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I was directed to take a three part USA JOBS tests for a position I applied to. This is the first time our of many, many apps that I have had to take this test.
The first part was picking between two statements concerning my work "attitude" or "characteristics" according to which statement was most true about you. Took me about 45 minutes to complete
The second part was as sort of a reading comprehension test. Read the paragraph and then answer multiple choice answers about it. Took me about 35 minutes to complete
Third part was a reasoning test. Rough example: "There are 6 offices in a line. If Sally gets the office next to Frank and Frank's office is before Bill's and Jane's office is after Sally's, then where is Art's office in relation to Frank's?". Kinda like that. Some of the questions were easier than that for me but a number of them were quite hard and I guessed. It took me a good 50 minutes to complete.
All the sections had a 5 minute timer for each question.
I felt like I was taking an LSAT! Some of the questions were VERY hard. Others were easy enough. Is this the wave of the future in getting a job with the feds?!
Anyone else have experience with these tests?
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Originally Posted by: Negress  I was directed to take a three part USA JOBS tests for a position I applied to. This is the first time our of many, many apps that I have had to take this test.
The first part was picking between two statements concerning my work "attitude" or "characteristics" according to which statement was most true about you. Took me about 45 minutes to complete
The second part was as sort of a reading comprehension test. Read the paragraph and then answer multiple choice answers about it. Took me about 35 minutes to complete
Third part was a reasoning test. Rough example: "There are 6 offices in a line. If Sally gets the office next to Frank and Frank's office is before Bill's and Jane's office is after Sally's, then where is Art's office in relation to Frank's?". Kinda like that. Some of the questions were easier than that for me but a number of them were quite hard and I guessed. It took me a good 50 minutes to complete.
All the sections had a 5 minute timer for each question.
I felt like I was taking an LSAT! Some of the questions were VERY hard. Others were easy enough. Is this the wave of the future in getting a job with the feds?!
Anyone else have experience with these tests? It depends on the job but these tests have been around for a while (most organizations just don't use them). I found that most positions based in law enforcement agencies have this sort of test whether formally through a test center or informal on your home computer. Reasoning/Comprehension tests allow these organizations to quickly eliminate a large number of candidates prior to even reviewing applications. The good thing about the test is the score is valid for a year so if you apply to a job that requires a similar test type then you don't have to retake it. Edited by user Friday, April 13, 2018 10:56:25 AM(UTC)
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Originally Posted by: rbr Originally Posted by: Negress I was directed to take a three part USA JOBS tests for a position I applied to. This is the first time our of many, many apps that I have had to take this test.
The first part was picking between two statements concerning my work "attitude" or "characteristics" according to which statement was most true about you. Took me about 45 minutes to complete
The second part was as sort of a reading comprehension test. Read the paragraph and then answer multiple choice answers about it. Took me about 35 minutes to complete
Third part was a reasoning test. Rough example: "There are 6 offices in a line. If Sally gets the office next to Frank and Frank's office is before Bill's and Jane's office is after Sally's, then where is Art's office in relation to Frank's?". Kinda like that. Some of the questions were easier than that for me but a number of them were quite hard and I guessed. It took me a good 50 minutes to complete.
All the sections had a 5 minute timer for each question.
I felt like I was taking an LSAT! Some of the questions were VERY hard. Others were easy enough. Is this the wave of the future in getting a job with the feds?!
Anyone else have experience with these tests? It depends on the job but these tests have been around for a while (most organizations just don't use them). I found that most positions based in law enforcement agencies have this sort of test whether formally through a test center or informal on your home computer. Reasoning/Comprehension tests allow these organizations to quickly eliminate a large number of candidates prior to even reviewing applications. The good thing about the test is the score is valid for a year so if you apply to a job that requires a similar test type then you don't have to retake it. Ok, thanks. I have probably put in 50-75 apps in the last 18 months for various GS 5 through GS 9 positions. Law Enforcement agencies, Justice dept, social service and other agencies. This latest position that required the test was in the Justice Dept, US Attorneys office
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DOD has been doing these types of tests lately. Too many people were complaining about people checking "expert" on the self-assessment. Their solution was to enact a 3 hour test or so I was told. I swear I took the same test Negress when I was applying for a promotion! You should be good to go on it. I didn't feel particularly confident and all the other people I knew didn't either and ultimately it wasn't anything to be worried about. It sure did take a while, but that shows someone serious about a particular job is willing to complete the whole thing and take the time. I've been on panels and wondered whether some of candidates even know what job they applied for.
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Originally Posted by: adam777 Too many people were complaining about people checking "expert" on the self-assessment. Their solution was to enact a 3 hour test or so I was told. That may be but the one test I took a couple years ago for a very entry level job had nothing to do with being an expert at anything. It was like the first one the other poster described, an inventory of your work style and behaviors and what not. I don't recall the logical reasoning being part of the assessment I did. I did those many years back in the days of the old civil service exam. I did one for Immigration Inspector (along with Customs Inspector, this was the predecessor to CBP Officer). I bombed it. I "passed" but got such a low score I would never get a call. Then I took a similar test for ATF Inspector (another job that no longer exists) which was supposed to be a harder test because it had math (oooh!) and I did much better. The other thing is that if you take one of these tests, I don't think you can retest for six months or something. |
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I recently applied for a job with DOD and had to do an online assessment about a week later. I was able to do it from home, did not have to go to a testing center. In addition to the test described above there was a quantitative reasoning test. It was not that hard but I did not finish all the questions and I wonder if that will count against me.
Or is it like those science tests where the max score is 100 but if you got a 12 that was enough for a B+? There was always some freak who got a 87 but the rest of us were down in the 20s or below. Are they just looking to hire the person with the insanely high score?
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Originally Posted by: tacrep I recently applied for a job with DOD and had to do an online assessment about a week later. I was able to do it from home, did not have to go to a testing center. In addition to the test described above there was a quantitative reasoning test. It was not that hard but I did not finish all the questions and I wonder if that will count against me.
Or is it like those science tests where the max score is 100 but if you got a 12 that was enough for a B+? There was always some freak who got a 87 but the rest of us were down in the 20s or below. Are they just looking to hire the person with the insanely high score? Speculating, but yes not completing the questions on the test will not positively impact opportunities for employment. Odd to state the test was not that hard but in turn not completed.
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I was not expecting that time would be an issue so I was not paying attention. Maybe I was taking 12-15 seconds per question, 10-12 would have been better. Might have been help to have a practice test.
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Originally Posted by: tacrep Might have been help to have a practice test. Well count that last one as your practice. But you might not be able to try again for a while, that was my experience. Think the time limit for retest was six months. |
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Originally Posted by: tacrep Or is it like those science tests where the max score is 100 but if you got a 12 that was enough for a B+? There was always some freak who got a 87 but the rest of us were down in the 20s or below. Are they just looking to hire the person with the insanely high score? There is no way to reassure you without sounding like I am bragging, so I will just go all out. I sincerely doubt I got more than one or two questions wrong throughout the half-dozen USAHire tests I have had to take over the past two years, and it has seemingly done absolutely nothing for my application success. In fact, I stopped getting Asylum Officer interviews after referrals after they implemented that test, and I reliably got referred and interviewed for some other positions both before and after the test. I think there is a solid 50% chance that it is just there to lower the number of applicants. I absolutely know people who gave up on their applications after seeing the USAHire assessment e-mail or, more amusingly, just got bored/frustrated and clicked through randomly to finish the test, not realizing the scores stayed for a year. (The person who did that last one, by the way ... still got an interview for the position, and got promoted where I did not, so. Frustrated? Me!? Of course not ;))
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Answer E (Expert) for everything |
-J Hughes
USAF Veteran 2004-2012
Supervisory Emergency Communications Dispatcher
Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD |
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Originally Posted by: j2huggies Answer E (Expert) for everything That is the application questionnaire. They are talking about the after-application assessment tests that apply to entire categories of postings.
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Anyone know how many question are on the occupational logic section? All the other sections were a breeze, but I have a head injury and this one is really getting to me. I've answered about 7-8 questions and am ready to call it a night. How many are there? 10? 15? 50?
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I excel at math and reasoning, but these were the two sections that left me feeling unconfident. It really was that hard. Seemed even harder than an IQ test. I was the lucky person to have the job I applied for where I had to take this test closed with no selection made and then re-announced. It turns out OPM changed the test since I took it. Instead of my previous score standing for 12 months, I had to take the test AGAIN! Edited by user Monday, March 7, 2022 4:12:12 PM(UTC)
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