Aptitude Test. No two words put together – with the exception of Fifty Shades – are more guaranteed to make your knees knock and heart race.
But once you’ve identified a top engineering vacancy on s1jobs, chances are you’ll discover in the job spec or letter inviting you for interview that aptitude tests are standard.
Typically, for graduate engineers or apprentices looking for their first step up, these exams are done online or at an assessment centre. They might include psychometric tests, simulated day-to-day working activities, role playing and team exercises.
All are designed to give employers the chance to see how you perform under pressure.
Thankfully, you can go in fully prepared if you do some simple homework beforehand. Here’s what to focus on.
Psychometric tests
The best way to approach these verbal reasoning, personality and situational exams is to practise. This way you become familiar with the formats they take and the way questions are asked. There are plenty of practice examples online, so you can get a great idea of what you’ll be facing.
Communication skills
You might be asked to give a presentation or complete a group exercise. Sometimes you’ll be given a topic in advance so you have a chance to prepare; others might relate to a fact-finding exercise on the day. The key here is to be yourself and get your points across as confidently and articulately as possible.
Leadership potential
Group exercises are a key tool in helping recruiters assess a candidate’s leadership potential. Think beforehand about how your personality and approach might come across, especially in a stressful situation such as this. Remind yourself not to dominate other team members – adopt an inclusive approach.
Teamwork
Here you’re likely to be given a set amount of time to work together on a case study. You might have to risk assess machinery or look at problems with a traffic management system. Try to ignore the fact you’re being assessed and immerse yourself in the issue. This way you’re more likely to relax and do your best.
Technical interview
These are designed to test your technical competence and basic understanding of engineering principles. Don’t panic, this is all stuff you know already – but it’s worth looking back at some of your previous projects so you can talk about them in detail.
Keep the focus on you
Remember this isn’t The Apprentice and the chances are more than one of you is going to be hired. So don’t view it as a competition – employers are matching you against their selection criteria not other candidates.
Now let’s assess the best Engineering vacancies on s1jobs.