Really irritated at being asked to complete a nearly 2 hour questionnaire before I even go to the first interview?

[WideWebWitch]

I have a 1st job interview but in advance of the interview have been sent a link to 2 questionnaires, the first of which had 108 questions, (multiple choice, which is most and least like you) and the second with 21 questions, with multiple strongly disagree/slightly disagree blah blah of 5 questions on each of the 21 questions.

I have just done it, feeling more and more irritated by the minute. It took about an hour and a half, suspect it would have been longer had I decided to spend more time on it but I did whizz through it.

I have seen a job spec but no idea whether I'm interested until I meet the people, which will be sometime in the next 2 weeks.

As I am in a contract that I really like atm, with a great boss, reduced hours, (albeit long commute), 1 day a week from home and this goes until December I'm not sure the time is right to take a perm role anyway. In my mind I am interviewing them as much as they are interviewing me since I'm really not sure about a perm role.

AIBU? I don't mind taking tests btw, it's just that I'd rather take them once I've decided I DO want the job. I'm perfectly prepared to go to 1st interview for this one and find that I don't.

Out of order and off putting for candidates IMO. What do you think?

Sorry, don't know why there's a question mark in the title, I guess I was thinking in my head AIBU? TIA for any views.

I've had to do this kind of test a couple of times, but not for a good few years. When I did, it was part of the 1st interview, before another (technical) test. IME some larger companies do this - I've never had a small firm do it.
The tests I did were nowhere near as long as yours though - there might have been about 20 questions in total! Yours does sound rather excessive.

not that i know much of anything about employment in 'real' jobs, but yeah, that sounds well irritating.
still, its done now, eh.

I expect they are anticipating a lot of interest in the job and this is a way of weeding out the people that are applying but not particularly interested in the job.
I have been on the other end of recruiting when I was in my old job and did occasionally set tests etc to narrow down the applicants to those that were most keen!

2.4, I have already been weeded out as one of 3 going for interview out of all the applicants who applied (no idea how many there were).

I guess I'm fed up partly because time is really precious to me: I get up at 6am every day, leave the house at 7ish and don't get back until 6.30-7pm. My weekends are precious. Plus I'm on a daily rate so what I sell during the week is my time. I feel like charging them for it tbh!(I know I can't and won't)

YABU. Depending on level of job, I'd expect to carry out some sort of pre-interview task. I was recently appointed to my job, and had to do a fairly detailed exercise on two different aspects of the role, once short-listed. As I understand, it gave some useful background information about the candidates, and allowed the interview questions to be tailored accordingly.

Chippy, I don't mind tests per se and I don't mind them once I'm sure I'm interested etc but I suppose asking me to take 1.5 hours out of my weekend (there's a deadline and I only got it yest afternoon) has pissed me off.

I had 5 interviews for my last perm job btw, didn't object to that at all. And 2 interviews for the contract I'm doing now.

I, rather lazily, don't go for jobs that do this. Like you say, once you're past round one, it's fine but I think a bit much in advance.

I sort of think if you are going to weed out candidates this way, it's a bit weak, isn't it. I think we are in a similar line of work.

I suspect you are not really interested in this job, in which case, can you knock them off quickly and see what happens? Are they the kind of thing where there is no 'right' answer?

i feel for you - weekends are very precious when you're working f/t. in your shoes i'd have worked out the percentage of my valuable time lost over the weekend and had an almighty grumble!

anyway, what were you doing applying for another job? thought you were sorted?

as an aside...

you know a number of mnetters hiring nannies and au pairs have a detailed pre-interview questionnaire to weed out time wasters. just as a matter of interest do you think it is appropriate in those circs or do you also think it's a bit much?

I think it's a bit much tbh. I don't like it. I don't think it tells you much about someone and you can always lie on a questionnaire. Face to face feedback better.

I can't remember how I whittled down my nanny list. Mainly on location I think. Only left me with a few.

FIS, I nearly pulled out on Friday. Chippy, I did whizz through them, while being distracted by children so wasn't even concentrating properly. They weren't hard, things like

What would you do with a demotivated employee (having given you long and improbable scenario):

a) tell him he's shit
b) tell his supervisor to sort it out
c) find out what's bothering him and help
d) fire hime
e) etc

I wrote stroppy email to agency saying "tell them I withdraw on the basis that this is irritating" but I saved it to drafts and haven;t sent it.

The prep for the interview will be at least 2 huors (job desc has 100 competencies so will have to think of situations that demonstrate I have them, I do though!) + interview will prob be 2 hours + there will be a second int, I'm EXHAUSTED just thinking about it.

i think you need to ask yourself/the agent/mumsnetters what this recruitment process tells you about the company culture...

it's not 100 competencies, I am exaggerating!

BK, I think it would piss me off if I was a nanny too. I bet they lose good people as a result of doing tihs. I am good at my job and can do this role but may well withdraw their loss (apols for seeming arrogance, I'm not really but I can do their job)

I'm not really 'applying' - it's a perm job nearer home.

Maybe I don't really want it because it's come at the wrong time: my contract is now completely ok, given that the team are performing, my hours are reduced, I do 1 day from home, my boss is LOVELY, and I have agreed to stay until Nov, which is v likely to go on until Dec/Jan.

If I stay in contract also we will have lots more money whereas this is less cash as it's a perm job.

PLUS I have just discovered that commute from Bicester is BLISS compared to MK.

Lovely uniformed staff available to help you, loads of parking, air con on the trains, no queues, birds singing AND it's £300 less a month than current commute.

So I can completely do my current contract for another six months and I will be happy doing so - I've done the hard bit there, it's all maintenance and enjoyment and doing nice to haves now. So am loathe not to stay and reap the benefits of six months of hard work licking them into shape iyswim.

German co BK

Have to say I have used these tests A LOT in my last (maths based) job. Found that the numeric/personality questionnaire really sorted the wheat from the chaff and the interview was more a case of do we like this person/will they fit in with the team....

In the early days of doing it we took some people on because we liked them and they had not passed and three disciplinary interviews (poor performance) later made it a rule that any candidates HAD to pass the tests to be taken on.

Interestingly we found more women passed the tests than men....

You may be caught in this trap - they like you but want to see if you will be good long term with testing.....

hi thanks for that.

was definitely not wanting to slate people who use questionnaires as part of the nanny recruitment process, just interested as the subject had come up in another context.

i know what you mean about just knowing you'd be able to do the job without giving evidence based examples of 100 competencies!

i am good at my job (or should that be was good at my job? but think would not perform well at this new-fangled interviewing style.

in case you hadn't guessed, i would probably conclude that this organisation was rather control freaky with little room for flair, initiative and imagination and plenty of room for box-tickers....

I missed the bit where you said you'd already done it LOL. Agree with bossykate - if their recruitment policy is so irritating what will it be like working there? Can you ask around and see if anyone has any insider info?

ah x posted!

It's real nuisance. I've 3 children at university stage going through this stuff. When I applied for my first job I did 110 applications in the early 80s before I got one but many of those were posting my CV with short covering letter. Instead now my daughter have to go on line and spend as you say 2 hours or more sometimes a whole day completing on line applications. The ones my daughter did were not tests at all by the way just lots of CV type boxes, why you want the job, work experience, qualifications etc. It also allows them electronically to bar your application if you don't have a 2/1 or enough A grades at A level too. You can see why recruiters like it.

Btw, when I say I didn't apply for it, I didn't really, an agency (two of them actually, both rang me for same job) rang me, said 'can we put you forward?' I skim read job description at work, said yeah, go on then and now this. I have a very close skill set match and would have been shocked if I hadn't got an interview tbh.

fkit, I may just pull out on Monday. Depends if the interview time they give me is convenient. If it's not, I won't go.

Blimey Xenia how annoying if everyone's doing this these days. I've always worked for v big companies btw and have never had this much testing BEFORE I've even got as far as meeting them to talk about the job.

Psychometric testing is getting more and more popular, we have used them for years in order to match potential hires to the best fit designed by our specialists.

Companies are looking at how to reduce recruitment costs - and most of them count any failed hires (ones that quit after 2 weeks saying you lot are pants, have to be sacked etc) in with this as well. That is also why the application processes that are being used online are so popular, it allows for immediate filtering of candidates by computer programmes, without the need to sit a read every bit of a huge range of CVs. One of the results of having access to questionnaires and tests etc is that anyone who doesn't want to spend the time and commit to completing a test, is to the company, not interested enough and not the sort of person they want to hire. Almost like an initiation if you like, ie how many hoops can they make you jump through and prove you could be a "company man"?

However, not one of my placements (recruitment job!) has been based on using any of these techniques. We used to filter on geographical basis, yes, but only because the majority of applicants were not interested in relocation. You can't beat interviews and references.

It sounds to me like you are not really motivated to complete these tests, because it isn't really worth you changing. If it was another time, then maybe you would feel different about it. Whatever you decide, Good Luck!

It depends how many you have to do. If I had had to do my 110 applications an they all took over 2 hours I might have been put off. My older daughter did 4 applications or may be three and then an assessment day which was like a day long interview and that was it so that isn't too onerous. We will see what the second daughter ends up having to do.