Elon University School of Communications
results. You, dear test-taker, have no control over any of that. But you can use some strategies to steady your nerves and raise your score.
The information shared below comes from the professionals at The Detroit Free Press. Before you read further, remember this: Tests seldom make or break you if you have talent and ability. A few places use them that way, yes. But that typically is a poor use of a test, and hiring managers generally feel secure enough in their own instincts and impressions that they are loathe to turn the selection process over to a one-shot test.
Well-run media organizations use tests as just one more item in a battery of indicators they have about a potential employees potential future performance.
The whole selection process revolves around the question of how well a person may play his or her new role in the organization. The best indicator of future performance is past performance. That record has been established long before anyone cracks open a new test, and is best divined through interviews, work samples and references.
It could be said that the first test you must pass in order to land a communications job is to have worked and worked well in previous communications jobs. Managers who are hiring like to be able to call one, two or three of your previous media managers to find out what kind of an employee you have been in the past.
Other ways of getting information about your likely job performance might include a written critique, an autobiographical essay and, best of all for some positions, a tryout.
At one media company, to illustrate the level of importance they wanted to put on testing, editors who gathered to talk over job candidates simply set the test results on an empty chair. The message: They wanted to figure the test into the decision, but give it no more weight than any one voice at the table.
Although tests seem like an objective measure, smart editors understand that there are variances in testing comfort from person to person and, for any individual, from day to day. Some people test above their true abilities, while other people test below. For those reasons, it is foolish to rely solely on testing. And, if tests were that good, why go to the trouble of interviewing anyone?
The five communications test types
Employers typically give five kinds of tests. You may see any or all of these when you apply for a job. Newspapers and other print publications are the most likely media outlets to administer such tests to applicants.
Aptitude tests generally measure your general intellectual ability. They often include word as well as math items and require you to fill in little word bubbles with a pencil.
Skills tests are job specific and will test your ability to perform a relevant task. A typing test is a skills test. A headline writing test is another.
Work sample tests are like simulation: "Here's a press release, a stack of notes and phone messages. See if you can write a story on the basis of these shards of information."
Work styles or traits tests ask questions that get at how you like to work. Alone, or with others? As a leader, or a follower? Do you need praise? Freedom? Clear direction? These are generally answered with a yes or no or A-B-C-D fill-in bubbles, but they don't have right and wrong answers.
Specific knowledge tests want to know how much you know about your subject area.
Have a strategy going in
The best way to beat test anxiety is to understand tests a little better and to develop a test-taking strategy. Remember, test-taking itself is a skill. And it's one you can acquire or improve.
The first step is to relax. Try to get good rest before your interview and test day. Try to do something relaxing the night before. Walk. Read. Take in a movie. Do whatever it is that you find relaxing. Get to town early enough to get to bed early. Avoid food and drink that spoil your sleep. Eat breakfast, as Mom or Dad might say, but not enough to knock you out.
Be a little early for the test. Being too early can agitate already nervous test-takers; being late can also throw you for a loop. When it's time to take the test, pay attention to the muscles in your arms, shoulders and jaws. Relax them. Just as a tense mind can tighten up your muscles, relaxing your muscles can loosen you up mentally.
Wear a watch for the test. Most are timed, and you won't want to be locked into a clock-less room for a 20-minute workout.
Ask in advance what tests you'll be taking. Consider what might be the most comfortable order for you - especially if there is a time limit - and ask whether you can take the tests in the order you prefer. But don't get hung up on it.
Listen and read instructions carefully. Most tests let you read the instructions before the clock starts, so take your time and gain your composure. you can ask how standardized tests will be scored. On some tests, all that is counted is the total correct. On others, wrong answers are subtracted from right answers. If the number correct is what counts, it will pay to guess. Even wild guesses to fill out the last few minutes of the test period can raise your score. Blanks will certainly hurt. If the proportion correct, that is, right minus wrong, is what matters, don't guess. Casual wrong answers can hurt you.
On either kind of test, answer the easy questions first. Save the hard ones for later. Don't waste precious time trying to figure out complicated answers.
Finally, be nice to everyone you encounter in your interviewing and testing for a new position. Sure you are under pressure, but you have to remember that everyone you encounter is testing you by measuring your attitude and approach. And acing the test doesn't count for much if you treat someone as a zero.
Internship/Job Hunting Links
• Preparing a Portfolio: A professional portfolio is an essential part of your internship/job application. Click for details on portfolio prep.
• Putting Together a Dynamic Cover Letter: Don't waste words. Write a letter that piques the interest of the potential employer and encourages him or her to carefully consider your portfolio and call you for an interview. Click for details on writing cover letters.
• What to Include in a Resume': Rule number one is to assume that pretty much anything you did in high school is not of interest. That was then and this is now. Click for details on resume' writing.
• Preparing to Take the Test: Newspapers and other media organizations often administer writing, editing and/or general-knowledge tests to prospective employees. Are you ready? Click to find out more.
