Basic Interview tests
Discussion
We are currently recruiting for an apprentice, as part of this I would like to test the candidates basic spelling and grammar as they will be sending emails out to our clients I want to ensure they are capable of communicating to a decent business standard. Has anyone any suggestions on how best to test this? I was thinking of doctoring a news article with some fairly obvious punctuation, spelling and grammar errors then giving them the printout with a highlighter pen and asking them to pick up on anything that is wrong. Can anyone think of a better way of testing this?
The role is a fairly basic IT support role so if anyone has any suggestions as to other questions I could ask that would be very handy.
The role is a fairly basic IT support role so if anyone has any suggestions as to other questions I could ask that would be very handy.
Usually the CV and covering letter should give you a good idea. True that some people get help to write the CV but it's pretty easy to spot a generic cover letter, so specify that in the advert. Eg. Please send your CV along with a covering letter explaining why you think you would be good at a technical support role. This will also save you time as I'm prepared to bet at least half the responses will fail to do this, meaning they haven't even read the advert, hence they can go straight in the bin.
We are getting the apprentices via a training academy rather than open recruitment so I have reason to believe their CV's will have been prepared by the academy, If it were for a more experienced position then I’d agree with you regarding the CV and cover letter. I guess what I’m looking for is for them to answer a brief set of technical questions along with the English test before we sit down with them and have a chat to see how they would fit, but the structure of how to test this is what evades me.
Maybe asking them to write a couple of short paragraphs of something that interests them, what they've been 'doing' at their course for the last couple of months, what they've learned etc..... or if they have a hobby, just a couple of paragraphs about that.
I reckon you could learn a lot from that.
I reckon you could learn a lot from that.
ikarl said:
Maybe asking them to write a couple of short paragraphs of something that interests them, what they've been 'doing' at their course for the last couple of months, what they've learned etc..... or if they have a hobby, just a couple of paragraphs about that.
I reckon you could learn a lot from that.
^^This.I reckon you could learn a lot from that.
Also phone interview them. Do they know how to talk with some in a professional way? I always phone interview desktop support and below at a pre arranged date and time, I would ask them some basic technical questions depending on the role but more importantly I would be judging how they communicated with me and you would be amazed at the way some people act on the phone. About 70% of possible candidates wouldn't progress from a phone interview.
Mock up some information about a custoer and their account then give the interviewee instructions to write a letter/email to that client using the information. So if their job would involve sending an email to a customer to tell them what work has been done for them and how much it'll cost then that forms the task.
This way you can also assess how well they communicate in a business environment as well as their spelling and grammar. Can even extend it by making them do a few basic calculations to work out the total cost using information cost per unit and units required before putting it in the letter.
Use Microsoft Wordpad or get them to handwrite it to prevent the use of spellcheck to properly check their spelling and grammar. Do it on the computer and you open it in Word proper and have it identify any errors for you, or have it handwritten to check whether they structure properly as they only get one chance to get it correct.
This way you can also assess how well they communicate in a business environment as well as their spelling and grammar. Can even extend it by making them do a few basic calculations to work out the total cost using information cost per unit and units required before putting it in the letter.
Use Microsoft Wordpad or get them to handwrite it to prevent the use of spellcheck to properly check their spelling and grammar. Do it on the computer and you open it in Word proper and have it identify any errors for you, or have it handwritten to check whether they structure properly as they only get one chance to get it correct.
You can also use the Able series of tests from Saville consulting who do a range of verbal reasoning, numerical and language tests. I will be honest and say that this isn't the cheapest solution but you will get a properly benchmarked result from it.
How many people are you talking about?
How many people are you talking about?
Rutter said:
We are currently recruiting for an apprentice, as part of this I would like to test the candidates basic spelling and grammar as they will be sending emails out to our clients I want to ensure they are capable of communicating to a decent business standard. Has anyone any suggestions on how best to test this? I was thinking of doctoring a news article with some fairly obvious punctuation, spelling and grammar errors then giving them the printout with a highlighter pen and asking them to pick up on anything that is wrong. Can anyone think of a better way of testing this?
The role is a fairly basic IT support role so if anyone has any suggestions as to other questions I could ask that would be very handy.
You might give them this and ask them to point out yours; there are a few... The role is a fairly basic IT support role so if anyone has any suggestions as to other questions I could ask that would be very handy.
jaedba2604 said:
Rutter said:
We are currently recruiting an apprentice. As part of this I would like to test the candidate's basic spelling and grammar, as they will be sending emails out to our clients. I want to ensure they are capable of communicating to a decent business standard. Has anyone any suggestions on how best to test this? I was thinking of doctoring a news article with some fairly obvious punctuation, spelling and grammatical errors, then giving them the printout with a highlighter pen, asking them to pick up on anything that is wrong. Can anyone think of a better way of testing this?
The role is a fairly basic IT support role, so if anyone has any suggestions as to other questions that I could ask, that would be very handy.
You might give them this and ask them to point out yours; there are a few... The role is a fairly basic IT support role, so if anyone has any suggestions as to other questions that I could ask, that would be very handy.
Jules360 said:
jaedba2604 said:
Rutter said:
We are currently recruiting an apprentice. As part of this I would like to test the candidate's basic spelling and grammar, as they will be sending emails out to our clients. I want to ensure they are capable of communicating to a decent business standard. Has anyone any suggestions on how best to test this? I was thinking of doctoring a news article with some fairly obvious punctuation, spelling and grammatical errors, then giving them the printout with a highlighter pen, asking them to pick up on anything that is wrong. Can anyone think of a better way of testing this?
The role is a fairly basic IT support role, so if anyone has any suggestions as to other questions that I could ask, that would be very handy.
You might give them this and ask them to point out yours; there are a few... The role is a fairly basic IT support role, so if anyone has any suggestions as to other questions that I could ask, that would be very handy.
i'd have put the possessive apostrophe after the s in candidate's, assuming you are testing more than one...Gassing Station | Jobs & Employment Matters | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff