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Posted by jalang on June 1, 2012
Greetings!
Looking for thoughts, recommendations, and experiences with using online IT testing instruments as a way to evaluate the competency of potential candidates.  My group his constantly seeking desktop support consultants, and we have had some difficulty finding candidates with the right technology experience and skill set.  For our purposes, I'd be looking for a tool that can assess a candidate's basic understanding of networking, Windows and Mac support, basic IT concepts, client-server, etc.  I'd guess that questions from CompTIA and Microsoft cert tests would be relevant for my need.

Does anyone out there have experience with anything like this, and/or possibly recommend services to consider?
Thanks in advance,
-Alex

-- 
J. Alex Lang
Sr. Manager, Desktop Support Program
Carnegie Mellon University
Cyert Hall
5000 Forbes Ave
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
(412) 268-8966

********** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/.

Comments

I would be very interested in this as well.
Our app developers have been struggling with a cost/time-effective means to screening candidates too.

Brian Miller
V.P. Information Technology Services & CIO
Davenport University
6191 Kraft Ave. SE / Broadmoor Suite 270
Grand Rapids, MI 49512
p. 616.732.1195 | c. 616-821-2618
brian.miller@davenport.edu






Posted by: suydam on June 1, 2012
Message from dsmith@oakarts.org

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?>
When I first applied for a IT consulting/support engineer position - my potential employer used what I thought was a useful approach.  This approach is not a 'formal' or 'credentialed' method to evaluate a candidate but was effective in my mind.  The evaluator took a machine and altered its configuration (unplugged the CD-ROM cable if my recollection serves - it was 18 years ago) and then gave and end-user like description (e.g. I can't play my CD's anymore.)  The evaluator requested I talk out loud with my thinking and the steps I was taking to troubleshoot the issue.  It was from these observations that I received my position.

Your mileage may vary.
____________________
David Smith
Director of Technology
Oakland School for the Arts
(im) @osaradio
(p) 510.873.8800
(f) 510.873-8816

Please send all technical support requests to techsupport@oakarts.org

The contents of this email message and any attachments are confidential and are intended solely for addressee. The information may also be legally privileged. This transmission is sent in trust, for the sole purpose of delivery to the intended recipient. If you have received this transmission in error, any use, reproduction or dissemination of this transmission is strictly prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please immediately notify the sender by reply email or by phone and delete this message and its attachments, if any.

The EDUCAUSE CIO Constituent Group Listserv <CIO@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU> on June 1, 2012 at 11:35 AM -0700 wrote:
Greetings!
Looking for thoughts, recommendations, and experiences with using online IT testing instruments as a way to evaluate the competency of potential candidates.  My group his constantly seeking desktop support consultants, and we have had some difficulty finding candidates with the right technology experience and skill set.  For our purposes, I'd be looking for a tool that can assess a candidate's basic understanding of networking, Windows and Mac support, basic IT concepts, client-server, etc.  I'd guess that questions from CompTIA and Microsoft cert tests would be relevant for my need.


Does anyone out there have experience with anything like this, and/or possibly recommend services to consider?
Thanks in advance,
-Alex


-- 
J. Alex Lang
Sr. Manager, Desktop Support Program
Carnegie Mellon University
Cyert Hall
5000 Forbes Ave
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
(412) 268-8966

********** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/.



********** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/.

Posted by: listserv-anon on June 1, 2012

I’ve used Brainbench in the past as part of our second round interviewing process for technical candidates.  The tests helped identify some individual capabilities/characteristics (both negative and positive) that weren’t particularly obvious otherwise.   Overall, the tests were definitely a positive contribution to the screening process.   HTH.

 

Regards,

Manny

-----------------------

Manuel (Manny) Amaral

Associate Director, Information Technology

Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering

(781) 292-2433

 

 

 

From: The EDUCAUSE CIO Constituent Group Listserv [mailto:CIO@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU] On Behalf Of Brian Miller
Sent: Friday, June 01, 2012 2:39 PM
To: CIO@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU
Subject: Re: [CIO] IT Candidate Screening Tools

 

I would be very interested in this as well.

Our app developers have been struggling with a cost/time-effective means to screening candidates too.


Brian Miller
V.P. Information Technology Services & CIO
Davenport University

6191 Kraft Ave. SE / Broadmoor Suite 270

Grand Rapids, MI 49512
p. 616.732.1195 | c. 616-821-2618
brian.miller@davenport.edu




Posted by: mamaral on June 1, 2012
Thanks for the responses, all – I am looking into Brainbench which is now SHL apparently:

We have been getting in the habit of giving candidates broken laptops, usually as a 2nd round of interviews when we're unsure.  My goal here, though, is to reduce that uncertainty before bringing a potential candidate to campus. That's where a good online assessments tool might come in.

Best,
-Alex

-- 
J. Alex Lang
Sr. Manager, Desktop Support Program
Carnegie Mellon University
Cyert Hall
5000 Forbes Ave
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
(412) 268-8966

********** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/.

Posted by: jalang on June 4, 2012

We are looking into gmetrix and Fast Track not only for candidates but also gauging student computing literacy and proficiency.

 

Below is the quick start guide.

 

http://gmetrix.net/

 

Fast Track:

http://www.certiport.com/portal/desktopdefault.aspx?page=common/pagelibrary/ic3_fasttrack.htm

The cost per exam is $14.72

 

 

Shahra Meshkaty

Senior Director of Academic Technology Services

University of San Diego

http://www.sandiego.edu/ats

5998 Alcala Park

San Diego, CA 92110

Maher Hall 189

619 260 4810

 

USD Technology Services will never ask for your password.   please do not share it with others!

Any email that does request this or other personal information is fraudulent and you should delete it or mark it as Junk Mail and block the sender.

 

Posted by: meshkaty on June 4, 2012
Alex,

This is not exactly what you are looking for but attached is a "Technology Skills Assessment" we have student worker candidates fill out for entry level positions at our Technical Support Center (Help Desk).  This is also used by departments hiring admin assistants to better ascertain their technical abilities.  This is something they fill out themselves.

Curtis 


Posted by: cdwhite on June 6, 2012
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