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Subject:RE: Giving a surprise test to interviewees? From:"Tom Johnson" <tjohnson -at- freeway -dot- net> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Thu, 17 Mar 2005 16:20:26 -0500
Hi Adrienne,
I'm not a legal expert so I won't comment on the legalities, except
for one thing. If you give the test to everyone you interview for the
tech writing position, I don't see how that could be discriminatory.
Perhaps you could even tell the applicant ahead of time that they will
be required to take a brief writing test. Who cares if they brush up.
Maybe it will scare off some of the riff-raff.
What I can say with authority is I don't mind taking tests. Every day
at work involves some kind of test. I either get my work right or I
have to do it over or live with the consequences of doing shoddy work.
During a recent interview, I had to take a test using Excel. I was the
guinea pig and I discovered an error in a formula. A summation wasn't
right and I ended up double-checking their formulas. I thought
the "error" was part of the test. I caught the interviewer off guard
when I told her about the discrepancy. She said, "I guess you proved
you know Excel." I did get a job offer!
Lastly, your example of affects and effects isn't always cut and
dried. If you're going to use that one, make sure to use an
unambiguous example. Effect can be either a noun or a verb. Me, I look
it up when I have questions.
Are you still taking applications for the position? Just kidding.
Tom Johnson
Technical Writer
tjohnson -at- starcutter -dot- com
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