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I agree - Testing is a waste of time. Your silly test could hinder you
from hiring a potentially brilliant employee simply because that person may
be one who suffers from "test taking syndrome" or had a bad day. Testing is
not a true measurement of a people's ability.
What can you really tell from a test? It may tell you if they can edit or
organize information, but it cannot tell you how they blend in with a team,
persevere when no one returns proofs, gain the respect of engineers and
co-workers or are motivated to grow and learn new things.
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From: stark vision
To: TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU
Subject: Re: Interview & testing
Date: Wednesday, March 10, 1999 10:28AM
Colleen,
I have found that Testing is a waste of time. Why? Because testing doesn+t
reveal anything and I find it totally unprofessional on the companies part
to test individuals. If you have to test an individuals abilities then why
bother in the first place? Why did I struggle to through college? I know,
just so could hand me a test. It seems to that testing is another way of
saying -prove it.-
A long time ago I went to a job interview after the interviewee had sliced
and diced me she handed me a test form. I was horrified. I panicked. Off
course, I did lousy, but what surprised me was that she called me back and
offered me the job. When I asked how I did, she told me that I had flunked
about 80% of the test. I knew that myself; after all, I was completely
caught of guard. I then asked why she was offering me the job. She said
because overall I was better than the other candidates, who passed the test,
but lacked in areas such as personality.
Now when I go to a job and they hand me a test, I simply tell them politely
thank you for the interview but I don+t think I+m what you looking for. As
for 12-pages, what are you trying to do? Torture someone? If I Wanted a
Test, I+d go to the DMV!
