by Angela Copeland | Aug 27, 2024 | Career Corner Column, Interview Questions, Interviewing, Job Search, Newsletter
Most job seekers have very strong feelings on one particular topic: job interview assessments. It is not uncommon in today’s job market for an employer to ask you to take an assessment. Yes, they may ask you to take a test.
An employer may ask you to “do a case study.” An employer may ask you to take an IQ test or to write a paper. Or, an employer may ask you to write a sample marketing plan.
Very often, I hear from job seekers that they feel that these assessment are ridiculous. Job seekers believe they are a waste of time. The company is asking the job seeker to do free work. And, many job seekers feel that companies do assessments such as these in order to steal their ideas. Job seekers often feel that their resume should speak for itself.
But, what if we think about the other side of this issue? Yes, assessments do take more time. And, when it comes to test taking, it could be debated that they are not always perfectly fair.
Assessments do however give a company a bird’s eye view into how you think. For example, what if the manager who hires you doesn’t like your ideas, or your working style? Doing an assessment may give you the opportunity to avoid a company that’s not for you.
Plus, it is not uncommon to compete against Ivy League graduates in a job interview. If you only needed a resume, the Harvard graduate might win every interview. An assessment can allow an underdog candidate to be taken more seriously. It can show a hiring manager that you understand their business, and are willing to work hard.
I once used an assessment when interviewing candidates for a graphic artist role. Each person was asked to create an image. In fairness, I provided each person with a small payment for their work. But, this small project allowed me to clearly see who the most talented designers were. It allowed all bias to be set aside, and to focus on results.
Think of it this way. An assessment can help to set you apart from the competition.
And, on the topic of stealing ideas, I hate to break it to you. Your ideas are not that original. Neither are mine. It is not uncommon for two people to come up with the same idea. Not only that, a company cannot sustain on a few ideas that may have been shared in a job interview assessment. The likelihood that a company is interviewing you in order to take ideas from you is low.
Rather than be upset about an assessment, look at it as an opportunity. It’s your chance to shine, and it’s your chance to get a new job offer. Many candidates drop out on the assessment step. Be the candidate who takes a risk, and wins big. You might get the opportunity to implement the ideas you created.
I hope these tips have helped you. Visit CopelandCoaching.com to find more tips to improve your job search. If I can be of assistance to you, don’t hesitate to reach out to me here.
Also, be sure to subscribe to my Copeland Coaching Podcast on
Apple Podcasts or
Stitcher where I discuss career advice every Tuesday! If you’ve already heard the podcast and enjoy it, please consider leaving a review in
iTunes or
Stitcher.
Happy hunting!
Angela Copeland
@CopelandCoach
by Angela Copeland | Jul 18, 2023 | Career Corner Column, Interview Questions, Interviewing, Newsletter, Salary Negotiation
When you’re interviewing for a job, a company may want to meet with you from two times to ten times before they make their final decision. The entire process is time consuming. But, through all of these interviews, it could be argued that one of the most important conversations happens in the very first interview.
At the time, the first interview may not seem too significant. It’s typically conducted by a recruiter who works for the company. The conversation may feel like a checklist. The recruiter will ask straight forward questions, such as why you’re interested in the job and when you’re available to start working.
Then, the recruiter may ask you how much money you currently make, or how much money you’d like to make. The question can sound reasonable. Unfortunately, answering this question may hurt you.
For salaried roles, companies typically have broad salary ranges. This allows the company to pay more or less based on factors such as experience. It also allows the company to pay less if they know the candidate currently makes less. In other words, if your current salary is low and you share it, the company is not incentivized to pay competitively. This can happen even if your market rate is higher.
At the other extreme, if you are highly paid today, you may eliminate yourself from the consideration set before the company gets to know you. In some cases, a company cannot increase the pay beyond their existing budget. But, in others they can. The only way to find out is to make it all the way through the process.
Rather than disclose your current pay, ask the recruiter if they are willing to share the pay range for the role. In most cases, this request is no problem. When it happens, you can simply share that you are (or are not) in the same general ballpark.
In the meantime, research what the company pays on your own. Look on websites such as Glassdoor.com, where you can look up pay by title and company. Glassdoor shares base pay and bonus pay information for the positions it reports on.
If you approach salary negotiation this way, you reduce the chances that you’ll be underpaid in the future.
Most companies are also beginning to realize that this technique of asking for salary is not entirely fair. Over the past ten years, the laws around salary disclosure have evolved. These changes, such as requiring the company to disclose the salary in certain states, are in place to help make the workplace fair.
There is one exception to this advice. If you find yourself working with an external placement firm, this approach likely won’t work. Unfortunately, they very often have a rule that you must disclose your salary before you meet the company.
Do your homework. Find out your worth. Practice your answers to salary questions, so you’ll be ready for your first interview.
I hope these tips have helped you. Visit CopelandCoaching.com to find more tips to improve your job search. If I can be of assistance to you, don’t hesitate to reach out to me here.
Also, be sure to subscribe to my Copeland Coaching Podcast on
Apple Podcasts or
Stitcher where I discuss career advice every Tuesday! If you’ve already heard the podcast and enjoy it, please consider leaving a review in
iTunes or
Stitcher.
Happy hunting!
Angela Copeland
@CopelandCoach
by Angela Copeland | Nov 12, 2018 | Career Corner Column, Interview Questions, Interviewing, Media, Newsletter
When it comes to job interviews, I’ve seen it all. Most interviews come in a fairly straight forward format. You do a phone screen with human resources and then a phone interview with the hiring manager. Afterward, you come in person for meetings with the hiring manager and other folks on the team.
But, not every interview is so simple. Some companies ask job seekers to do a presentation about themselves. Others ask you to complete an IQ test. And, some ask you to create a proposal of how you would spend your first ninety days if you were hired. And, then every once in a while, a company will ask you, “What kind of salad dressing best emulates your life philosophy?”
I know this must sound like a joke. But, no, I’m not kidding. Companies will ask questions such as, “If you were a sandwich, what kind of sandwich would you be?” and, “What font best describes your personality?”
These types of questions can serve a few purposes. First, they can test how you react under pressure. Are you able to roll with the punches, even when you’re asked something outside of the box? They can also test you from a culture fit perspective. Do you answer in a way that is in line with the company culture? And, they can test your creativity. How interesting, thoughtful, and unique is your answer?
Although questions like this really make no sense to many people, I can get behind them under one condition. That condition is that the interview process is a two-way street.
If the job seeker is going to go along with your crazy line of questions, then you in turn (the hiring manager) should treat the candidate with an equal amount of respect. If they’ve put in a lot of time doing homework as part of your process, take the time to follow through with them – even if it’s a little more work. Interview them when you say you will. Respond to their emails. And, if you don’t select them, let them know quickly and in a respectful manner.
The part about this type of process that I do not like is when the entire thing is a one-way street. If a candidate is going to play along with this sort of line of questioning, the company should be prepared to be respectful in return. This is especially true if the candidate has put in a significant amount of time into the application process.
Ghosting a job seeker or taking weeks and weeks to follow up on email communications is not acceptable. It’s no way to treat any potential employee or future representative of your company. When you treat the job search like a joke, you’re treating the candidate as if they are disposable. And, they will likely feel the same about you in return. Treat others the way you want to be treated.
I hope these tips have helped you. Visit CopelandCoaching.com to find more tips to improve your job search. If I can be of assistance to you, don’t hesitate to reach out to me here.
Also, be sure to subscribe to my Copeland Coaching Podcast on
Apple Podcasts or
Stitcher where I discuss career advice every Tuesday! If you’ve already heard the podcast and enjoy it, please consider leaving a review in
iTunes or
Stitcher.
Happy hunting!
Angela Copeland
@CopelandCoach
Most job seekers have very strong feelings on one particular topic: job interview assessments. It is not uncommon in today’s job market for an employer to ask you to take an assessment. Yes, they may ask you to take a test.
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