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The Information Technology Division at NC State University uses a unique job application to hire part-time employees. First, a little background on how our group works. We have three units that share a group of part-time student employees. We call them "Poolhall." (That term came from the process by which we came to use the same part timers, which was called "Pooling.") We hire most of our part timers without interviewing them. This is where this application comes in handy. We hire 20-30 employees every summer to assist with the fall rush. We hire them in as temps. We use the move-in period and the first two weeks of classes as a hands on interview essentially. After the two weeks are over, we hire as many of the temps as we need and we cut the rest loose. We have been doing this for several years and it has worked out wonderfully. Occasionally we'll do mid-semester hires. In this case, we do interviews for potential candidates. When evaluating a candidate with this application, we essentially look for a few baselines before we do any close examination of their app. First, we look at the number of points they score. On the re-order questions, fewer points are better. Points here are determined by how far away from correct each answer the applicant puts is. (This will make way more sense after you look at the application.) For example, if there are three steps to be put in order and they're supposed to go 1 - 2 -3, but the candidate puts them 3 - 1 - 2, they would score 4 points. One point for having step 1 in the step 2 spot, one for step 2 in the step 3 spot, and two for step 3 in the step 1 spot. Multiple choice points are simple - one point per question right, with a max of 10. So the first people we look at when doing the mass hiring are those who score below 10 on the re-orders and 7 or above on the multiple choice. Once we look at the points, we look at the short answer responses. We use those to determine personality more than anything else. Do they totally blow off the questions? Do they follow directions? Do they write decently enough to get their point across? Does what they write make them sound like someone who would fit in in our department? After that, we check out work experience to see if they have any customer relations experience. We barely look at anything else. One more thing about the re-order questions. The first two are (rough) tests of whether they would be logical troubleshooters. The third one is strictly a test of reading and following directions. People who bomb this question are an almost automatic "No." It's interesting to look at how long this question took them because sometimes they spend minutes doing it and still get it way wrong. If you have any questions, let me know: carrie_levow@ncsu.edu or 919-513-2991 |
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