards). Wait and see, in my opinion the interview is a better measure of whether they want you to work for them.... and of course, whether you want to work there. Best of luck
+1OP I hope you are still within a shout for the position.
Some things I have noticed from my experiences when taking or setting tests / exams:
1) Practice papers for several reasons are always much easier than the actual test, I have never known it any other way.
2) From being involved in delivering Company wide Graduate Schemes, the benchmark is deliberately set extremely high; the objective is to take on only the best to the next stage.
3) I have never sat any test or exam and felt confident about the result after taking it and yet, more often than not I have passed. I think it is normal to think it went worse than it did.
4) You must look at this from a learning perspective, take from it how you feel, what you have learned, how better to prepare and make it a positive to help you in your next opportunities.
Good luck.
Some things I have noticed from my experiences when taking or setting tests / exams:
1) Practice papers for several reasons are always much easier than the actual test, I have never known it any other way.
2) From being involved in delivering Company wide Graduate Schemes, the benchmark is deliberately set extremely high; the objective is to take on only the best to the next stage.
3) I have never sat any test or exam and felt confident about the result after taking it and yet, more often than not I have passed. I think it is normal to think it went worse than it did.
4) You must look at this from a learning perspective, take from it how you feel, what you have learned, how better to prepare and make it a positive to help you in your next opportunities.
Good luck.
one more point to add:
go to graduate/careers fairs and make people notice you - in a good way, obviously! i used to attend them with HR so they had someone who could talk about the company from the perspective of a recent hire. we were always told to note down the names of people who impressed, so that their names would be flagged if/when they applied. these people would usually be automatically selected for at least the telephone interview even if their online test scores were crap.
again, should you progress to group stage interviews, much more than you would realise goes on personality based attributes than acing a meaningless test. no-one wants to work with a knobber.
go to graduate/careers fairs and make people notice you - in a good way, obviously! i used to attend them with HR so they had someone who could talk about the company from the perspective of a recent hire. we were always told to note down the names of people who impressed, so that their names would be flagged if/when they applied. these people would usually be automatically selected for at least the telephone interview even if their online test scores were crap.
again, should you progress to group stage interviews, much more than you would realise goes on personality based attributes than acing a meaningless test. no-one wants to work with a knobber.
That's pretty standard practice I thought.
The examples are normally rediculously simple just to give you an idea of what you will face...such as if a train sets of at 14:00 on a 190minute journey what time will it arrive?
Maybe the first couple of questions will be this simple and they will get gradually harder.
Try Milkround for graduate jobs, in fairness though, for most graduate jobs you need to be applying way before christmas.
The examples are normally rediculously simple just to give you an idea of what you will face...such as if a train sets of at 14:00 on a 190minute journey what time will it arrive?
Maybe the first couple of questions will be this simple and they will get gradually harder.
Try Milkround for graduate jobs, in fairness though, for most graduate jobs you need to be applying way before christmas.
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