<p>Good luck and let us know what you think about the test.</p>
<p>AAAUGH, NOOO!!! I typed a long, detailed post with examples and everything, and then lost it when I hit Submit Reply! Oooooh, I am so steamed! 
And I don’t have time to retype it. Will do later.</p>
<p>Short answer: It was a lot like a standard aptitude test, but with some cool twists. And I survived.</p>
<p>I wish I could remember where I read the study on these types of tests. I do remember the conclusion was that they were not accurate in any way and could vary widely in results depending on the present mood of the test taker.<br>
The truth is that companies are sold a bunch of goods at a high price from consultants who claim to have a way to find great employees. Can’t help but point out that one way to have great employees is to be a great employer with great standards.</p>
<p>Some tests have more solid research behind them than others. Industrial-organizational psychology (the specialty that commonly handles this testing) is a well respected field.</p>
<p>Keep us posted, mantori! We are rooting for you.</p>
<p>Good luck to you!</p>
<p>Thanks, y’all. The interview was a week ago today, and I’ve been hearing for the last two days that an offer will be forthcoming “any time now”. One week is not an unreasonably long time for them to make a decision and extend an offer. The problem is that I have already started mentally checking out from my current job! I know that’s bad, and I’m trying not to let it happen, but it’s tough, you know? The recruiter told me that it’s not a matter of if, but when, and congratulated me on getting the job, so unless he’s completely full of it, it’s going to work out. Still nervous, though.</p>
<p>mantori, what you are experiencing now is very similar to HS “senioritis”. Keeping fingers crossed for you.</p>
<p>Yay for you, Mantori!</p>
<p>Hi and thank you, everyone. Your encouragement is very…well, encouraging. :)</p>
<p>There is one sticking point on their offer. I wonder if y’all would chime in with your opinions.</p>
<p>They have offered a nice signing bonus, which is intended to cover relocation expenses as well. That’s fine. But the bonus is to be spread out in quarterly payments over the first year. That would be fine, except that it means that I’ll be paying all relocation expenses out of my own pocket, and not getting that money back for at least 3 months, and maybe 6 months depending on how much the relocation costs me.</p>
<p>Even the company that hired me right out of college paid my moving expenses up-front, as has every employer since. Why would this company not do the same?</p>
<p>I told them that this is the only sticking point, but that it’s a big one. They are going to “see what they can do.” I thought it might have actually been a typo or accidental omission from the offer letter, but apparently this is really how they expect to do things.</p>
<p>Any thoughts? Thanks again, everyone.</p>
<p>Nevermind, I think we’ve settled it. They said they can’t give cash up front but will reimburse any moving expenses immediately rather than making me wait. That seems like a reasonable compromise to me. (Still strange that they don’t just pay for it up front, though.)</p>
<p>Both of my kids started new jobs in recent months. One got a signing bonus; the other got relocation expenses. Neither actually received a dime until after they were on the payroll, which means that they had to have money of their own to pay for moving expenses, the first month’s rent and security deposits on their apartments, etc. </p>
<p>I think the rationale for waiting to give them the money is that they had to actually be employees before they could get it. </p>
<p>Given their experience, I’m surprised that you’ve been able to get the money in advance in previous jobs.</p>
<p>Mantori, congratulations! It is not uncommon for company to offer to reimburse relocation expenses rather than paying cash upfront. They spread the payout of the sign on bonus to make sure that you don’t simply grab the cash and run off to a competitor in a couple of monhs (happened at a place I used to work - a lady grabbed a huge signing bonus and resigned after 3 weeks because she finally got the offer she was waiting for).</p>
<p>congrats mantori. Is it a far move?</p>
<p>It is great that they are willing to pay moving expenses. When my son moved across country (1300 miles) for his new job last December, he was on his own for expenses. He didn’t move with much. Just what would fit in his car.</p>
<p>good job!! congrats!</p>
<p>Congrats. Any insights to offer on the test?</p>
<p>Thanks, y’all. We live in Arkansas now. The new job is near Terre Haute, so about 500 miles away. But it’s 500 miles closer to everyone we know and love—we’re originally from Ohio, and most of our relatives are still there—so now we’ll be able to make weekend trips home instead of having to take time off work or pay big bucks to fly. (I don’t think there is any such thing as a cheap flight to or from Arkansas.)</p>
<p>The test was interesting and fun! It took about 30 to 40 minutes, with several sections including:</p>
<p>Morality/Values/Judgment (not timed):</p>
<p>Numerous questions, statements, or scenarios were presented. I had to pick one of three possible responses to each. The three responses were typically an extreme, the opposite extreme, and something in-between. The catch was that, out of about 50 scenarios, I could only pick the middle response 11 times, so for many of them, I was forced to decide which of the extremes was the lesser of two evils.</p>
<p>Some of the items addressed social issues, such as the statement, “Most poor people are poor because….” The three possible responses were, “…they avoid taking responsibility and don’t wish to work,” “…society fails to prepare them adequately and offer them meaningful work,” or, “…a variety of reasons that may or may not be the individual’s fault.” (I am paraphrasing, but you get the idea.)</p>
<p>Other addressed workplace issues, such as whether to discipline an employee or report a colleague, or personal moral judgments, such as whether to keep or attempt to find the owner of found money. Again, the hard part was not being able to choose the middle answer more than a few times.</p>
<p>Logical/Mathematical Reasoning (timed):</p>
<p>Most of these were SAT-type, multiple-choice problems in which the answer could often be deduced by recognizing patterns or realizing that certain answers were not possible. A few were straightforward calculations or algebra.</p>
<p>Vocabulary (timed):</p>
<p>Again, SAT-type problems such as definitions, analogies, synonyms, and antonyms.</p>
<p>General Knowledge/Business Knowledge (not timed, I think):</p>
<p>This section consisted of a series of questions about things you would normally learn just by being alive and having a job: “If a machine operator increases the number of pieces she can produce in an hour, she has increased her…(rate/profit/fallout/dividend).” “Israel is often in conflict with the…(Palestinians/French/Chinese/Celts).”</p>
<p>Number Comparison (timed):</p>
<p>This was a cool exercise I had never seen before. Two lengthy columns of numbers are presented side-by-side. The numbers are either identical or very similar. For example, one row may have 7775353 in both columns, while another may have 7775353 on the left and 7775335 on the right. My task was to pick out the rows in which the two numbers were identical. I think there were 100 rows, and I had 100 seconds or so to complete the exercise, so apparently this portion was testing some aspect of my attention to detail under time pressure.</p>
<p>I think I’m forgetting a section. I’ll post an update if I remember.</p>
<p>I have not yet received the results, but the company may very well have used them, because the job they offered me is not the one I interviewed for, but one that actually suits my background and temperament better! And it pays a little more, too. :D</p>
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<p>I may have phrased that confusingly. I don’t mean the companies gave me cash up front. I mean they paid the moving expenses directly to the movers. In other words, I had no out-of-pocket expenses.</p>
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<p>Ugh, I hate these! I always get the ones that make me sound like a sociopath.</p>