Aptitude Tests

So you are all prepared (the outfit, your on time, you have researched the company etc.). What will they expect from you at the interview stage?

Learning Objectives To be able to explain what optical illusion and lateral puzzles are. To consider why employers use them in interviews.

Information about this session. With unemployment high and the market flooded with applicants, it is hard to get a job. It is a competitive market. You need to remember, one single job can have hundreds if not thousands of applicants. As a result, employers are finding it increasingly hard to get the right candidates. They filter through the CVs and then they are left with the difficult decision of selecting the best candidate from apparently several ‘best’ candidates. So what do they do? Test you.

Optical Illusions One thing employers do is optical illusion tests. An optical illusion is a picture where you can see more than one image. What can you see? You will be given a set of pictures in your group. Discuss them (and what you can see) for 10 minutes and then we’ll share ideas back as a class.

How many legs?

Young lady or old lady?

Practical and sporty

Optical Illusions Why do employers use optical illusions in interviews? What are they trying to test you on?

Aptitude test 2: Lateral Puzzles

Lateral Puzzle 1 There are two rocks and a carrot in a field. How did they get there and why are they there?

Lateral Puzzle 2 Four men are dead sitting around a card table. One of them was shot. What happened?

Lateral Puzzle 3 A man was found dead lying in a field with an unopened package. How did he die?

Lateral puzzle 4 A man was found dead in a car. The cause of death was a bullet through the head. The doors were locked and the windows were rolled up, yet there were no bullet holes. How was he shot in the head?

Lateral puzzle 5 A man pushes his car by a hotel and gets sent to jail. What happened?

Optical Illusions Why do employers use lateral puzzles in interviews? What are they trying to test you on?

What are optical illusions? What are lateral thinking puzzles? Why do employers use aptitude tests? How would you feel if you were given one in an interview? Do you think they are a good tool to use in interviews? Why or why not?

Some more optical illusions we can do as a class… (if there is time).

Move your head forwards and backwards while looking at the black dot. What appears to happen?

Focus on the cross in the middle – what happens?