Job interview with a test!

drummer072

I have just had a letter inviting me to an interview for the position of a Benefits Assessor with a local authority. The letter states that as part of their recruitment process I will have to sit a selection test. Has anyone got any ideas as to what the test may involve as the interview is not until next Thursday and I am already terrified!:eek:

Reggie_Rebel

As it council in a customer facing, record keeping role it will probably be a numeracy and literacy test.

There may be an element of IQ assessing in it as well

_Andy_

drummer072 wrote: »

I have just had a letter inviting me to an interview for the position of a Benefits Assessor with a local authority. The letter states that as part of their recruitment process I will have to sit a selection test. Has anyone got any ideas as to what the test may involve as the interview is not until next Thursday and I am already terrified!:eek:

Going to suggest the obvious - ring the HR/recruitment department and I'm sure they'll be able to give you a good idea.

markelock

they should then be some examples of these tests on the web.

you can practice, look at the general ideas, work through examples, and not be so worried when it comes to taking the real one.

make sure you take your time on the tests too. double check your answers, and re-read the questions.

best of luck

Conor_3

The test I've just done for DWP is a literacy test and numeracy test. THe literacy portion had spelling mistakes and incorrect word usage (i.e using "effect" instead of "affect"). The numeracy one involved being given several tables of information and having to answer questions based on them such as totals, percentages and ratios. The timing for the maths part is quite tight.

drummer072

Thank you for all your advice, I am ok with literacy but not keen on the idea of a numeracy test, I tend to use a calculator!

LizzieS_2

No other thoughts to add, other than Good Luck.

Minky2Slice

There are various different selection tests out there and different places will use differnet ones.
Some can be numerical/literacy/personality/experience-based etc.
and they can be used depending on the different aspects some places think would be relevant for the job.
Would your job particularly require more-than-basic maths skills? if not, i doubt it will be numerical, but can test for personality for example they might be looking for a particular person spec for the role.
Ring up and ask, they might give you more info, but dont worry, some of these tests are very basic and impossible to fail.
Some customer-facing roles will give you questions asking how you would act in a specific situation, then giving you a list of 4/5 options to choose from. very easy.

If it is numerical, there are loads of examples on the internet to help you get a feel for the type of questions you might face. If you practice a few, you'd feel less stressed as you'll know what to expect

poker_face

Minky2Slice wrote: »

There are various different selection tests out there and different places will use differnet ones.
Some can be numerical/literacy/personality/experience-based etc.
and they can be used depending on the different aspects some places think would be relevant for the job.
Would your job particularly require more-than-basic maths skills? if not, i doubt it will be numerical, but can test for personality for example they might be looking for a particular person spec for the role.
Ring up and ask, they might give you more info, but dont worry, some of these tests are very basic and impossible to fail.
Some customer-facing roles will give you questions asking how you would act in a specific situation, then giving you a list of 4/5 options to choose from. very easy.

If it is numerical, there are loads of examples on the internet to help you get a feel for the type of questions you might face. If you practice a few, you'd feel less stressed as you'll know what to expect

I had a test like this before. It was very simple, basically just to see how you do under pressure, and to check you have a brain.

KittyBoo_2

poker_face wrote: »

I had a test like this before. It was very simple, basically just to see how you do under pressure, and to check you have a brain.

I'd have to disagree with this slightly as I have just come back from doing this and the numeracy was difficult although we were allowed to take a calculator.
It was based on percentages and ratios as Conor outlined and we were allowed 18 minutes to complete it.
Having said that I am off work at the moment with a thyroid problem and not firing on all cylinders.
They did let us know if we were successful and whether we would be getting an interview at the end of this week.
Sorry to say I was not successful but I am still off work until January so I might have been a bit silly applying.
Good luck.