Candidate Testing Experience & Hiring Managers Questionnaire Results

Appendix 1: Candidate Testing Experience –
Questionnaire Results
1. Before you start the survey, please read the following items and tick the appropriate
box below to indicate that you agree to take part in this study.1) I have read the
information sheet in full; I understand the purpose of this research is to investigate
the rationale for psychometric testing, consider applicant experiences of
psychometric/technical testing and explore any implications for the organisational
recruitment process. 2) Any questions I had have been answered, and I
understand I may ask further questions at any time. 3) I understand what is
involved in participating, that it is voluntary, and that I may withdraw at any stage
during the survey. 4) I understand the research results as an executive summary
without demographic information will be shared with Evidera.5) I understand the
results may be used for academic publications, such as dissertation, thesis or journal
articles. 6) I agree to take part in this study under the conditions set out above.
ANSWER CHOICES RESPONSE
S TOTAL RESPONDENTS
I agree to take part in this survey 100.00% 8
I do not agree to take part in this survey 0.00% 0
2. How did you find your technical test?
RESPONDENT
CODES RESPONSES
RESPONDENT 1
“I didn't think much about my feelings but rather meeting the
requirements. It was generally what I expected with respect to
testing basic approaches to activities that the role called for.”
RESPONDENT 2 “I definitely found it challenging and stressful.”
RESPONDENT 3 “Difficult to complete in the time given”
RESPONDENT 4 “It was challenging, but clearly solvable within the allocated
timeframe.”
RESPONDENT 5 “I found it challenging but fair.”
RESPONDENT 6
“Overall, good but there was not enough communication about what
the rest would be like/what to expect and the questions were not
well written.”
RESPONDENT 7 “Very well”
RESPONDENT 8 “Interesting”
3. What challenges did you experience taking the test?
RESPONDENT
CODES RESPONSESS
RESPONDENT 1
“The limitations in the instructions in my judgement were
problematic. The test instructions suggested that the tests would
take 2 hours but took much longer than this.”
RESPONDENT 2
“I was stressed due to the time constraints of the test and there
were some questions I did not understand. It was hard not being
able to ask for clarification about what a question was asking.”
RESPONDENT 3 “Mostly the time. Not enough time to think through all the questions

and various factors.”
RESPONDENT 4
“Not many. I tried to write a program for one of the questions but
realized later that it is much easier to solve. As a consequence, I
was a bit time constrained with the last question but managed to
solve it anyway.”
RESPONDENT 5 “I did not have enough time to finish coding the test. I was able to
write my thoughts out about what I was planning on doing.”
RESPONDENT 6 “Questions were not clear”
RESPONDENT 7 “None”
RESPONDENT 8 “Time management, focusing on two or more things at the same
time.”
4. How supported did you feel by a recruitment member prior to taking the test?
RESPONDENT
CODES RESPONSESS
RESPONDENT 1 “My recruiter was very supportive and encouraging.”
RESPONDENT 2
“I was stressed due to the time constraints of the test and there
were some questions I did not understand. It was hard not being
able to ask for clarification about what a question was asking.”
RESPONDENT 3 “Very. I was really appreciative of the transparency I received
during the recruitment process.”
RESPONDENT 4 “Very supported.”
RESPONDENT 5 “She was quite helpful. Overall, I think it is hard to give actual
support for these types of tests.”
RESPONDENT 6 “Very well.”
RESPONDENT 7
“Well supported. I felt like I could reach out to the recruiter if
needed, but since there was no interview or communication before
the test, I didn’t feel a strong sense of rapport or like I mattered.”
RESPONDENT 8 “Full support.”
5. How consistent were the job description requirements with what was presented
during the test?
RESPONDENT
CODES RESPONSESS
RESPONDENT 1 “They were consistent”
RESPONDENT 2 “Somewhat. I knew I would be doing more database management
and have not yet delved into the analytics side of my position.”
RESPONDENT 3 “It seemed pretty consistent to me.”
RESPONDENT 4 “I thought that it was supposed to test my excel skills, but it was a
bit more than that. More like an IQ test based on MS excel.”
RESPONDENT 5 “Very consistent.”
RESPONDENT 6 “Fair.”
RESPONDENT 7 “Very consistent.”
RESPONDENT 8 “Fully consistent.”
6. Do you feel you understood the purpose of the test within the recruitment process?
RESPONDENT
CODES RESPONSESS
RESPONDENT 1 “To some degree, I understood the purpose of the test but not clear
about what was being evaluated.
RESPONDENT 2 “Yes.”

RESPONDENT 3 “Yes, I do.”
RESPONDENT 4 “I think so, but probably just after taking the test.”
RESPONDENT 5 “Yes”
RESPONDENT 6 “Yes”
RESPONDENT 7 “Yes, I do”
RESPONDENT 8 “Yes.”
7. On the whole, how did the test match the expectations you had of what was
assessed?
RESPONDENT
CODES RESPONSESS
RESPONDENT 1 “I am not clear on this question as I am not clear what you mean by
expectations. I will answer that it matched well.”
RESPONDENT 2 “Since I have not begun the SAS side of my position, I don't feel I
can answer this appropriately.”
RESPONDENT 3 “I would say it matched my expectations beside show little time was
given.”
RESPONDENT 4 “I expected that it will test much more Excel skills.”
RESPONDENT 5 “It matched 100%.”
RESPONDENT 6 “It matched well.”
RESPONDENT 7 “Very well””
RESPONDENT 8 “Yes.”
8. Based on your experience, do you have any suggestions to improve the
organisation’s recruitment process?
RESPONDENT
CODES RESPONSESS
RESPONDENT 1
I was not a successful candidate so I am not sure I can be very
helpful about the recruitment process. I would suggest that
feedback given to candidates be more structured and thoughtful.
Feedback was given after the first test and it was not clear if these
could or should be addressed (or what the candidate could do in
preparation for the next test). If feedback is given, the hope is that
the candidate can make use of this. Similarly, for the second test,
the feedback was less structured, and I was told that "she may not
be used to using excel spreadsheets". Hard to know what to make
of this as I use excel daily (so I wondered if I had attached the
wrong file, had I made an error). Whether this is the actual reason is
perhaps not the issue. Rather, if you wish to provide feedback,
consider stating this in a way that will assist the candidate to
improve their future job searching. In this way there is something
positive we can take away even if they are not the successful
candidate.”
RESPONDENT 2
“I would suggest incorporating it into an interview, where the person
can at least have a recruiter or staff member available to ask
clarification questions.”
RESPONDENT 3 “I would say a little more time even just 15-30 mins or focus the
questions a bit more if you want to stick to an hour.”
RESPONDENT 4
“Depending on the actual needs of the organisation, it should focus
more on actual Excel skills. If the goal is to test the candidates'
mental agility then the test is fine as it is.”
RESPONDENT 5 “I felt that the process was very well organized. Everything was