I agree with Anley that companies should be looking for individualism or creativity, but I still think the numerical tests have to be done to reduce the numbers (as Robertral mentioned). There are too many grads out there who are very intelligent but are clones of each other. Two years ago I was a graduate who was not as intelligent as the Oxbridge types (but still got a Masters from a top Uni) but stood out above most of these people because I was determined to succeed... I fought my way onto the trading floor, got battered down many times by some very arrogant traders/ HR/ Managers, but there were others who went out of their way to help as they saw my commitment and I really appreciated that. Even now I'm in a tough situation but I've got my head down and am fighting my way through it, and I know I will succeed, and I know that in five years time I will be a Senior Manager on an Investment Bank Trading floor...
Moral of story... BE CREATIVE, BE DETERMINED, AND DONT GIVE UP.
Moral of story... BE CREATIVE, BE DETERMINED, AND DONT GIVE UP.
anley said:Another better test would be to try and look for individualism or a different way of thinking.
Pose an imaginary political problem or a battlezone situation and ask them to write 2 paragraphs on what sort of solution they'd propose, then chuck out all the people that approach the problem head-on.
If I was looking to filter I'd put far more emphasis on lateral and individual thinking than I would as to who can multiply 123457 by 3.5 the quickest etc.
Check it out on the net, you'll find so much research available that states that most if not all of the test for trading are useless and the only reason why they're done is that most if not all the firms is that they've all fallen for the marketing of the companies and Universities that produce these tests.