Online tests websites?

Recently I had HR department replying back to me from a company I applied for asking me if I had taken any online tests and if so what are my scores. I had no idea this was a thing? I’ve always thought that if a company wants to test your knowledge they would do it themselves thru the interview process.

I know there must be some tools out there to test your knowledge but why would any company care about the score of some random test you took online? So far I’ve only been familiar with solving algorithms here on FFC and I know there are other sites like codewar, etc, but you don’t get any score by solving algorithms, you just do it to get better at problem solving.

I wonder if there is like any reliable website where the scores of the tests could actually mean something for some companies. I am not aware of such websites, if they do exist, can anybody drop me some names?

Im as lost as you are, never heard of such a thing… I would respond and ask them to clarify what type of online testing they are referring to so that you can look into it.

Since its HR making the request, its entirely possible they have no clue what they are talking about. They may be confusing dev with online certifications and exams that many IT jobs require, which doesnt apply to us.

I replied back with an answer similar to my post, I honestly had no idea what they were talking about. Like if they want to test my knowledge, fine I’m down for the screening interview, but online scores, wut?

You are probably right about HR though, it’s possible they may be confusing something.

In the job description are there any platforms they mention as part of the job requirements?

There are various certifications for devs… which is what they could mean. Of course them knowing anything about dev is actually rare.

Udemy offers a certificate for web development…you could also apply the certs you earn through FCC. MS offers certifications in development, so does MongoDB as well as several others.

Nop, there was no platform or whatsoever on the description, just a regular application form.

As for certificates, I thought the general idea was that companies don’t really care about certificates from Udemy or FFC. But maybe I should’ve mentioned that? But then again those certificates have no scores at all.

Most don’t care but some do.

In my field there is a platform cert that is really easy to get. Everyone knows it’s bunk. It doesn’t test on current functions of the platform, the cert only requires that you memorize their own test answers…however a lot of HR people use it to find applicants…so you get it. It’s gonna depend on the industry you go into.

I honestly wonder if they mean online bootcamps…having hired some folks from those we truly regretted, I don’t know that test scores will help.

It just struck me that it could be a personality assessment score a little like this one:

http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/jtypes2.asp

‘Score’ is something of an inaccurate descriptor as it’s more of a profile. You do the test and it puts you into one of 12 categories.

Companies use the ‘score’ to pick staff members from particular profiles often to balance out their workforce, or complement their existing roster. They might want to match employees of a particular score or get polar opposites to keep things interesting.

As it’s a HR query, I would wonder if it’s one of these tests, as opposed to a skill test.

Oh I hate those.

Most companies provide their own though…

Very interested in this… I know lots of places offer certificates of completion for courses or classes, but I dont know of any dev certifications. Which ones are there?

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This was literally the email:

Thanks for your profile

Can you please let us know which of the technologies which you are most
strong at .

Have you taken any online tests on those technologies, if so can you
share the scores

I understand the reasoning for the first question, but the second one got me completely lost, I’ve never heard of anything like that in this field.

Nope that’s weird…

In that case, that’s bizarre. It’s like they haven’t got a clue what they’re talking about. To be fair this can happen sometimes, especially in the field in which we’re applying, but their reply is even worse - it’s like they’ve just copied and pasted the line from somewhere :smiley:

As amusing as it is, it might be sensible to make sure the rest of the company isn’t as hopeless before you take the plunge with them.

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hahaha I know right, that message got me thinking :joy:

I don’t know what kind of answer they were expecting but I made clear that I’m not familiar with such test and that it was my understanding that companies usually test the applicants skills through their own interview process.

Most of them are not going to be in basic things but:

Java

  • Microsoft ( MCSD ) …
  • Microsoft (MTA) …
  • Amazon Web Services ( AWS Certified Developer - Associate Level) …
  • Cloudera ( CCDH ) …
  • Oracle (APEX) …
  • Puppet Labs . …
  • Red Hat. …
  • Salesforce.com - (these ones are the joke I talked about above)

Others
MongoDB Certified Developer Associate

Includes javascript
CIW Web Development Series

HTML5
MTA: HTML5 App Development

Most are for older languages. Certs don’t really mean much, but companies value them. When the print business began to die, my sister went and got a bunch of hardware and network certs so she could get a job in IT. She’s now a manager and most of her job is is using google. But the certs got her in the door.

Having said that…certs and such, while most don’t mean a thing…some companies use them like they use LIberal Arts degrees, as a reason to keep your resume and throw out others

(I have a LA degree too lol)

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And here is where I -head-desk- Jeez, of course…!! I myself was even planning to get AWS certified just a few months ago. Thanks so much for this list…I had a serious brain lapse for a moment there! :weary:

Yes, definitely certs in cloud and security services are very common, and some jobs require them even. The JS and HTML ones are new to me…I wouldnt ever get one lol but def good to know what it is if I come across it. Thanks for the info!! :relaxed: