#pre-employment assessments

[skillszofficial]

5 Biggest Challenges Faced by Hiring Managers during Recruitment

Hiring top-notch talents as per the company's needs is a daunting task for hiring managers. However, by using a pre-employment assessment platform, you can combat the recruitment challenges, and make the process fast, easier, effective, and hassle-free. 

 Skillsz is a new-age assessment platform that helps you make fast and bias-free recruitment decisions, and thus, stay ahead of the game. 

Start a 14-day FREE TRIAL today!

[workstylematcher]

Get Affordable Pre-Employment Assessment Solutions at Psy Max Solutions

The flu and cold season are upon us, and we know what that means. Rush hours at the local clinics and crowded waiting rooms at the nearby doctors’. Undeniably, this is one of the busiest times for medical facilities and healthcare institutes.

Source URL:- https://psymaxsolutions.wordpress.com/2022/10/14/struggling-to-keep-your-health-care-facility-staffed-watch-out-for-these-signs/

[princesscedar]

[eskill]

Pre-employment Assessment Test

If you're searching for a reliable online tool to test potential employees and assess their abilities, eSkill is an excellent choice. eSkill’s platform offers customizable tests to evaluate individuals effectively by measuring the skills and knowledge important to your organization. To know more, visit https://www.eskill.com/our-product/pre-employment-assessments/

[businessprocessasses]

Navigating the Maze: Choosing the Ideal Pre-Employment Assessment Test

Selecting the right pre-employment assessment software is a crucial step in streamlining your hiring process and identifying top talent. With a myriad of options available, finding the perfect fit for your organization can be daunting. Here's a comprehensive guide to help you navigate this intricate terrain:

1. Budget and Pricing: Budget considerations play a pivotal role in selecting the ideal assessment software. Evaluate pricing models offered by different vendors, considering factors such as per-job or per-test pricing, minimum commitments, and additional fees for admins and users. Opt for a pricing structure that aligns with your hiring needs and budget constraints.

2. Verify Software Fit: Assess whether the software meets your specific hiring requirements. Scrutinize the relevance and quality of question banks provided, ensuring they align with your assessment needs, whether technical, psychometric, or aptitude-based. Choose a solution tailored to your hiring scale and process requirements.

3. Reporting Mechanism: Efficient decision-making hinges on robust reporting mechanisms. Opt for software that automates candidate ranking based on test scores, generating comprehensive performance reports aligned with predefined rubrics. Ensure seamless integration with existing HR systems for easy report sharing and analysis.

4. Usability: Simplicity is key. Prioritize user-friendly software with intuitive interfaces, minimizing clicks to accomplish tasks. Smooth navigation and thoughtful design enhance user experience, empowering your HR team to work efficiently and effectively.

5. Candidate Usability: A seamless candidate experience is paramount. Choose software that offers hassle-free test-taking experiences, accessible from any Internet-enabled device without requiring downloads or visits to assessment centers. A positive candidate experience reflects well on your organization and enhances employer branding.

6. Anti-fraud Mechanism: Ensure the software incorporates robust anti-fraud mechanisms to maintain the integrity of assessments. Features like webcam proctoring and copy-paste detection deter fraudulent practices, ensuring fair evaluation of candidates.

7. Technical Aspects: Simplify operations with user-friendly software that requires minimal technical expertise. Avoid overly complex systems that hinder adoption and require extensive training. Look for clear operational manuals and responsive support to address technical queries promptly.

8. Support: Prioritize software vendors offering comprehensive support throughout the hiring process. Evaluate support offerings for different pricing plans, including live chat, phone support, and turnaround times for support requests. Timely assistance is crucial for seamless operations.

9. Customization and Branding: Enhance employer branding with customized assessments aligned with your company culture. Choose software offering branding options like logo display and white-labeling to reinforce your brand identity throughout the assessment process.

10. Integrations: Streamline HR processes with seamless integration between assessment software and other HR systems like ATS and onboarding tools. Ensure compatibility with existing systems and inquire about additional costs for integrations.

11. Compliance Requirements: Ensure compliance with organizational policies and regulatory standards. Verify certifications like ISO, EEOC, and GDPR compliance, prioritizing the security and privacy of candidate data. Clarify data collection, storage practices, and vendor compliance with organizational hiring practices.

12. Mode of Deployment: Consider deployment options based on organizational preferences and IT requirements. Cloud-based solutions offer flexibility and scalability, while on-premise deployments cater to organizations with dedicated IT infrastructure.

In conclusion, selecting the best pre-employment assessment software entails careful consideration of budget, fit, usability, support, and compliance. By aligning these factors with your organization's hiring needs, you can streamline your recruitment process and identify the right talent efficiently.

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[perfectlyimperfectmuse]

Y'all i have two pre-employment assessment tests coming up this weekend and i have nothing prepared for either of them. Meaning i need to get my shit together for the rest of this week or else im fucked.

[lady-t-driver]

It took 2 weeks to hear back from my interview 🙈 I had started to think that I hadn't been successful, but thankfully, I did pass this stage. I was invited to attend a second assessment day in April, which would involve computerised tests and a multi-modal interview.

There were only 5 of us at this assessment day, and we were all taken into a room (full of computers) and allocated a desk each.

In this set of assessments, the computerised tests we were required to complete a situational judgement exercise and some vigilance & perception tests.

If we were successful with these, then we would be given a multi-modal interview with an assessor.

These exercises have been designed to assess a range of different characteristics that are required of a trainee driver either in training or whilst performing the job.

I found these tests ok, but I have to admit, I didn't find them as enjoyable as the first set of assessments 😅

Vigilance test.

During this test, the screen displayed a white screen, and in the middle of the white screen was a grey square that was constantly flashing. Throughout the test, this square occasionally got darker in colour. When this happened, I had to press a button on the keyboard as quickly as possible.

This tests vigilance and reaction speed. I had to to respond as quickly and accurately as possible during this test, as you are penalised for errors.

This test lasted for approximately 30 minutes.

A vigilance test.

During this test, i was presented with a series of photos of traffic scenes. I had a list of items to look out for within each scene, such as pedestrians, traffic lights, etc. After each picture briefly flashed on the screen, I had to select which items I saw in each picture. This was repeated several times with different images.

2 hand coordination test

This was my favourite 😅 its a bit like the game where you pass the loop over the electric wire without it touching.

In this test, you had 2 joysticks. The left joystick only operates left to right, and the right only operates up and down. On the screen, you will see a shape. You have to direct a ball, using your joysticks, through the shape from one side of the screen to the other, and keep it within the lines as best you can.

There are 10 shapes to complete in this test.

Situational judgement exercise.

This is a computerised questionnaire. It aims to measure how compatible your preferred ways of behaving are with the

safety requirements and characteristics of the train driving job.

The test consists of 21 everyday dilemma scenarios, each with one or more response options. Each response option describes actions that could be taken to try and resolve the situation. You will rate how helpful or unhelpful each response option is in dealing with the situation.

For example -

You arrive to collect your manager and drive him to the station. He has been in a meeting and sounds angry. You both go back to your car and get in. You put on your

seatbelt but he does not. You are aware that it is company policy for the driver to make sure that passengers have their seatbelts on.You say to your manager that you are all supposed to put seatbelts on but that you do not mind whether he does or not, it is his choice.

How helpful would this action be in resolving the situation?

1 Very unhelpful

2 Unhelpful

3 Neither helpful nor unhelpful

4 Helpful

5 Very helpful

Your ratings for all of the response options are used to calculate a measure of how closely your preferences match the ideal train driver in terms of behaviour.

Research has shown that train drivers who score highly on the SJE tend to be rated highly by their managers on the behavioural aspects of their performance.

Multi-modal interview

This interview is a special type of structured interview that

has been designed specifically to assess the characteristics needed for safe train driving.

The results of the interview are used together with the results from the situational judgement exercise and the other assessment methods to decide if you are suitable to become a train driver.

I was asked to give examples of different types of experiences that I have had. (You can use examples from training, education, leisure or family life. The interviewer will evaluate your answers in the same way regardless of the context so do not worry that non-work examples will be seen as less valuable.)

Once again, i did not find out my results on the day, i was told to keep an eye on my emails and thanked for attending.

[jasonbarkar]

How to Hire Blockchain Developers: 5 Steps to Follow

Blockchain technology has emerged as a critical component of Industry 4.0. According to a recent study, the Global Blockchain Market is expected to reach USD 34 billion by 2026, with a growth rate of 45%. The escalating growth span of the blockchain industry creates the need for proficient professionals.

However, finding expert Blockchain developers who can design and develop proficiently is difficult unless you choose a skill assessment platform for skill tests. Developed and validated by experienced industry experts, the Blockchain developer skill test helps easily evaluate a candidate’s practical knowledge and job readiness.

But how to start the test? What are the steps to follow? Let’s dive in –

[inkwolvesandcoffee]

First Times (Poly Relationship w/ John & Ghost Headcanons)

I spent the morning exploring Hackney, which is rich in breweries. While wandering about, I got to thinking, what if…

John starts working at a brewery when he retires from the army?

OR!

He starts a micro brewery/pub with Simon, who retires around the same time.

🍺 The two men set to work immediately to acquire the proper licenses and a premise. Fortunately for the both of them, they’re quite handy and so know how to create a lovely, albeit very manly, space without too much interference from contractors. After all, why hire others for work you can do yourself?

🍺 Honestly, the business is a dream come true for John. Owning a micro brewery was his Plan B should things not work out with the army. However, it’s because of his former employment, he’s become a better business owner. It’s through the development of his leadership and risk-assessment skills he managed to secure the rank of captain.

🍺 For Simon, the brewery is an unexpected ambition, a new dream to follow. While he lets John do most of the marketing (because Simon can’t be arsed with social media… being social in general), he’s mostly pre-occupied with the creation of new and improvement of the already existing craft beers.

🍺 The business steadily grows as word gets about town. Soon, it’s not only the local Hackney residents who pop by, but also people from other boroughs.

🍺 Including you.

🍺 Come from Inner London, the people of the area find you somewhat of a posh puppy, a bit of a toff. It’s this view of you which makes them wonder what on Earth you’re doing in East London, this artsy and not as affluent part of the city.

🍺 Nevertheless, you’re a sight for sore eyes if you ask Simon, who’s your old neighbour back from the few years you lived in Manchester after moving there with your parents.

🍺 Though gruff and distant in the beginning, Simon gradually warmed up to you. Despite never opening up emotionally, you two did develop a strong amiable bond. Maybe because you were the only one to greet him on the street, to ask about his career after catching a glimpse of the dog tag around his neck, to welcome him back each time he was deployed.

🍺 To show sincere interest in him.

🍺 Your parents weren’t a fan of you socializing with the giant in the skull balaclava, but they never told you off for it since you two always seemed to have a good time. Moreover, they rarely saw you smile unless you were with him. So they let it slide, prioritizing your happiness over their prejudice.

🍺 It was only in the spring before you moved without telling him where to and he was deployed yet again, Simon realized he had feelings for you. Nonetheless, he put them aside or, rather, suppressed them until they numbed. He had nothing to offer, fifteen years your elder and terribly haunted.

🍺 So imagine his surprise and absolute delight when you stand in front of him, prettier than he can remember. “Been a while, hasn’t it?”

🍺 “Y/N,” it’s the only thing he can say, finally out loud after years of uttering it in silence.

🍺 “Who’s this fair lady?” John slides up next to Simon, arms crossed as he takes you in. His sea blue eyes darken when they meet yours. “How can we help, miss?”

🍺 The way he practically purrs the words sends a pleasant shiver down your spine. Yet, you conceal the effect he has on you behind a steady voice. “I saw the notice on the window, about the open position. Has it been filled in the meanwhile or can I still apply?”

🍺 “She’s a good one, John. Hardworking, trustworthy, kind. Fast learner too,” Simon says pensively.

🍺 “Got experience in the field?” John asks.

🍺 “Studied psychology, during which I mostly focused on the effect of marketing on the human psyche. Also run a food blog and Instagram”

🍺 “Thank Simon properly before you leave. I trust his judgment and seeing he knows you best, I’ll take his word for it.” He slaps his business partner on the shoulder. “Drop by tomorrow and we’ll discuss your contract. I’m looking forward to working with you…”

🍺 “Y/N.”

🍺 “Y/N...” John repeats thoughtfully. Then he hums and heads off.

🍺 Thus begins a series of firsts and connections as you settle down in Hackney.

🍺 Over the course of a few weeks, the locals come to see you as one of their own as you show them you simply aren’t some girl with rich parents, a spoiled princess, but a young woman trying to make a life for herself with her own hard-earned money via helping at the counter and striking up conversations.

🍺 John and you grow closer too. He admires and respects your eye for detail and aesthetics, though sometimes he feels a little awkward when you’re trying to direct him for the occasional TikTok. Nevertheless, it’s your creativity that keeps drawing him in, igniting the need to keep getting closer to you. What also helps is you bringing him coffee or reminding him to take breaks (both with a kiss on the cheek later down the line).

🍺 Loves to review the content you create together, especially when you’re in his lap while doing so.

🍺 On your mutual days off, John drags you all over London to visit bakeries and cafés. Never had you thought him a foodie, though it’s a pleasant discovery since there’s always something new to experience on the food scene. Moreover, he loves helping you out with your own blog, not just the one you created for the brewery.

🍺 These days, you’re teaching him photography and are taking baking classes together. Although, you might as well go on your own to the latter because he’s a terrible baker (unlike Simon, who’s self-taught and surprisingly good, like, sale-appropriate why-doesn’t-he-have-at-least-a-micro-bakery good).

🍺 Your bond with Simon mostly rekindles via being his guinea pig. He knows how brutally honest you can be in your feedback, which he thoroughly appreciates. Outside work, the two of you frequent bookshops, have picnics in the major parks in London, and visit the city’s oldest cemeteries. The latter is a bit of a morbid idea of a nice outing, but you appreciate the silence and romantic sense of decay in the air.

🍺 It isn’t long before you take up residence in the apartment the two men share, which leaves the other residents of the building wondering about your relationships to one another. Although, they can guess at the nature of it seeing the “noise” at night. As I said, lots of first including a relationship with two men older than you.

🍺 But aside from the plethora of sensual moments, there are also plenty of tender (and domestic) firsts. For example, Simon accompanies you to your first tattoo appointment. When, the next day, you’re struck by tattoo flu, he takes care of you. Of course John doesn’t force you to come to work nor Simon for that matter, who you clearly need at the moment (despite claiming otherwise). Henceforth, you’re both granted PTO until you’re back on your feet.

🍺 Speaking of the former-captain, John is your very first kiss. You and him went out for pizza (Simon preferring to stay home and read). On the way to Hackney Wick, beneath a bridge heavily decorated with graffiti and sheltering a few barges, he put his hands on your cheeks and crashed his lips into yours. He tasted of tobacco and white wine, laced with the sweetness of tomatoes and basil. That night, he made love to you.

🍺 Another first.

🍺 Simon prepared breakfast the next morning, serving food to ensure John and you wouldn’t succumb to exhaustion later in the day. Nor him, for that matter, because while he doesn’t get jealous and loves sharing you with his best friend, he sometimes wishes you wouldn’t go at it till early in the morning when the next day is an ordinary work day.

🍺 You’re there for them when either of them suffers from night terrors or combat stress. Simon is more prone to the former, whereas John is to the latter.

🍺 You accompany Simon to therapy too after he’s been diagnosed with PTSD. At first he didn’t want to go, refused it even, until he finally relented after another episode of flashbacks and coming to his senses while shaking in your arms.

🍺 Life with John and Simon isn’t always easy nor romantic.

🍺 But bloody hell, do they make it better.

[skillszofficial]

The Ultimate Platform for Skill Assessment - HR/Tech/Recruiting 

Skillsz is a new-age skill assessment platform that makes tech hiring easier and faster with carefully-designed tests. Coupled with features such as custom-made tests, custom branding, an anonymous domain, a vast question library, and more, it streamlines the recruitment process. Make quality with Skillsz effectively.

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[chiimeramanticore]

Mike isn't sure exactly why he took this job. Maybe a haunted house based on Freddy's isn't exactly worth his time. That is, until he sees a familiar face during his shift.

——

Mike and Springtrap meet for the first time and it sucks lol. 3859 words, slight TW for references to child abuse/neglect and gore 👍

Read it on AO3!

——

Mike isn't really sure what he expected taking this job. Sure, a haunted house about Freddy's. Real respectful. It's probably not even going to help him get any evidence on his father. But the dude that hired him swore up and down they'd gotten "real authentic shit, y'know?" for the attraction. It's possible, he figures. Mike knows well enough about the teenagers that try to raid the closed Freddy's locations for proof the rumored murders really happened. He also knows well enough that if he hasn't been able to find any solid evidence yet, they definitely haven't. Maybe there isn't any evidence at all. Maybe he's just going crazy.

Sitting in the office now, Mike definitely feels crazy. This is a waste of time... The whole building feels like it's held together by glow-in-the-dark paint, duct tape, and good luck. The ventilation in here is awful. He can't go two seconds without something breaking. Night shifts are supposed to be easy, damn it.

What's worse, Mike finds himself hallucinating a lot more when he's here. When he complained about seeing stuff that wasn't actually there, his doctor handed him a slip of paper with a schizophrenia diagnosis and a prescription for antipsychotics. Mike brought the pills home, but didn't last long actually taking them. He knows whatever he's got, it's not a disorder. It's from that damn gas his dad used to love messing with when he was a kid. He'd inhaled enough of that garbage to probably give him permanent brain damage, he figures. And the stuffiness of this office often makes Mike feel like he's back home, breathing it in again. Whatever it is, his doctor wouldn't be happy about it.

Mike sighs, eyeing the new cassette left on his desk, labeled "Tuesday." His employers are way too committed to the retro thing– they can just call him or talk to him in person. Surely this is more work than it's worth, right? Whatever. He pops it into the player and hits play.

"Hey man– okay, I have some awesome news for you!" His employer's voice begins. "First of all, we found some vintage audio training cassettes. Dude, these are like pre-historic! I think they were, like, training tapes for, like, other employees or something like that. So I thought we could, like, have them playing, like, over the speakers as people walk through the attraction. Dude, that’d make this feel legit man." Mike groans. He isn't sure what's more annoying, this guy's voice, or the prospect of having to listen to Freddy's training tapes every night on loop.

"But," the voice continues, "I have an even better surprise for you, and you’re not gonna believe this! We found one. A real one." Mike furrows his brow hearing this. A real... what? There's no way it's what he thinks it is.

"Uhh, gotta go man. Look, i-it’s in there somewhere, I’m sure you’ll see it. Okay, I’ll leave you with some of this great audio that I found. Talk to you later man!" The casette goes quiet for a moment before a new track starts playing, one of the training tapes in question.

"Welcome to your new career as a performer-slash-entertainer for Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. These tapes will provide you wi–" Mike stops the tape. He's not interested.

"What the fuck do you mean, 'a real one'?" He mutters to himself. He looks to the security monitor to his right. Everything looks exactly the same as it did yesterday and last week. Mike switches between cameras quickly but deliberately, scanning each room for discrepancies. There's no way they found a real animatronic, right? There's no way. They were all dismantled and scrapped. Mike knows they're haunted, or at least were at some point. Maybe if he can just find it on the cameras, he can assess if it's actually going to be a danger to him.

He clicks over to the last camera, eyes flicking around the screen. Nothing's different. Maybe he's freaking out over nothing.

But right as he clicks back to the start, Mike sees something move in the bottom left corner of the screen.

He clicks back over.

Nothing.

If there was anything, it's gone. And he's not sure there ever was anything. Maybe he's going crazy. Maybe he's just crazy. That'd be the most reassuring thing to learn, he figures.

Mike realizes his heart's beating at a mile a minute right now. He leans back in his chair, trying to breathe slower. He's just hallucinating, he tells himself. It's fine. He's fine. The panel to his left beeps, signaling the ventilation needs to be reset. See? He's just freaking out. He turns his attention to the panel, waiting the seconds it takes to reset the ventilation.

It doesn't take him long after this to settle back into the routine he's found in the few days since he started this job. Check the cameras idly, get spooked by something that isn't actually there, fix something that inevitably broke, repeat. He continues like this for about an hour, still somewhat puzzled by what he was told on the tape. Maybe he wasn't even referring to an animatronic– it could be anything, really. And these cameras are so grainy, it's not hard to miss something small.

Mike stares idly at the static on Camera 04, feeling like his mind is turning to fuzz, too. It definitely takes him too long to notice, but... there, on the left side of the screen. A pinprick of light that Mike knows for sure doesn't belong. Is that... an eye? It's dark, but he swears he can make out the right half of a head surrounding it. He blinks a few times, unsure if he's making it up, but the half-hidden face remains. And it looks like it's looking at him.

The panel beeps at him. Mike doesn't want to look away, but he does, resetting the ventilation once again. When he gets the chance to look back again, the face is gone.

"Sssshit," he hisses. "Shit. Shit." He clicks through the cameras again, trying to find the thing in here with him. It's too dark to recognize it easily, but the shape of the head seemed like an older mold. Even then, he's not really sure. He just wants to see it again. But there's nothing on the cameras that looks like it. He sighs, sitting back in his chair to refresh his eyes.

When he looks up at the window to his office, the animatronic is there. Staring at him.

Mike's blood runs so cold it damn near freezes over. He's paralyzed– all he can do is stare back. He recognizes this animatronic, or at least he thinks he does. It's so worn down now, but... it's Springbonnie. How could he ever forget Springbonnie...? His father's favorite.

The rabbit moves. It shifts its weight, then slowly starts to shamble to the left of the window. Mike doesn't know what to do– it's not like he's got a door to shut on the thing. He watches it appear in the doorway, using a hand to brace itself on the frame. It struggles to move, not unlike how Mike's seen the haunted animatronics move, but this feels different. It's not bound by its mechanics. But... the only way it'd move organically like this is if someone was inside.

Even if he's just being fucked with, he's not about to gamble on it. He'd much rather get laughed at for falling for it. He grabs a screwdriver from his desk, just in case he needs to defend himself against it. He presses himself up against the back of the chair he's in as the creature gets even closer, far too close. Like it's curious about him, too. It smells awful– like death and mold. From here, Mike can see clearly that it's not in costume mode. Tears and rips in the fabric expose its mech, which he wouldn't be able to see if it was in walk-around mode. He isn't sure what he's dealing with, but his heart is pounding so hard he's sure it can hear the sound too.

The rabbit puts its face mere inches from Mike's, and makes an odd noise, somewhere between a wheeze and a moan. Mike grips the armrests of his chair tightly, certain he's moments from death.

Then, with another wheeze, "...M... Michael," it says in his father's voice.

Mike doesn't wait for anything else to happen. Almost automatically, he springs out of his chair, pushing the thing over, and bolts for the door. He doesn't care what it is. It's not a hallucination. It's not an animatronic. It can't be his father. Please, don't let this be his father. It won't matter if he can just get out of here. Leave and never come back.

Mike hears the thud of footsteps behind him, still somewhat slow but much faster than before. He doesn't dare look back at it.

He refuses to lose speed as he whips around a corner, but he doesn't look where he's going– he crashes into a prop mannequin, bringing both tumbling to the floor. Mike scrambles to stand again, but he's not fast enough. The rabbit has caught up to him. He tries to take off again, but it grabs him by the wrist with an iron, mechanical grip. Mike strains against it, frantic, like a trapped animal, to no avail.

"Calm... down," the rabbit says sternly.

"No! No, you– You're not real!" Mike shouts, still struggling to escape.

"You're being...!" The rabbit stops to cough and wheeze some more, but the grasp he holds on Mike is unwavering. "Y– You're being ridiculous," he says finally.

"N- no, you–" Mike pulls again, and the rabbit presses his mechanical claws into his arm, just enough to hurt. Only now does he remember he's still holding the screwdriver. He swings it at the rabbit, unsure which parts of him are flesh over metal. He gets lucky, the metal tip landing in his upper arm and hurting him enough to let go of Mike. Mike takes this chance to tackle the rabbit, pinning him to the floor and wielding the screwdriver over him.

"You–!" The rabbit says. "Y– you won't kill me."

"Oh yeah? Give me one good reason I shouldn't stab you in the fucking throat right now!" Mike says, though the way he's trembling betrays his attempt at sounding menacing.

"Language," the rabbit says. "You won't kill me, b- because... I have information. I have... the answers you've been looking for." The way he speaks is labored. His voice is raw and tired, like he hasn't used it in ages, and he sounds continually out of breath. He sounds pained... Mike knows he's weaker now. Mike knows it would be easy to kill him in this state. But he also knows he's right. Everything Mike has been working toward has been for this– for information like this. Information enough to convict his father for the murders he knows he committed. Could they even convict him looking like this...?

"What happened to you?" Mike asks. That's never been what he'd envisioned asking his father.

"Take me back to your office," he says. "I'll talk there."

Mike's suspicious, but... an interrogation while he's still got him pinned to the floor isn't exactly comfortable for either of them. "Fine," he says, moving off of him. "You walk ahead of me."

"Scared?" the rabbit asks, a teasing tone in his voice. Mike doesn't grace it with a response. He watches him stand, then start to move back toward the office. He walks with a limp. Mike studies him from the back, trying to parse what's come of him. It's hard to tell where exactly the man ends and the machine begins. His hands and feet seem metal, but between the crossbeams and wires he can see in the torso, there's what looks like flesh inside. Old, rotted, disgusting flesh, but flesh nonetheless.

They re-enter his office, and Mike sits down in his chair. The rabbit finds a place to sit on the desk. Mike doesn't move his eyes from him for a second.

"What happened to you?" He asks again.

"I had a... lapse of judgement," his father says. "I couldn't get my mind off the old place... the pizzeria. I had left it standing all those years... I wanted to go back. Put... put an end to everything. I meant to dismantle the– the animatronics." Mike isn't sure how much of this is truth, but he lets him continue.

"This... old thing," he says, looking down at himself. "I'd almost forgotten about it. I just wanted to... put it on again. Old time's sake." He chuckles, it sounding just as terrible as the rest of him. "I'd forgotten safety protocol. It was old... wet, moldy."

"You–" Mike hadn't wanted to believe he'd springlocked himself, but that's exactly what he's telling him, isn't it?

"I know," he says. "What a fool I was."

"You didn't," Mike says. "There's no way."

"I did," he insists. "What would I gain from... lying to you about this?"

There's usually something– even if Mike doesn't know what it is. Regardless of how it happened, though, it's undeniable what's happened to begin with. He definitely got springlocked, whether by his own hand or someone else's. And these things usually were mistakes. He just never thought he'd... be so stupid about it. If anyone would remember how to avoid a gruesome death in one of those suits, it should be his father. What could've caused him to forget? There's something he's keeping from him, he's sure of it.

"If you were springlocked, you'd be dead," he says finally.

"But I'm still here," William says.

"How?"

The rabbit shifts in place, as if he's considering whether to tell Mike this. "I found it," he tells him. "The secret to eternal life."

"Bullshit," Mike blurts.

"Language," William says. "Don't act like... you don't want to know."

"Just tell me."

William sighs. "I call it Remnant," he says. "It's... a lot of explanation. It can bind a soul to metal. It can..." He tries to laugh again, doing slightly better this time. "...It can make a man immortal, Michael."

"Is that what you'd call yourself?"

"No," he says. "It's what I almost was. I had... been building up enough, still. But what was in me already was enough... enough to save me when this happened."

Mike studies him a moment longer before finally asking. "How much of you is even human anymore?"

William seems to ponder this for a moment before answering. "Does it matter much?" He responds. "I am more than human now. More than machine. I'm... something new. I am the two combined."

"But your body is still in there, isn't it?"

"I am not just the body. I am not just the suit. I'm not just the metal. I'm it all, Michael. All of it." He seems proud of this, proud of the monster he's become. At least he's finally got a look to match him.

"...All because of this Remnant stuff," Mike mutters. He wonders if, somehow, that's the reason the animatronics were haunted, too. Remnant kept their souls there. But how would he have made that happen? How long has been working on this?

"Last time I saw you, Michael, you were..." William trails off.

"I was seventeen," Mike finishes. His father had just disappeared one day. He was known to do that when Mike was younger– usually because he was out somewhere drinking. Some nights he'd come home late, or just not at all. But when the days began to pass without him, Mike left completely alone in the house... What else was he supposed to do?

"And now, how old are you?"

"...Fifty-two," Mike says. Thirty-five years had passed since they'd seen each other. After this long, Mike had begun to hope he'd just find his father dead. In a way, he has, he figures.

"Mm." William stares at him, and now Mike feels like he's the one being studied. "It's... been quite some time," he says. "You've grown up well."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Mike says.

"It means exactly what it seems it means," William says, a touch annoyed. Then, calming down again, "You're resilient. You're tough. You aren't a coward. Otherwise... you wouldn't be here. Would you?"

Mike says nothing.

"I raised you with the hope of you... becoming strong," he continues. "That, when life knocks you down, you don't stay down. I believe you're... Well, correct me if I'm wrong."

Mike doesn't know what he wants him to say. He glances the rabbit suit up and down, as if that'll somehow give him an answer. He's not going to "admit" to how great his father says he is, because it's clearly leading toward something. Going with it would just be walking directly into whatever trap he's planted. But denying it is an even more obvious fail-state.

"...Cat have your tongue, Michael?"

"No," Mike says finally. "What do you want?"

"What makes you think I... want something from you?" William asks.

"Why else would you be talking to me?" Mike says.

"Do you think I... I– I hold any sort of power like this?" William insists. "Look at me, Michael."

Mike's been looking at him. "You look awful," he says quietly.

"I've been down there for over thirty years," he says. "I lost the ability to track time. All I could... do was wait. Finally someone found me."

"To make a mockery of you." Mike can't stop himself from saying it. He rests an elbow on an armrest and uses his hand to cover his mouth, hiding the smile he also can't stop himself from.

William sighs. "It's... unfortunate. Yes."

Mike's never seen him look... dejected before. Not that he's exactly looking at his father right now, anyway. But still, as much as Mike hates to admit it, he looks genuine. Maybe he really is weaker like this.

"...Did it hurt?" Mike asks him.

The rabbit slowly lifts its head to Mike. "It still hurts," he admits. "This... is not the body I had planned to spend eternity in."

"So you are immortal," Mike says.

"I don't know the limits of it. But I went thirty years without food, water, much sleep... must count for something. I don't think I age... but there's not much way to tell."

Mike's weighing the possibility of killing him. He didn't seem that afraid of death when he'd been threatening him– but that doesn't necessarily mean he can't be killed. It just means he doesn't fear it. Mike still has half a mind to set this whole dump on fire with his father inside. It'd be so easy... electrical fires nearly start every night here anyway. He could let everything burn and rest with the knowledge that nothing inside would survive.

If he knew his father would die, at least.

"...Michael," William says, the silence between them too long now. "I... I've had time to sit with my regrets. There's more I wish I could have done... More I still need to do. I can't like this."

"Whatever it is, you can get it out of your system here," Mike says. He's expecting him to give some bullshit non-apology for the kind of father he was. Being touchy-feely one time, decades after he'd just disappeared one night, is never going to fix it. But Mike will let him say it, at the very least. It's not like it'll matter.

"I can't do it here," William says. "She's not here."

"...She?"

"Elizabeth," he tells him. "I still have to... go back for her."

Mike remembers the day Elizabeth died. Even now, he can easily recall the sight of her remains pouring out of Circus Baby's chest... the blood, the gore, the smell. The way he'd felt his whole body freeze over at the sight of it. The way his father had tried to save her, even thought it was clear she had long passed that point. The way he'd cried... the way both of them had cried. He could never forget losing her. Then... how could he talk about her like she's still alive?

"Where... where is she?" He asks, cautiously.

"Circus Baby's," William says.

Mike shakes his head. "She can't be." He'd visited the place again years ago, though still years after the incident. He had wanted to find Circus Baby there, thinking his sister might be possessing the robot– but the place was devoid of animatronics.

"Not the restaurant. She's in storage," William says. "The rental company... Only I ever knew where the storage was." He leans in toward Mike, as if they aren't the only two people here. "It's under the house. Always has been."

"Under...?"

The rabbit nods. "Our home," he says.

Mike had returned there too, years ago. He'd never thought, in a million years, that there'd be anything more than bad memories there. He'd never thought he'd have passed over something so important... so close, and yet so far from seeing his sister again– even if she wasn't quite herself.

"I can show you how to get there," William tells him. "I need you to do it, Michael. You're the only one who could."

"Wh– why me?"

"You're family," he says. "You're the only one I trust."

Mike feels something deep inside him stir upon hearing that. He exhales.

"Is she...?" He starts. "Is she... in Baby?"

"She must be," William says. "You need to find her. You need to set her free."

Set her free... It's something Mike's been trying to do with the other possessed animatronics for years. Put their souls to rest. But they've all been so... uncooperative. Animalistic. Maybe their programming had interfered with their true personalities. He should expect it to be the same with Elizabeth, then, but... She's family. She would have to recognize him eventually. That's why he has to be the one to do it, isn't it? She wouldn't trust anyone else. She needs him.

"I..." Mike feels that same deep ache inside him. He misses her, he realizes. He's missed her terribly. And now, he can see her again– and save her. "...I'll do it," he says finally. "Show me how to find her."

The rabbit finally leans back again, laughing. "Good," he says. "Don't let me down, Michael."

"I... I wont." Mike isn't sure this is the right choice to make. He can't shake the feeling he's being pulled into something bigger than him. But how could his father have planned something for this long if he's been stuck in this state for thirty years? And how could he miss his only chance to see his sister again– especially knowing that she's been just as stuck for just as long? How could he not want to help her?

He still wants to burn this place down with his father inside. He will soon, he tells himself. Once he saves Elizabeth, then he can come back here, and put an end to everything.

He just hopes he'll make it back here at all.

[eskill]

How and Where to Incorporate Pre-Employment Testing into Your Hiring Process

Hiring the wrong person can reduce productivity and even cost your business thousands of dollars. Hence, a pre-employment skills assessment has become a key tool in the hiring process—a smart and efficient way to make the right hiring decision. These tests enable companies to evaluate applicants' skills fairly and make better hires.

 A  is an effective way for businesses to ensure that the employees they hire are skilled enough for the intended role. These tests showcase the candidate's ability to carry out the role successfully and perform well if hired. Read on to learn how to choose the right tests and where to incorporate them in hiring.

How to Choose a Pre-Employment Assessment

You can make the most out of your pre-employment assessment by using a combination of tests. You can combine role-based aptitude tests with specific questions about the candidate's problem-solving, numerical reasoning, and critical thinking skills.

Your choice will ultimately depend on the ideal candidate profile you have created for the job role and the role you are hiring for. For an entry-level job, general cognitive ability may be the key. But for other roles like sales, marketing, or engineering, you can go for specific skills tests.

For instance, if you are hiring for a junior UI developer, a good mix of tests can include programming skills tests with some probing questions about their general mental ability. This will give candidates with good potential a fair shot. A basic, short technical skills assessment can help you narrow down the applicants quickly. The best ones chosen from this test can be given a structured interview and even extra interviews if you still have doubts.

For a senior role, you have to dig deeper into the candidate's skills from the start, for which you can combine a basic pre-employment test with an open-ended coding assignment to evaluate a broader scope of skills.

You can also add an asynchronous video interview, like a pre-recorded video Q&A, created by the candidate and sharing more information about their experiences, skills, and knowledge. If your senior role includes managerial duties, you may add a behavioral interview to evaluate the candidate's situational judgment, people management skills, and communication skills.

How and Where in the Recruitment Process to Fit a Pre-employment Assessment

Candidate screening: you can identify qualified candidates quickly at the beginning of the hiring process through short, standardized tests. These tests should be designed to evaluate the applicant's core competencies and aptitude for the role. These candidate screening tests include cognitive ability tests, language proficiency pre-employment assessments, technical skills assessments, and role-based job knowledge tests.

Candidate shortlisting: You can use a combination of open-ended assignments and structured interviews to get extra data for decision-making. This will reduce bias by focusing on the candidate's abilities and character traits.

Candidate selection: You can get a final proof of competency by evaluating the candidate's skills in action with job simulations that represent real-world tasks and challenges in their new role.

To Sum Up

Pre-employment testing is a modern, efficient, engaging, and fair way to screen candidates for any job role. These assessments strengthen the recruitment process and also enable data-driven hiring and, thus, smarter HR decisions.

[mrhaitch]

Hello hello Mr.Haitch !! I hope the Haitch household is doing great ^^

So, recently one of my friend’s university is all over the news, because the granddaughter of an insanely popular actor enrolled at that university.

My friend isn’t particularly thrilled about it, because that university has a very difficult entrance exam, but the celebrity’s granddaughter got in without clearing that exam.

The university claims that she has a very impressive portfolio and doesn’t need to clear the exam. But we all know that’s just bs.

So far the university board hasn’t been very subtle about their open bias towards her. Even the staff.

What is your opinion on this? Do you think people coming from influential backgrounds shouldn’t be shown such blatant favoritism? Considering how hard some people tried to get accepted at that university and afford the tuition.

I've got mixed feelings about entrance exams, and assessments in general.

Permit me to dust off my 'education is a public good' Stetson for a moment.

Much better.

Okay - for me it's all down to what you're trying to measure and why. Is the point of the exam for students to gauge the extent of their understanding, for their teachers, for awarding bodies, for future employers? And if so why?

My employer doesn't care that I got top grades in my essays on existentialism and freedom, or that I completely fucked up my exam on the pre-socratics (I objected to a question).

Is it so the university can brag that x number of students achieved a high grade? Is it to assess the quality of the teaching? What if a class' impact is more personal and profound, rather than imparting particular skills that can be measured by conventional assessment?

I know the answer to all of these questions, mostly, but the answers are - to me - unsatisfying. Learning is a lifelong pursuit with milestones, absolutely, but no real defined end. Any end that might be imposed is artificial at best, dishonest at worst. The number of people I've seen waltz into complex, nuanced debates saying "well I studied X at level y" believing it makes them an expert. I also believe the value of education has absolutely nothing to do with employability or transferrable skills (I will hiss at anyone that uses that word near me). Society cannot function without an educated populace, especially its political systems. People can and should be as informed as possible at all times, through whatever methods and by whatever means are most effective for them.

This all applies to entrance exams: it strikes me that it's all about marketing and prestige. Universities want the best students so they can SAY they have the best students, in order to attract more.of the best students. The reasons why fall broadly under, like I said, prestige and marketing - but there's also financial incentives beyond recruitment. Students from affluent backgrounds are, on average, more successful academically - largely as a reflection of the ease with which they can access high quality schooling, tutoring, additional resources, and their parents are likely to be educated as well.

While it might seem like a meritocratic system (if you're smart enough you'll make the cut) but it's another form of elitism and classism, just sneaky and underhanded. Typically this is underlined by the manner of assessment, with a written examination being the standard. That's not to say it's impossible for someone outside of the upper crust to get through, just that the odds are slim. Slim by design.

Anywho.

If it were a perfectly meritocratic system I'd be more upset about people cheating the system, and processes being overridden by nepotism. Instead all they've done is reveal the whole thing is a sham.

For anyone interested in this topic I'd recommend checking out The Tyranny of Merit by Michael Sandel.

[sarahjacobs]

i find it really interesting how, as newsies made its transition from film to stage, it took on a rhetorical militancy that wasn't there before, ie "once and for all there'll be / blood on the wall if they / doubt us."

which bothers some people because of how violent the language is, but i think the rhetorical militancy itself isn't bad, per se. the state is already waging war on the oppressed, one of the most obvious examples being how usamerican police were drilled in military formations to break strikes by the mid-1880s. when leftists use language that evokes the military, even in non violent contexts (guerilla gardening), it's not about militarism, it's about militancy, and recognizing the terrain of struggle.

and violence is more complicated than we often like to believe. when the state enacts violence on people everyday, ranging from slow (poverty) to fast (police brutality), it's only natural that people resort to violence as a means of liberating themselves. and these expressions of violence aren't equivalent at all because of the context, resistance vs reaffirming pre-existing power/authority, illegitimate vs legitimate violence. to elaborate on the latter, pulitzer is allowed to sic strikebreakers and cops on the newsies without facing any kind of consequence, but it would be a completely different story if the newsies even tried to assault pulitzer.

my criticism of the rhetoric lies in that it's just a veneer of militancy, of rebellion. newsies live also likens the strike to revolution, which the 92 film didn't do either —

MEDDA: Welcome, Newsies of New York City. Welcome to my theater and your revolution!

JACK: (being funny) Bill? So I suppose you're the son of William Randolph Hearst? BILL: And proud to be part of your revolution!

— but newsies is incongruous with revolution. i don't think that's necessarily a bad thing; like anarcho-nihilist serafinski says, "it is not the outcome of the act, but the moment of action itself that speaks the loudest here. . . . [whether or not revolution succeeds] can only be secondary to the visceral need to rebel against the shitty conditions of our lives." but we should also be accurate and precise in our assessments of resistance. revolutions are specifically about the overthrow and replacement of the current order, or, at the very least, the deposition of rulers, and the newsie strike, historically and across adaptions, ends with a return to the status quo — back to work under the same employer, with marginally better wages, which are still poverty wages and still under an inherently exploitative, industrial-capitalist system. in her coverage of the strike on the podcast cool people who did cool stuff, margaret killjoy calls it insurrectionary unionism, which more accurately reflects the spontaneity, informality, and emphasis on direct action seen in the strike, but also acknowledges that it didn't achieve, nor was it necessarily seeking, systemic change/destruction.

with this in mind, newsies live is especially not revolutionary. it proposes that class struggle is interchangeable with generational divides, and it favors a more conciliatory, employers and employed as partners approach to unionism. again, i don't think the 92 film is a perfect political text, but the older script’s references to socialism and eugene debs make it clear to me that they at least did the reading. newsies live lacks this political framework, which is necessary to make the rhetorical militancy work in the first place. i mean, when you have the newsies singing, "we'll be ready to fight us a war" and "they're gonna damn well pay!" and follow that up with katherine reading the newsie banner, in which they declare that "we will work with you" to pulitzer, doesn't that contradict? there's no real way to reconcile the newsies's call for escalation into open class war where the employing class and the working class are inherent enemies, with the more palatable/liberal willingness to "work with" pulitzer, building off of all the other business unionist like desires to have a "place at the table" and be "treated like equals," which culminates in a negotiation scene full of concessions.

in general, i find that newsies live is self conscious, in a way, almost constantly referencing its place in history as being unique —

DAVEY: We're doing something that has never been done before. How could that not be dangerous?

DAVEY: Newsies of New York… look at what we've done! We've got newsies from every pape and every neighborhood tonight. Tonight you're making history.

— in addition to the script noting that roosevelt is "recognizing this historical moment" as he delivers his last lines, and the previous examples of the strike being equated to revolution. there’s this eagerness to singularize the newsie strike as something that's never been done before, as a one and done revolution rather than revolution/abolition as a continual process; just as capitalism is a structure, not an event, true revolution isn’t an event, either.

newsies live as a whole is eager to claim easy victories. it's comforting to believe that we should work within and with the confines of institutional power and the piecemeal reform it affords, that a government official like roosevelt will intervene in favor of the workers, and when pulitzer says he can't put the price back where it was, the newsies giving up their only leverage at the height of its escalation (the localized newsie strike into a generalized, children's strike that stops the city) in favor of concessions is still a "win." similarly, it's comforting to believe that these institutions, and power itself, can be fixed, so long as the right people (the young people, in this case) are in power — as if there's anything even worth saving about these things. these beliefs don't demand much of us because it doesn’t disrupt our worldview, just asks us to keep holding onto what we already know.

to me, newsies live is part of a broader conversation about how anti-capitalist struggles and forms are recuperated and re-integrated into capitalism, how discourse reflects and codifies power, even as it makes room for dissent — or more accurately, controlled opposition. even as the show dons the mantle of revolution, of rhetorical militancy, a part of it is unwilling, perhaps even afraid of, to let go of its liberalism. it can't quite acknowledge the possibility that what’s needed is the end of the World — both the newspaper world and the literal world — as we know it.

(i highly recommend "a love letter from the end of the world," a short essay that more thoroughly deals with apocalyptic anarchism.)