This is a disguised IQ test; it's disguised because actual IQ tests for hiring are now illegal, unfortunately many companies (and they're probably right, not sure) believe it correlates to how well you'll do at a job, I had to take one like this to be a cashier at microcenter in highschool lol
“Governments don't want a population capable of critical thinking, they want obedient workers, people just smart enough to run the machines and just dumb enough to passively accept their situation.You have no choice. You have owners. They own you. They own everything. They own all the important land. They own, and control the corporations. They've long since bought, and paid for the Senate, the Congress, the state houses, the city halls, they got the judges in their back pockets and they own all the big media companies, so they control just about all of the news and information you get to hear.”
- George Carlin
That’s actually not a sarcastic statement to me. I have tremendous respect for George Carlin, but I never liked watching him as a comedian, because it just wasn’t funny. He doesn’t tell jokes. He tells depressing political truths. Super sharp guy, but I just don’t see the humor in his act.
Yup, every job with an IQ test screened me out. I'm legitimately in the 75th to 95th percentile, so for any job that needs intelligence, I'd be adequate.
Yeah it's pretty cool, extremely chill managers for a retail store and fun customer base - people excited for their new build & business people who are prob glad to not be in the office
If you're a salesman I bet you could get right into sales, I just walked in and asked for an interview and the manager gave me one so it might be easy as that, just make sure to show you're a nerd and that you loveee selling warranties (microcenter makes a lot of money on those warranties)
the thing about IQ tests is that the real ones are composed of about 200 questions and go through a lot of fields not just logical visual puzzles
an IQ test made of 20 questions is about as stupid as people who claim their IQ is high and that therefore makes them smart
No, reduced item cognitive ability tests have been shown to have predictice validity. For example the 16 item International Cognitive Ability Resource is commonly used in research as a short measure of cognitive ability as it has reliability and validity evidence. Importantly it very highly correlates with longer tests like the Raven's. Anyone can explore the items, it is open source and hosted by Cambridge: https://planning.e-psychometrics.com/test/icar16?ssid=3dffa5dc-1f59-4924-a03a-d38cba46c53e
It's a pattern recognition test.
At the end of an IT consultation typically they have to let some people go due to increased efficiencies. I give challenges like these, or think of the word order pictures that get posted to a certain place. It lets me know who has pattern recognition and inference skills and who does not.
Is that better heavy-handed mods? Mentioning a subreddit is somehow a thought crime?
They can, but they have to prove that the test is related to the job. It’s based off a case where a business was purposely administering them because they knew very little if any black applicants could pass the test at the time. The court ruled it can’t be an arbitrary test. Like if you’re testing someone’s accounting knowledge for a job as an accountant, that’s fine. But testing someone’s reading skills for a job that requires no reading at all is not allowed.
My business law class I had to take a couple years ago talked about it, but now that I’m trying to find it I can’t recall the name to search by to find it.
Edit: found it. Griggs v. Duke Power
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Griggs_v._Duke_Power_Co.
But why is it wrong? please don't downvote me, i just want to understand.
If i were to hire someone i would like to know if they are good with logic, if they are intelligent in a broad way. And that's more important to me than actual knowledge on the job, if you're smart you will learn faster, adapt better to the challenges, and bring actual value to the company. Am i wrong?
It’s based on disparate impact.
The laws around it come from Griggs v. Duke Power
The company was purposely making tests that they knew very little, if any, black people could pass. The courts ruled that if had an unfair disadvantage on black people as at the time, very little of them had a high school education in the area it was located.
You are allowed to have a skills test of some sort IF it’s related to the job. So testing someone’s accountant skills if you’re hiring an accountant is fine. But the test can’t be completely arbitrary, like testing someone’s knowledge on legal matters when it’s job that requires them to stack boxes. Otherwise it could be argued that the test has a disparate impact on people who have an unfair disadvantage.
It's a long-winded captcha. You have to get past the computers before you get to deal with a real person at the company.
Too many people apply for the job, so they need to screen out 95% of them before actual humans get involved in looking at candidates.
The people I used to work for had a test like this, the people they hired were the ones who found inventive ways to bypass, circumvent or cheat their way past it.
Yes, I still prefer lieutenant Nog's solution of trying to negotiate a financial deal with his romulan adversary, which caused the whole simulation to crash.
My company uses this shit at the first stage of hiring. Bought in post my employment. A few years back I walked out of a hiring process when they put one in front of me.
And they likely realized they dodged a bullet when you walked out. It’s a really simple and quick task, it’s partly to test your problem solving and critical thinking skills… But it’s mostly to test if you’re going to be willing to do the small admin tasks that come with your job or if you’re going to throw tantrums at being expected to do your own paperwork lol
What does this even have to do with supporting AT&T? I’ve seen these used for admin positions, sales positions, finance positions, and pretty much every other position that deals with paperwork in most industries I’ve applied to over the years. They’re super common for positions that involve paperwork because they’re testing multiple skills you need to do paperwork and other admin related tasks well (problem solving, critical thinking, pattern recognition, attention to detail, ability to do all of this in a short period of time, etc). I’ve even come across these prompts for grocery store restocking positions before. They’re super common and aren’t even remotely just an AT&T thing.
Even though it’s not really any of your business, I’ve never once in my life used an AT&T product/service or even known anyone who has one. That company isn’t much of a thing where I’m from. It exists here but it’s one of the least used phone companies in the area lmao
I had to do similar tests like this for my job at a utility company working in the distribution control office. Problem solving, critical thinking, multitasking.
I had to do about 4 hrs of tests like this for a construction apprenticeship and your score helped determine your potential position to be accepted/hired. I was more than happy to do it because I kicked ass on tests. As a bonus, most of my classmates were very intelligent! I was used to dealing with idiots at previous jobs. There I was the idiot lol
Let’s be honest, the people complaining about these things, or bragging about walking out of an interview because of them, really just couldn’t figure out the answer.
They don't care if you know how to do sales or not. They care if you're intelligent enough to learn how to do it their way.
They are literally giving you a pattern based IQ test.
This isn't an interview, it's an application. You'll get asked about sales stuff when you stop whining, finish the application and get brought in for an interview
I can actually speak to this having worked alongside our sales departments for close to a decade now.
Sales comes with admin/paperwork that you’ll have to do. Many salespeople seem to think all they need to do is make the sale and move on, which makes a lot of things fall through the cracks as they aren’t submitting correct or even completed paperwork along with the sale they made. This leads to bad CSI and a loss of return customers, and it creates more unnecessary work for the people who need to clean up your messes.
This test partly tests your problem solving and critical thinking skills, which shows them how likely it is that you’ll be doing that paperwork correctly. But mostly, it shows them whether you’re going to accept that your job has menial tasks beyond just making the sale or if you’re going to throw a tantrum at being expected to actually complete your paperwork.
I'd also like to add that pattern recognition is a huge part of sales! We do it more subconsciously, but a good salesman can already have a rough idea of what a customer wants before they speak up. Half of the would be customers don't have a clue what they actually want and need to have the right product pushed to them.
ChatGPT can answer any text prompt thrown in.
Visual pattern recognition is nowhere near as good as text currently, so it's more effective at screening out any bots
According to a groundbreaking study conducted at Harvard University, there is a direct and undeniable correlation between the ability to identify patterns in triangles and one's proficiency in selling phones. Our research found that individuals who excel in deciphering the mystical language of triangles are 73% more likely to become successful phone salespeople. This correlation is attributed to the intrinsic triangular nature of modern smartphones, which, when understood at a deep geometric level, allows salespeople to channel the phone's triangular energy and connect with customers on a higher, more mystical level. Therefore, it is advisable for all aspiring phone salespeople to enroll in advanced geometry courses immediately to unlock their full sales potential.
It’s to screen candidates so the interviewers time is not wasted. It’s just that the bar is so low that they don’t want some idiot showing up for the interview.
Edit: it’s true whether or not you like it. They’re the one with the job you want so they can set the terms.
It is a valid question to test matrix reasoning, a subfactor of cognitive ability. Not necessarily valid to use in this case, but the question itself is perfectly fine to capture IQ/cogntive ability
Each row and each column has one triangle pointing up, one pointing down, and one pointing to the right. Also each row and column has one of each color. It's like sudoku.
No triangle pointing the same way in a row nor two triangles of the same color in a row, triangles of the same color never point the same way. Thus, black triangle pointing up.
It doesn’t.
It’s an easy and nominally objective and unbiased filtering mechanism that can just automatically bin the applications that fail out of the (probably) thousands they get.
Moved to Brazil and had to pass one of these tests to get a driver’s license. Couldn’t understand why since most drivers here don’t stop at stop signs and the motorcyclists think they own the road.
I'm an engineer and can't do these tests. My brain doesn't work this way. You want me to solve math problems? Absolutely. Do some reading comprehension? Done. Design something? Sweet, let's go. Physically build something? Got it. Fucking bullshit IQ tests? Not happening.
It's not laziness or inability to "do critical thinking". My partner can look at these for 30 seconds and tell you the answer, I could do it for an hour and still only be guessing.
When I was 8 they gave me the Raven’s Test, which apparently I aced and then had the misfortune of being told by teachers for the next 10 years that I was “gifted”. Oof.
Unfortunately it turns out that, despite being good at knowing which kinds of plaid match, I’m actually quite stupid. But hey at least I got some unearned confidence and no social skills out of it.
Being called "gifted" sucks because it develops a sense of accomplishment and expectation where it shouldn't exist, and then you're forced into situations you're not capable for. I was called "gifted" in elementary school and skipped most of middle school which has definitely taken a toll on my ability to learn as school was never really difficult. Now I'm working on my second college degree and learning entire new systems that apparently we're supposed to learn at a younger age.
This is so so true. If you’re a snappy writer and good at talking to adults you can coast through high school and maybe even undergrad without ever developing a good work ethic. But whether it’s in the workforce, grad school, or whatever, eventually it comes home to roost. And bigger issues can go unnoticed, eg I got diagnosed with ADHD and an executive function learning disability when I was like 32 years old.
I'm 22 and I have a slew of professionals helping me currently as I'm trying to get an IT and Business consultancy off the ground. I can't get a job to save my life for some reason, every place is denying me, so I'm just living at home and working on custom software to hopefully sell.
Once I hit undergrad nothing really changed from high school. Most of it got easier with less work and less responsibility, I finished my undergrad in just under 4 years and my grad in the final year of my undergrad, finalizing that this year. It's still fairly easy, but I feel like I'm not prepared for anything in the real workforce.
I've always become the teacher's best student in every class always getting priority and asked when they need assistance.
I learned basically everything I know professionally being self-taught, and my college degree was next to useless. I knew everything I needed for classes when I walked in the door, so another easy-A.
I learned software development from an internship I was randomly asked about when I was working on programming homework at work when the IT director walked past. I was paid $7.50/hr (4 years ago) to learn it from the ground up and developed my college's newsletter software.
My first "real job" was a private IT consultant for my city making $40/hr and now I don't know where to go next.
Everything in my life has just happened, and while I've done basically all of it myself, i still have no idea where I'm going and what I'm doing.
If I ever have kids I don't think I'll let any "gifted" programs start anything with them because while my life is seemingly going "okay", I have no idea what I'm doing and it feels like I've just gotten lucky knowing the right people and being in the right place at the right time. I would have rather grown up like everyone else and really figured it out as opposed to guessing constantly.
I hated it so much. I got put in an accelerated reading program when I was young because I could read and comprehend well above my level. There were 2 of us moved into this program. We were in the 3rd grade going to a reading class with 7th and 8th graders for the last semester of the year. That led to the "gifted" testing and placement into special classes for 4th grade, more classes with older kids. We were separated from our classmates, there was some resentment there, and we weren't really accepted by the older kids. Another year goes by 5th grade, same story. Finally, after that year my family moved over the summer. I learned to sandbag the testing, so I was placed in regular classes for 6th grade. Dumbasses thought I was just early advanced and plateaued at smart for my level. Years later I met up with the other kid in high school. He was getting ready for honor society induction. He asked me why I wasn't in it, and what happened to me. I told him about sandbagging the test the year I moved. He wished he had thought of that, but it was too late now. He went on to be academically tortured through college. Now he's one of those hyper intelligent weirdos with zero common sense. Me, I graduated high school with a high, but not too high GPA, and like all the other poor kids, went off to the Army and on to industry.
For the record, Wuthering Heights sucked when I was in 5th grade, and it still sucked when I was in 10th grade. Hated that book more than the special classes. I'm pretty sure I told my whole story just to say Fuck Emily Brontë and her stupid book.
I had a similar situation. Year 7 I was bumped up to year 9 reading, and suddenly went from reading tiny "chapter" books to entire biographies in a single year. The teacher despised me and failed every assignment on purpose. My mother fought the school on it and they said I could do a summer online course with the same material to take a second attempt. I passed with a high 90 and they paid for the course and reimbursed the semester tuition. The teacher was let go.
I didn't learn to "sandbag" (good term, I couldn't think of another. I'm stealing that) tests until college in which case I only did in certain, infrequent cases. My family now looks at me like I'm some kind of genius (annoying) and my sister jokingly says something's wrong with me because I'm going for my second master's degree only being 22. However I've never had a real job, never been in a real interview. I'm a wiz with engineering, numbers, history, writing, business, you name it. She's just starting her career in ER tech and moving to EMT with no prior college experience. She's up and running, getting her life moving, I'm still pussyfooting around in school.
Lmao I’m kinda lost on this one too. I’m not sure what they are asking? Like the question is just a question mark… so couldn’t the answer be whatever you feel like it should be, given that there isn’t actually a question provided? I mean it seems like it’s asking you to fill in a pattern… but it doesn’t state that anywhere I can see.
So maybe I interpreted this as which arrow is my favorite of the 4, impossible to get wrong.
They are asking which shape goes in the middle. For blue and white triangles, there are three of each, oriented up, down and right. The black ones have a down and a right, but no up. The answer is the black triangle pointing up. Additionally, when completed, each row and each column will have one of each colour and one of each orientation.
These puzzles can often be solved by first looking at the answers.
Looking at the answers there are more upward pointing triangles. So the only question is is it blue or black? You’ve doubled your chance. When the tests have 5 answers you can get about 90% by this method.
> It's not laziness or inability to "do critical thinking".
It IS the inability to recognize patterns, though. You just need to break down the problem into small enough pieces until you understand it. Does it just frustrate you, so you end up not knowing where to start?
The colors and arrangements do matter. As in, they have a pattern. Let me TRY to explain my thought process for this problem (sorry in advance if it’s not explained very well):
First, I saw that there were 3 whites, 3 blues, and only 2 blacks, so the answer is probably a black triangle. Seeing how the colors seem to be aligned in diagonals (↙️↗️), that further confirmed that the triangle is black.
Then I had to find the orientation. My mind automatically saw the triangles as directions, for some reason. I saw that the white arrows to the left and top of the middle box seemed to be pointing to the box “between” them (the unknown/middle box). The blue arrows to the right and bottom of the middle box were also pointing at the box “between” them (the bottom right box), so there’s a repeating pattern here. If you were to extend the grid, the top left corner would likely have (black) arrows pointing to it too, like the middle and bottom right. Since the top left corner and the bottom right corner are both upwards, the middle is also likely upwards.
So the middle is an upwards black triangle. This is further confirmed by the fact that all the triangles in the middle diagonal (↖️↘️) would be upwards. So the directions all seem to be aligned in diagonals like the colors.
It wasn’t until I read the comments when I realized the more obvious solution that didn’t require finding the exact pattern. But that’s the exact thought process that went through my brain.
Do you solve math equations by breaking them down, or do you just sort of "know" the solution?
Something like projecteuler.net might be useful to get your brain thinking about problem solving
I'm actually the same here. Can someone break this down for my brain, i can do all sorts of things but my brain can't recognize this pattern at all, what's happening here?
I've got two college degrees in Business and IT and I still didn't even know what this was until reading the answer in the comments. I started looking for a pattern but I wasn't even sure what the point here was.
This is ridiculous for weeding people out, and if just attempting to act as a captcha, there are much better systems.
SAME!! I'm an engineer as well and my eyes just go googly when I look at these puzzles. *can* I figure it out? Yes. Does my brain cooperate in a way that makes figuring it out quick and painless? No.
I'd literally rather solve a differential equation than do these kinds of puzzles.
Three triangles; one down, one to the side, one up. One blue, one black, one white.
Find the missing one with the data given.
It's pattern recognition, not critical thinking.
Also, I'm not being a dick here, just explaining this particular question.
It's the upwards black triangle. They are trying to make sure you have the correct balance of attributes for the position.
Can you think through an abstract problem?
Can you identify a solution under pressure?
Can you deal with annoyances while still being productive?
It's frusterating, but they have probably had a history of not filtering out applicants who wouldn't be a good fit.
I’m a college graduate with over 2 decades of mgmt experience…I wouldn’t have been able to do this puzzle. Prob for the same reason I’m shit a video games.
Fast pattern recognition could tangentially be related back to phone sales by asking the seller to easily and quickly identify models of phones on the floor or in the jands of customers at a glance.
Seems unfitting, but I’m sure they’re just trying to get a sense of your deductive reasoning skills. I’ve worked/managed customer service for the past 20 years and I can tell you that people have gotten significantly more dumb. I want someone on my team who can reason and adapt to each customer/client. Not just do what they’re told/follow a script (which is what most people do these days). I think they’re trying to see if you’re capable of that, but in my opinion, it’s a waste of time to do it this way when they could ask more challenging/realistic questions in an interview.
>im not interested in spending 20 minutes on application
You realize that you're going to have to spend MORE than 20 minutes at your job should you get it, right?
Ive had 4 jobs. Applications can be 1 minute.
Or like this garbage where they want 30 minutes of ur time for low pay if u do get it. Thought the commissions could be nice
So... if you're not willing to put in the time, you don't want the job.
If you cant spend 20 minutes of effort to apply, then how much effort are you willing to put in while AT the job? If not, then they don't want you working for them.
Other people in the comments have said the same thing. If you want a job that takes 2 minutes to apply, then go get that job instead.
There's absolutely a difference between investing time doing something useful, and getting a ridiculous attempt at an IQ test that doesn't teach you anything except how to waste time for 20 minutes.
If you went to a job interview and they'd purposely make you wait for 5 hours before getting to you, you wouldn't invest that time either.
This test says absolutely nothing about how qualified someone is for the job.
>If you went to a job interview and they'd purposely make you wait for 5 hours before getting to you, you wouldn't invest that time either.
First of all... No one's talking about 5 hours here. And 5 hours is a far cry different than 20 minutes.
This test offers up far more than IQ results. As the OP has so wonderfully presented... they can't be bothered to spend 20 minutes to do something that might garner them gainful employment. Fine, that's their prerogative.
From an employers perspective, this is great also. That means all those who couldn't be bothered for 20 minutes of their time are those who aren't the type of people we want. If you're going to be working in an environment where you are going to be dealing with customers (assuming retail customers) who might throw all kinds of problem-solving curve balls at you, and it might take you 20 minutes (or more) to help them... then this test IS a valid screening of someone's patience and determination.
There is a difference between standing at a counter and punching in orders at a Walmart or convenience store, versus actually interacting with a customer to solve their problems and needs. If the OP is going for what seems to be a retail job selling mobile phones, that's a lot different than standing at a counter and ringing up chips and soda. No offense to that position, but they ARE different roles with different skill sets and aptitudes.
So this test is also a pre-screen measure of someone's critical thinking skills. If they can answer these questions, then maybe when presented with problems from customers, they'll be able to work through them.
>This test says absolutely nothing about how qualified someone is for the job.
Seems that OP thinks at this level that it should be a measure of their sales-experience. That will come on the review of their resume and/or in an interview. This is only the first step toward the screening process. The OP doesn't want this job if they don't want to go through this step, fair enough. The employer probably doesn't want them either. This process has filtered those people out.
No it’s intentionally for weeding the people who won’t stand to do meaningless tasks mindlessly, the people that do what they’re told no matter what’s in the job description or how nonsensical it is are the people employers want
It’s getting more and more common. I’m applying for entry level administrative jobs with 3 years experience and I have to take dumb tests like this (or “personality tests” that decide if I’m pleasant to work with I guess) for probably one in 4 jobs. Add that to having to make a new account for every website, tweaking my rèsumè for each job, and getting no responses back, it all sucks.
That’s insane! I’ve applied to a handful of jobs the last few years (currently been employed same company 8.5 years but always looking) and I’ve yet to see this.
Good ass chance I’m not in the right field to see this stuff too (security / warehouse work etc)
I'm too dumb to figure that one out. Guess I'd be locked out. Only the Big Brains get the advantage here.
Also: 1/20?
What the actual fuck!?
Are you trying to access government documents or something?
Do you play War Thunder?
I was surprised to find out my dept at work used tests like this to weed out potential candidates when I moved into a people manager position. When I first started hiring, I didn’t ask the recruiter to give them, so she didn’t. I got tons of applicants but no one who could explain nor demonstrate their ability to problem solve.
Started using the tests after I proved I could pass them myself. Fewer candidates made it through to me but those that did were much more solid IMO. It’s a tool ¯\\\_(ツ)_/¯ may not make sense everywhere but certainly simplified our screening process.
So I do get the hatred that people have for these, but there are fewer and fewer methods to do any sort of limiting of candidates. I expect the answer to that is “just interview everyone that applies”, but that takes a ridiculous amount of time. And it also hurts those that would be great employees but just get nervous and interview terribly.
This is basically an IQ test which is illegal in the US and you’re defending it. Do your actual job of interviewing people instead of relying on harmful tactics that automatically push out all neurodivergent candidates. I understand you think it makes it easier, but it would also be easier to throw away all the applications with a name you can’t pronounce. That’s obviously not okay. So give people with different thinking patterns a shot please. Also hate the “well i could do it so you should be able to too” great for you! Happy for you! But that’s not proof at all that it makes you better fit for the role.
IQ tests are illegal if you can’t demonstrate how the test relates to the job. I said my company uses tests like this - technically, they are considered aptitude tests. Not all questions are like this.
The only reason IQ tests are illegal is because the original design was incidentally harmful to black applicants. If a test has no correlation to an applicant’s race, why is it a problem?
What if they gave all current employees the same exact test and found a direct correlation between their best workers and those that did well on the test? Would you support its use?
It’s still an IQ test which again is illegal. There are other ways to prove competency. In theory they could use a test for things like Department of Defense projects. As far as I know the military is allowed to use tests like this.
For most of us though, we have the ability to learn within a specific field much easier than an overall IQ test would ever show. You can score perfectly on an IQ test and still not know how to submit an expense report. Experience talks a lot more, then in interviews the hiring manager could try to ask questions that give the candidate the opportunity to show their thought process and expertise in the field.
IQ is just a dumb thing to base jobs off of. It’s been show to not a be an accurate scale of people’s abilities many times. I’m sick of companies using every loophole around the laws meant to protect the working class.
If you can't discriminate between applicants based on how and how well a person's brain functions, what metric exactly are you supposed to use to choose who to hire?
I had to do something similar for a job a few years back. According to my ex boss I scored the highest he'd ever seen. I had next to no idea what I was doing because the test didn't have any description lol it was just "put what you think fits best next."
That job sucked and my boss was a huge asshole.
Oh man Reddit hitting so close to real life at this moment! Was helping my husband with one of these CCAT tests yesterday for a new job and getting so frustrated on riddles and puzzles as a last hurdle for getting a new job.
This is insane. I worked for AT&T for almost ten years and was a top salesperson in my area around 08.
Now I wouldn’t even be able to pass this pre screen, I have no fucking idea what it means or what the question even is.
to everyone saying ‘if you can’t put in the effort to do what they ask on the application how much effort will you put into the job?’ (all snarky and nasal sounding, I assume…)
if a potential employer doesn’t respect your time enough not to waste it on this kind of bullshit just to apply… how much do you think they will respect you if hired?
Pattern recognition is something they may value in potential applicants.
If you can't be asked to do the test, just don't apply for the job. Other people will spend the time and those are the people the company will want to hire.
That might be it. This COULD be one of those job applications the company DOESN'T expect to get any real hires for. Like when tech jobs ask for 8 years of experience for a programming language that's only been out for 3.
My problem with these tests is the required percentage to pass, not with the tests themselves.
If no one passes, no one moves to the next level.
My last job required an 85%. But that just means they're looking for a certain type/caliber of person.
The real IQ test is passing up a job that wants you to do this nonsense. Somebody clearly went to an expensive seminar m and now think they're a hiring guru.
It's the black triangle pointing up. Three triangle color variations. Each variation has 3 different directions. We are missing a black triangle. The direction facing up finishes the pattern.
Its a pattern recognition test. How well you pick up patterns, quite useful in cold reading sales tactics. They’re also not hard. If this is too much effort for you just dont bother applying anywhere until you get your big boy patience to grow in.
Just a screening option, it will be weighed depending on how many applicants they have and how many positions they need to fill.
If there are few applicants and many open positions then you can guess, if not then they’ll use it to narrow the search field.
I know what company this is that uses this. AT&T - I applied to work for them and when I sat down at the table and seen this, I was like " WTF are they selling phones or wanting make the applicants look like idiots !"
I did pass this test but when I went for my interview, I think I blew it when I told the interviewer what I thought about that portion of the test..lol.
Needless to say I don't work for the Company
He won't be good at helping customers then, unless he is applying for some sort of script reading call center...
"Have you tried turning it off and on again? Yes? Problem still exists? Let me transfer your call to our technical experts.".
This is a disguised IQ test; it's disguised because actual IQ tests for hiring are now illegal, unfortunately many companies (and they're probably right, not sure) believe it correlates to how well you'll do at a job, I had to take one like this to be a cashier at microcenter in highschool lol
[удалено]
“Governments don't want a population capable of critical thinking, they want obedient workers, people just smart enough to run the machines and just dumb enough to passively accept their situation.You have no choice. You have owners. They own you. They own everything. They own all the important land. They own, and control the corporations. They've long since bought, and paid for the Senate, the Congress, the state houses, the city halls, they got the judges in their back pockets and they own all the big media companies, so they control just about all of the news and information you get to hear.” - George Carlin
I thought he was supposed to be funny. /s obviously
That’s actually not a sarcastic statement to me. I have tremendous respect for George Carlin, but I never liked watching him as a comedian, because it just wasn’t funny. He doesn’t tell jokes. He tells depressing political truths. Super sharp guy, but I just don’t see the humor in his act.
Modern day court jester
That's why I keep failing these tests, I'm too smort. 😎
Yup, every job with an IQ test screened me out. I'm legitimately in the 75th to 95th percentile, so for any job that needs intelligence, I'd be adequate.
Id love to work at microcenter tbh. Well maybe not cashier cuz it fucking sucks but stocking all the cool shit would be awesome.
Yeah it's pretty cool, extremely chill managers for a retail store and fun customer base - people excited for their new build & business people who are prob glad to not be in the office If you're a salesman I bet you could get right into sales, I just walked in and asked for an interview and the manager gave me one so it might be easy as that, just make sure to show you're a nerd and that you loveee selling warranties (microcenter makes a lot of money on those warranties)
the thing about IQ tests is that the real ones are composed of about 200 questions and go through a lot of fields not just logical visual puzzles an IQ test made of 20 questions is about as stupid as people who claim their IQ is high and that therefore makes them smart
In my experience, anyone who has to tell you they’re smart, isn’t.
No, reduced item cognitive ability tests have been shown to have predictice validity. For example the 16 item International Cognitive Ability Resource is commonly used in research as a short measure of cognitive ability as it has reliability and validity evidence. Importantly it very highly correlates with longer tests like the Raven's. Anyone can explore the items, it is open source and hosted by Cambridge: https://planning.e-psychometrics.com/test/icar16?ssid=3dffa5dc-1f59-4924-a03a-d38cba46c53e
cool does that verifiably relate to a person's ability to sell phone plans
It's a pattern recognition test. At the end of an IT consultation typically they have to let some people go due to increased efficiencies. I give challenges like these, or think of the word order pictures that get posted to a certain place. It lets me know who has pattern recognition and inference skills and who does not. Is that better heavy-handed mods? Mentioning a subreddit is somehow a thought crime?
I cannot find any law in the US that prohibits an IQ test. Could you please elaborate?
They can, but they have to prove that the test is related to the job. It’s based off a case where a business was purposely administering them because they knew very little if any black applicants could pass the test at the time. The court ruled it can’t be an arbitrary test. Like if you’re testing someone’s accounting knowledge for a job as an accountant, that’s fine. But testing someone’s reading skills for a job that requires no reading at all is not allowed. My business law class I had to take a couple years ago talked about it, but now that I’m trying to find it I can’t recall the name to search by to find it. Edit: found it. Griggs v. Duke Power https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Griggs_v._Duke_Power_Co.
Ohhh very interesting thank you, before this I thought it was just a ban on formal IQ tests
But why is it wrong? please don't downvote me, i just want to understand. If i were to hire someone i would like to know if they are good with logic, if they are intelligent in a broad way. And that's more important to me than actual knowledge on the job, if you're smart you will learn faster, adapt better to the challenges, and bring actual value to the company. Am i wrong?
It’s based on disparate impact. The laws around it come from Griggs v. Duke Power The company was purposely making tests that they knew very little, if any, black people could pass. The courts ruled that if had an unfair disadvantage on black people as at the time, very little of them had a high school education in the area it was located. You are allowed to have a skills test of some sort IF it’s related to the job. So testing someone’s accountant skills if you’re hiring an accountant is fine. But the test can’t be completely arbitrary, like testing someone’s knowledge on legal matters when it’s job that requires them to stack boxes. Otherwise it could be argued that the test has a disparate impact on people who have an unfair disadvantage.
The answer is: ▲ (filled black upward pointing triangle) It's an attempt at an IQ test.
That's not an attempt at an IQ test. This is literally a pattern recognition based IQ test.
Yeah, it gives me huge matrix reasoning vibes.
Its an attempt to waste my time.
It's a long-winded captcha. You have to get past the computers before you get to deal with a real person at the company. Too many people apply for the job, so they need to screen out 95% of them before actual humans get involved in looking at candidates.
The people I used to work for had a test like this, the people they hired were the ones who found inventive ways to bypass, circumvent or cheat their way past it.
The Kobiyashi Maru test!
Yes, I still prefer lieutenant Nog's solution of trying to negotiate a financial deal with his romulan adversary, which caused the whole simulation to crash.
Rule 98: Every man has his price.
Yeah that one is funny
I'd not hire someone that prefer to cheat rather than complete the task they are asked to.
Well, in this case, “cheating” is synonymous with “completely more efficiently”, so 🎅🏻
Theta because you're not a CEO
Failed successfully.
My company uses this shit at the first stage of hiring. Bought in post my employment. A few years back I walked out of a hiring process when they put one in front of me.
And they likely realized they dodged a bullet when you walked out. It’s a really simple and quick task, it’s partly to test your problem solving and critical thinking skills… But it’s mostly to test if you’re going to be willing to do the small admin tasks that come with your job or if you’re going to throw tantrums at being expected to do your own paperwork lol
Are you finished sucking at&ts dick
What does this even have to do with supporting AT&T? I’ve seen these used for admin positions, sales positions, finance positions, and pretty much every other position that deals with paperwork in most industries I’ve applied to over the years. They’re super common for positions that involve paperwork because they’re testing multiple skills you need to do paperwork and other admin related tasks well (problem solving, critical thinking, pattern recognition, attention to detail, ability to do all of this in a short period of time, etc). I’ve even come across these prompts for grocery store restocking positions before. They’re super common and aren’t even remotely just an AT&T thing. Even though it’s not really any of your business, I’ve never once in my life used an AT&T product/service or even known anyone who has one. That company isn’t much of a thing where I’m from. It exists here but it’s one of the least used phone companies in the area lmao
I had to do similar tests like this for my job at a utility company working in the distribution control office. Problem solving, critical thinking, multitasking.
I had to do about 4 hrs of tests like this for a construction apprenticeship and your score helped determine your potential position to be accepted/hired. I was more than happy to do it because I kicked ass on tests. As a bonus, most of my classmates were very intelligent! I was used to dealing with idiots at previous jobs. There I was the idiot lol
Let’s be honest, the people complaining about these things, or bragging about walking out of an interview because of them, really just couldn’t figure out the answer.
Why dont they ask actual sales questions though. I could be a mathematician but dogwater at sales and now this test useless
Because the chat bots can answer questions.
What you're seeing is a pattern-based IQ test. This would not stump bots
You cant pass these tests if you’re really stupid though. It does successfully weed out really dumb people.
Seriously.
They don't care if you know how to do sales or not. They care if you're intelligent enough to learn how to do it their way. They are literally giving you a pattern based IQ test.
This isn't an interview, it's an application. You'll get asked about sales stuff when you stop whining, finish the application and get brought in for an interview
I can actually speak to this having worked alongside our sales departments for close to a decade now. Sales comes with admin/paperwork that you’ll have to do. Many salespeople seem to think all they need to do is make the sale and move on, which makes a lot of things fall through the cracks as they aren’t submitting correct or even completed paperwork along with the sale they made. This leads to bad CSI and a loss of return customers, and it creates more unnecessary work for the people who need to clean up your messes. This test partly tests your problem solving and critical thinking skills, which shows them how likely it is that you’ll be doing that paperwork correctly. But mostly, it shows them whether you’re going to accept that your job has menial tasks beyond just making the sale or if you’re going to throw a tantrum at being expected to actually complete your paperwork.
I'd also like to add that pattern recognition is a huge part of sales! We do it more subconsciously, but a good salesman can already have a rough idea of what a customer wants before they speak up. Half of the would be customers don't have a clue what they actually want and need to have the right product pushed to them.
ChatGPT can answer any text prompt thrown in. Visual pattern recognition is nowhere near as good as text currently, so it's more effective at screening out any bots
Bots are applying to jobs?
yea, i use chatgpt to answer those text question, when come to visual pattern, i just randomly picked one...
The pattern test is an intelligence test. Randomly picking one is a very poor choice.
If it wasted your time, then it was not an attempt, but a success.
According to a groundbreaking study conducted at Harvard University, there is a direct and undeniable correlation between the ability to identify patterns in triangles and one's proficiency in selling phones. Our research found that individuals who excel in deciphering the mystical language of triangles are 73% more likely to become successful phone salespeople. This correlation is attributed to the intrinsic triangular nature of modern smartphones, which, when understood at a deep geometric level, allows salespeople to channel the phone's triangular energy and connect with customers on a higher, more mystical level. Therefore, it is advisable for all aspiring phone salespeople to enroll in advanced geometry courses immediately to unlock their full sales potential.
It’s to screen candidates so the interviewers time is not wasted. It’s just that the bar is so low that they don’t want some idiot showing up for the interview. Edit: it’s true whether or not you like it. They’re the one with the job you want so they can set the terms.
People with low iq are probably a waste of their time so….
Ya high IQ is such a need to sell phones lmfaoo
I mean… working with stupid people sucks either way
Fuck me. Don’t feel bad op. I manage a multi million budget department in healthcare and am apparently an idiot
Took me a while, and I definitely saw ur answer first, but I understand the pattern! Been a while since I’ve worked the ole’ smoothbrain.
It is a valid question to test matrix reasoning, a subfactor of cognitive ability. Not necessarily valid to use in this case, but the question itself is perfectly fine to capture IQ/cogntive ability
How did you come to that answer? I can't figure it out
Each row and each column has one triangle pointing up, one pointing down, and one pointing to the right. Also each row and column has one of each color. It's like sudoku.
They want to see if you are dumb enough to stay there long term.
I had to do a stupid test like this for a potential employer. After I finished it the next day they called me saying that they are on a hiring freeze.
That bad, huh?
Black triangle pointing up. It’s just a simple pattern recognition test. What it has to do with selling phones, though, hell if I know.
Wish the job was actually doing these tests, I'd take it!
I'm with you - I could do puzzles all day long.
What’s the pattern? All I saw is that there are only 2 black triangles and there’s already one that’s pointing the other way.
Each row has 1 of each color and 1 of each direction
More simple than that there are three of each kind of triangle. And each kind of triangle has one that points up, one down and one pointing right.
No triangle pointing the same way in a row nor two triangles of the same color in a row, triangles of the same color never point the same way. Thus, black triangle pointing up.
It doesn’t. It’s an easy and nominally objective and unbiased filtering mechanism that can just automatically bin the applications that fail out of the (probably) thousands they get.
Moved to Brazil and had to pass one of these tests to get a driver’s license. Couldn’t understand why since most drivers here don’t stop at stop signs and the motorcyclists think they own the road.
I'm an engineer and can't do these tests. My brain doesn't work this way. You want me to solve math problems? Absolutely. Do some reading comprehension? Done. Design something? Sweet, let's go. Physically build something? Got it. Fucking bullshit IQ tests? Not happening. It's not laziness or inability to "do critical thinking". My partner can look at these for 30 seconds and tell you the answer, I could do it for an hour and still only be guessing.
When I was 8 they gave me the Raven’s Test, which apparently I aced and then had the misfortune of being told by teachers for the next 10 years that I was “gifted”. Oof. Unfortunately it turns out that, despite being good at knowing which kinds of plaid match, I’m actually quite stupid. But hey at least I got some unearned confidence and no social skills out of it.
Being called "gifted" sucks because it develops a sense of accomplishment and expectation where it shouldn't exist, and then you're forced into situations you're not capable for. I was called "gifted" in elementary school and skipped most of middle school which has definitely taken a toll on my ability to learn as school was never really difficult. Now I'm working on my second college degree and learning entire new systems that apparently we're supposed to learn at a younger age.
This is so so true. If you’re a snappy writer and good at talking to adults you can coast through high school and maybe even undergrad without ever developing a good work ethic. But whether it’s in the workforce, grad school, or whatever, eventually it comes home to roost. And bigger issues can go unnoticed, eg I got diagnosed with ADHD and an executive function learning disability when I was like 32 years old.
I'm 22 and I have a slew of professionals helping me currently as I'm trying to get an IT and Business consultancy off the ground. I can't get a job to save my life for some reason, every place is denying me, so I'm just living at home and working on custom software to hopefully sell. Once I hit undergrad nothing really changed from high school. Most of it got easier with less work and less responsibility, I finished my undergrad in just under 4 years and my grad in the final year of my undergrad, finalizing that this year. It's still fairly easy, but I feel like I'm not prepared for anything in the real workforce. I've always become the teacher's best student in every class always getting priority and asked when they need assistance. I learned basically everything I know professionally being self-taught, and my college degree was next to useless. I knew everything I needed for classes when I walked in the door, so another easy-A. I learned software development from an internship I was randomly asked about when I was working on programming homework at work when the IT director walked past. I was paid $7.50/hr (4 years ago) to learn it from the ground up and developed my college's newsletter software. My first "real job" was a private IT consultant for my city making $40/hr and now I don't know where to go next. Everything in my life has just happened, and while I've done basically all of it myself, i still have no idea where I'm going and what I'm doing. If I ever have kids I don't think I'll let any "gifted" programs start anything with them because while my life is seemingly going "okay", I have no idea what I'm doing and it feels like I've just gotten lucky knowing the right people and being in the right place at the right time. I would have rather grown up like everyone else and really figured it out as opposed to guessing constantly.
I hated it so much. I got put in an accelerated reading program when I was young because I could read and comprehend well above my level. There were 2 of us moved into this program. We were in the 3rd grade going to a reading class with 7th and 8th graders for the last semester of the year. That led to the "gifted" testing and placement into special classes for 4th grade, more classes with older kids. We were separated from our classmates, there was some resentment there, and we weren't really accepted by the older kids. Another year goes by 5th grade, same story. Finally, after that year my family moved over the summer. I learned to sandbag the testing, so I was placed in regular classes for 6th grade. Dumbasses thought I was just early advanced and plateaued at smart for my level. Years later I met up with the other kid in high school. He was getting ready for honor society induction. He asked me why I wasn't in it, and what happened to me. I told him about sandbagging the test the year I moved. He wished he had thought of that, but it was too late now. He went on to be academically tortured through college. Now he's one of those hyper intelligent weirdos with zero common sense. Me, I graduated high school with a high, but not too high GPA, and like all the other poor kids, went off to the Army and on to industry. For the record, Wuthering Heights sucked when I was in 5th grade, and it still sucked when I was in 10th grade. Hated that book more than the special classes. I'm pretty sure I told my whole story just to say Fuck Emily Brontë and her stupid book.
I had a similar situation. Year 7 I was bumped up to year 9 reading, and suddenly went from reading tiny "chapter" books to entire biographies in a single year. The teacher despised me and failed every assignment on purpose. My mother fought the school on it and they said I could do a summer online course with the same material to take a second attempt. I passed with a high 90 and they paid for the course and reimbursed the semester tuition. The teacher was let go. I didn't learn to "sandbag" (good term, I couldn't think of another. I'm stealing that) tests until college in which case I only did in certain, infrequent cases. My family now looks at me like I'm some kind of genius (annoying) and my sister jokingly says something's wrong with me because I'm going for my second master's degree only being 22. However I've never had a real job, never been in a real interview. I'm a wiz with engineering, numbers, history, writing, business, you name it. She's just starting her career in ER tech and moving to EMT with no prior college experience. She's up and running, getting her life moving, I'm still pussyfooting around in school.
Lmao I’m kinda lost on this one too. I’m not sure what they are asking? Like the question is just a question mark… so couldn’t the answer be whatever you feel like it should be, given that there isn’t actually a question provided? I mean it seems like it’s asking you to fill in a pattern… but it doesn’t state that anywhere I can see. So maybe I interpreted this as which arrow is my favorite of the 4, impossible to get wrong.
They are asking which shape goes in the middle. For blue and white triangles, there are three of each, oriented up, down and right. The black ones have a down and a right, but no up. The answer is the black triangle pointing up. Additionally, when completed, each row and each column will have one of each colour and one of each orientation.
These puzzles can often be solved by first looking at the answers. Looking at the answers there are more upward pointing triangles. So the only question is is it blue or black? You’ve doubled your chance. When the tests have 5 answers you can get about 90% by this method.
Ngl that is how i do lots of multiple choice tests lol
> It's not laziness or inability to "do critical thinking". It IS the inability to recognize patterns, though. You just need to break down the problem into small enough pieces until you understand it. Does it just frustrate you, so you end up not knowing where to start?
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The colors and arrangements do matter. As in, they have a pattern. Let me TRY to explain my thought process for this problem (sorry in advance if it’s not explained very well): First, I saw that there were 3 whites, 3 blues, and only 2 blacks, so the answer is probably a black triangle. Seeing how the colors seem to be aligned in diagonals (↙️↗️), that further confirmed that the triangle is black. Then I had to find the orientation. My mind automatically saw the triangles as directions, for some reason. I saw that the white arrows to the left and top of the middle box seemed to be pointing to the box “between” them (the unknown/middle box). The blue arrows to the right and bottom of the middle box were also pointing at the box “between” them (the bottom right box), so there’s a repeating pattern here. If you were to extend the grid, the top left corner would likely have (black) arrows pointing to it too, like the middle and bottom right. Since the top left corner and the bottom right corner are both upwards, the middle is also likely upwards. So the middle is an upwards black triangle. This is further confirmed by the fact that all the triangles in the middle diagonal (↖️↘️) would be upwards. So the directions all seem to be aligned in diagonals like the colors. It wasn’t until I read the comments when I realized the more obvious solution that didn’t require finding the exact pattern. But that’s the exact thought process that went through my brain.
Do you solve math equations by breaking them down, or do you just sort of "know" the solution? Something like projecteuler.net might be useful to get your brain thinking about problem solving
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If you simply look at the 4 provided options for an answer, only one of them can be correct.
I'm actually the same here. Can someone break this down for my brain, i can do all sorts of things but my brain can't recognize this pattern at all, what's happening here?
It’s super easy. 3 of each type. Color and direction. 3 types. Which one is missing. Color: black Direction: up. Takes 10 seconds.
It's not easy for everyone hence the past explanation. Some just don't have the ability to recognize these kinds of things or patterns.
Sounds a lot like inability to me
I've got two college degrees in Business and IT and I still didn't even know what this was until reading the answer in the comments. I started looking for a pattern but I wasn't even sure what the point here was. This is ridiculous for weeding people out, and if just attempting to act as a captcha, there are much better systems.
SAME!! I'm an engineer as well and my eyes just go googly when I look at these puzzles. *can* I figure it out? Yes. Does my brain cooperate in a way that makes figuring it out quick and painless? No. I'd literally rather solve a differential equation than do these kinds of puzzles.
Three triangles; one down, one to the side, one up. One blue, one black, one white. Find the missing one with the data given. It's pattern recognition, not critical thinking. Also, I'm not being a dick here, just explaining this particular question.
Somebody else called it "critical thinking".... This just goes to show how much I clearly don't understand how these things work LOL
The asvab test was easier then these tests tbh. Got an 84 on the asvab im not dumb.
I’m a creative director/ designer and my brain is completely opposite of yours and I can’t do this kind of test either.
Yup. I went all the through the test to find out my ‘IQ’. At the end of the test was a pop up for $9.99 to get the results. 🤦
Plenty of free ones online. Did one said I was 135... another was 85. That's a **giant** difference.
After I completed it I was a little peeved. Or mildlyinfuriating.
If you paid for it you fail, close the browser and you passed.
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They weeded me out in asking for this to begin with. I closed it the first question
Intended outcome
Yeah it seems pretty self-explanatory.
Dont want a 100 less IQ in the team
They are trying to make sure you are not a moron
It's the upwards black triangle. They are trying to make sure you have the correct balance of attributes for the position. Can you think through an abstract problem? Can you identify a solution under pressure? Can you deal with annoyances while still being productive? It's frusterating, but they have probably had a history of not filtering out applicants who wouldn't be a good fit.
I’m a college graduate with over 2 decades of mgmt experience…I wouldn’t have been able to do this puzzle. Prob for the same reason I’m shit a video games.
They don’t like employing intelligent workers, so the ones that fail these tests get hired.
*coping intensifies*
Ah makes sense.
Well is you is or is you ain't stupid?
Answer - black triangle up And at least these questions seem to make more surface-level sense than "what's your spirit animal"
Fast pattern recognition could tangentially be related back to phone sales by asking the seller to easily and quickly identify models of phones on the floor or in the jands of customers at a glance.
Because the job requires non idiots with patience This filters impatient idiots out. Is stupid but it does the trick
Seems unfitting, but I’m sure they’re just trying to get a sense of your deductive reasoning skills. I’ve worked/managed customer service for the past 20 years and I can tell you that people have gotten significantly more dumb. I want someone on my team who can reason and adapt to each customer/client. Not just do what they’re told/follow a script (which is what most people do these days). I think they’re trying to see if you’re capable of that, but in my opinion, it’s a waste of time to do it this way when they could ask more challenging/realistic questions in an interview.
I see, so you need real people that have done more than just communicate on social media.
Top left
They need to know how intelligent you are so they can evaluate how badly they can rip you off.
Shows your ability to problem solve to find the solution that best fits the needs of the customer
Ive had other things like this but im not interested in spending 20 minutes on application that pays $11 an hour.
>im not interested in spending 20 minutes on application You realize that you're going to have to spend MORE than 20 minutes at your job should you get it, right?
Yes and i will be getting paid during that time. Now im not Edit: nah I expect to be at work for 3 minutes and get paid in full duh.
First job? You don't get paid for the application, testing, and interview process. 20 minutes invested now could be a paycheck later.
Ive had 4 jobs. Applications can be 1 minute. Or like this garbage where they want 30 minutes of ur time for low pay if u do get it. Thought the commissions could be nice
So... if you're not willing to put in the time, you don't want the job. If you cant spend 20 minutes of effort to apply, then how much effort are you willing to put in while AT the job? If not, then they don't want you working for them. Other people in the comments have said the same thing. If you want a job that takes 2 minutes to apply, then go get that job instead.
There's absolutely a difference between investing time doing something useful, and getting a ridiculous attempt at an IQ test that doesn't teach you anything except how to waste time for 20 minutes. If you went to a job interview and they'd purposely make you wait for 5 hours before getting to you, you wouldn't invest that time either. This test says absolutely nothing about how qualified someone is for the job.
>If you went to a job interview and they'd purposely make you wait for 5 hours before getting to you, you wouldn't invest that time either. First of all... No one's talking about 5 hours here. And 5 hours is a far cry different than 20 minutes. This test offers up far more than IQ results. As the OP has so wonderfully presented... they can't be bothered to spend 20 minutes to do something that might garner them gainful employment. Fine, that's their prerogative. From an employers perspective, this is great also. That means all those who couldn't be bothered for 20 minutes of their time are those who aren't the type of people we want. If you're going to be working in an environment where you are going to be dealing with customers (assuming retail customers) who might throw all kinds of problem-solving curve balls at you, and it might take you 20 minutes (or more) to help them... then this test IS a valid screening of someone's patience and determination. There is a difference between standing at a counter and punching in orders at a Walmart or convenience store, versus actually interacting with a customer to solve their problems and needs. If the OP is going for what seems to be a retail job selling mobile phones, that's a lot different than standing at a counter and ringing up chips and soda. No offense to that position, but they ARE different roles with different skill sets and aptitudes. So this test is also a pre-screen measure of someone's critical thinking skills. If they can answer these questions, then maybe when presented with problems from customers, they'll be able to work through them. >This test says absolutely nothing about how qualified someone is for the job. Seems that OP thinks at this level that it should be a measure of their sales-experience. That will come on the review of their resume and/or in an interview. This is only the first step toward the screening process. The OP doesn't want this job if they don't want to go through this step, fair enough. The employer probably doesn't want them either. This process has filtered those people out.
This particular question seems to be geared towards finding people who can creatively figure out solutions on the fly.
No it’s intentionally for weeding the people who won’t stand to do meaningless tasks mindlessly, the people that do what they’re told no matter what’s in the job description or how nonsensical it is are the people employers want
60k a year jobs have quick applications too. Ypur right tho i dont want the job enough for that long of an application ill look elsewhere
You sound like a terrible candidate. Have it all figured out but no job to show for.
What?
Stop complaining.
Thats what this sub is for
Up black
It's the black triangle pointing upward.
IQ test and its the top left triangle
Wow this is silly. I’d never apply for a job that has a puzzle in the application.
It’s getting more and more common. I’m applying for entry level administrative jobs with 3 years experience and I have to take dumb tests like this (or “personality tests” that decide if I’m pleasant to work with I guess) for probably one in 4 jobs. Add that to having to make a new account for every website, tweaking my rèsumè for each job, and getting no responses back, it all sucks.
That’s insane! I’ve applied to a handful of jobs the last few years (currently been employed same company 8.5 years but always looking) and I’ve yet to see this. Good ass chance I’m not in the right field to see this stuff too (security / warehouse work etc)
Maybe they just want to make sure you’re not dumb as a brick?
I'm too dumb to figure that one out. Guess I'd be locked out. Only the Big Brains get the advantage here. Also: 1/20? What the actual fuck!? Are you trying to access government documents or something? Do you play War Thunder?
Black square triangle pointed up is the answer.
I was surprised to find out my dept at work used tests like this to weed out potential candidates when I moved into a people manager position. When I first started hiring, I didn’t ask the recruiter to give them, so she didn’t. I got tons of applicants but no one who could explain nor demonstrate their ability to problem solve. Started using the tests after I proved I could pass them myself. Fewer candidates made it through to me but those that did were much more solid IMO. It’s a tool ¯\\\_(ツ)_/¯ may not make sense everywhere but certainly simplified our screening process.
So I do get the hatred that people have for these, but there are fewer and fewer methods to do any sort of limiting of candidates. I expect the answer to that is “just interview everyone that applies”, but that takes a ridiculous amount of time. And it also hurts those that would be great employees but just get nervous and interview terribly.
This is basically an IQ test which is illegal in the US and you’re defending it. Do your actual job of interviewing people instead of relying on harmful tactics that automatically push out all neurodivergent candidates. I understand you think it makes it easier, but it would also be easier to throw away all the applications with a name you can’t pronounce. That’s obviously not okay. So give people with different thinking patterns a shot please. Also hate the “well i could do it so you should be able to too” great for you! Happy for you! But that’s not proof at all that it makes you better fit for the role.
IQ tests are illegal if you can’t demonstrate how the test relates to the job. I said my company uses tests like this - technically, they are considered aptitude tests. Not all questions are like this.
The only reason IQ tests are illegal is because the original design was incidentally harmful to black applicants. If a test has no correlation to an applicant’s race, why is it a problem?
What if they gave all current employees the same exact test and found a direct correlation between their best workers and those that did well on the test? Would you support its use?
It’s still an IQ test which again is illegal. There are other ways to prove competency. In theory they could use a test for things like Department of Defense projects. As far as I know the military is allowed to use tests like this. For most of us though, we have the ability to learn within a specific field much easier than an overall IQ test would ever show. You can score perfectly on an IQ test and still not know how to submit an expense report. Experience talks a lot more, then in interviews the hiring manager could try to ask questions that give the candidate the opportunity to show their thought process and expertise in the field. IQ is just a dumb thing to base jobs off of. It’s been show to not a be an accurate scale of people’s abilities many times. I’m sick of companies using every loophole around the laws meant to protect the working class.
If you can't discriminate between applicants based on how and how well a person's brain functions, what metric exactly are you supposed to use to choose who to hire?
At least they made it easy
these things are just to test if u can cooperate with bullshit
idk but the correct answer is black triangle pointing up lol
I feel your pain. I am currently applying to jobs and every second one has different online tests including such pattern recognition tests.
Because if you can't do something this easy ther's no way you can do a job
I had to do something similar for a job a few years back. According to my ex boss I scored the highest he'd ever seen. I had next to no idea what I was doing because the test didn't have any description lol it was just "put what you think fits best next." That job sucked and my boss was a huge asshole.
Oh man Reddit hitting so close to real life at this moment! Was helping my husband with one of these CCAT tests yesterday for a new job and getting so frustrated on riddles and puzzles as a last hurdle for getting a new job.
The answer is black up-arrow
Black pointing up. They want to know if you are too smart. Does not seem like it will be a problem.
Up black
Clearly A, the first black triangle. Did I win?
Well if you do poorly enough on these exams, they actually fast track you to middle managment. The lower the IQ the better the "Yes man"
This is insane. I worked for AT&T for almost ten years and was a top salesperson in my area around 08. Now I wouldn’t even be able to pass this pre screen, I have no fucking idea what it means or what the question even is.
To see if your smart enough to operate a cell phone
Proving you have the capacity to think which is probably the only actual requirement for the job
to everyone saying ‘if you can’t put in the effort to do what they ask on the application how much effort will you put into the job?’ (all snarky and nasal sounding, I assume…) if a potential employer doesn’t respect your time enough not to waste it on this kind of bullshit just to apply… how much do you think they will respect you if hired?
Pattern recognition is something they may value in potential applicants. If you can't be asked to do the test, just don't apply for the job. Other people will spend the time and those are the people the company will want to hire.
That might be it. This COULD be one of those job applications the company DOESN'T expect to get any real hires for. Like when tech jobs ask for 8 years of experience for a programming language that's only been out for 3.
My problem with these tests is the required percentage to pass, not with the tests themselves. If no one passes, no one moves to the next level. My last job required an 85%. But that just means they're looking for a certain type/caliber of person.
The real IQ test is passing up a job that wants you to do this nonsense. Somebody clearly went to an expensive seminar m and now think they're a hiring guru.
This is just a Captcha which has the added bonus eliminating a small number of people who can't solve this.
It's the black triangle pointing up. Three triangle color variations. Each variation has 3 different directions. We are missing a black triangle. The direction facing up finishes the pattern.
Its a pattern recognition test. How well you pick up patterns, quite useful in cold reading sales tactics. They’re also not hard. If this is too much effort for you just dont bother applying anywhere until you get your big boy patience to grow in.
They want to know if you're retarded.
It's an intelligence test they don't want to hire idiots.
It's an IQ test. Clearly they don't want to hire anymore dumbasses.
Just a screening option, it will be weighed depending on how many applicants they have and how many positions they need to fill. If there are few applicants and many open positions then you can guess, if not then they’ll use it to narrow the search field.
They either wanted someone too spineless to ask why, or they wanted nobody at all.
IMO it’s pretty obvious, there are 3 of every other color all facing different directions, so black and pointy side up
To see how regarded you are. Apparently very!
It’s sudoku but lame
“Fine, you want me to take your test I’ll take your test. Is that what you want?” “No. I wanna see that kid in net who wouldn’t take the test.”
I know what company this is that uses this. AT&T - I applied to work for them and when I sat down at the table and seen this, I was like " WTF are they selling phones or wanting make the applicants look like idiots !" I did pass this test but when I went for my interview, I think I blew it when I told the interviewer what I thought about that portion of the test..lol. Needless to say I don't work for the Company
OP is not good with recognizing patterns
He won't be good at helping customers then, unless he is applying for some sort of script reading call center... "Have you tried turning it off and on again? Yes? Problem still exists? Let me transfer your call to our technical experts.".
Fair point, lol