RE: Why don't more job interviews use writing tests?

["Jones, Donna" <DJones -at- zebra -dot- com>]

I have had to take writing or editing tests a few times over the last 15 or so years. One stands out in my mind because the experience was so bad.

I arrived for what I believed to be a combination interview and editing test. I was handed a test by a surly receptionist, ushered to a table in a small conference room, and then ignored. There were no instructions with the test, so I wasn't sure what level of edit they wanted done on the poorly written copy. There was no one for me to ask other than the receptionist, who didn't have an answer. The person who I had spoken to on the phone previously was either not there or didn't care that I was.

The type on the test itself was very small (9 point TNR at best). From repeated copying, the letters on the pages had filled in to the point of being illegible (couldn't tell apart vowels a, e, and o), so I had a difficult time making out the most basic words. Stray copier marks were so thick on the pages that my editing/proofreading marks all but disappeared.

When I was finished the test, I brought it back to the receptionist (who promptly disappeared) and stood there waiting for my interview to materialize. She came back, gave me the "why are you still here?" look, and told me that I was free to go. She didn't take my resume or writing samples, and I never saw the person who I had spoken to on the phone. I never heard from the company again. That was the strangest job-seeking experience I ever had and a complete waste of my time.

If anyone considers giving a test as part of the hiring process, make sure 

1) that the candidate knows if that's all he/she is there for that day
2) that someone at the company knows what's going on
3) that the test itself is readable(!)


Donna

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