Advice and Resources
I am happy to offer advice to both my clients and candidates throughout our working relationship. Here's a sample of how I can help:
Salary advice
At Peter Macdonald Recruitment I am happy to provide salary benchmarking for both clients and candidates (and it is a free service).
I can benchmark your current package against what similarly qualified and experienced people are earning in similar roles across the Yorkshire region. I can also give you up to date information on the local market place and help give you an idea of reasonable pay rises.
For further information please call me on 07990 977 438 or contact me.
Interview preparation
One of the most common complaints about interviews is that people can never think of good answers until it's too late. There's a simple solution to this - preparation and practice. The better prepared you are the more relaxed you will be and the better you will come across at interview.
When I am working with candidates in the early stages of their career I regard helping them prepare for their interviews as being one of the key elements of the service I provide. As part of my service I will give you lots of information about the firm and also point you in the right direction for any further research you may want to do.
I will also fully brief you about the people you will be meeting, the role they have in mind and the format of the interview. I guide you through the type of questions you can expect and generally regarding your interview technique.
Many larger organisations now include some form of testing as part of their recruitment process (often at an early stage). There are a wide range of tests that different clients use covering general aptitude, numerical and verbal reasoning, problem solving, personality profiling, selling skills and full blown psychometric tests. I will brief you fully about any tests that you will face at interview and I can also often provide access to mock tests.
If you would like to run through some practice questions please call me on 07990 977 438 or contact me
Psychometric testing
Psychometric testing is frequently used within the accountancy profession for the entrance tests for the Top 20 firms to partner assessment centres. It makes sense to prepare for such tests as it has been proven that practice can improve your score on some formats. This form of testing is a way of evaluating how candidates are likely to perform when dealing with tasks or reacting to a work situation. Nowadays they are often administered on a computer.
Psychometric tests tend to fall into two main areas:
- Ability or Aptitude Tests - look specifically at the extent to which a candidate is able to carry out various aspects of a job. Typically they focus on areas like verbal reasoning, numerical ability, logical reasoning and spatial awareness. In the main in the accountancy profession aptitude tests focus on verbal reasoning, numerical ability and areas like organisational skills. They can range from graduate tests aimed at finding potential and a minimum level of literacy and numeracy, to such things as in-tray exercises which simulate a working environment.
- Personality Tests - these aim to measure whether an individual's personal attributes would suit a particular work environment. They can be used to assess aspects of an individual's behaviour, attitudes or opinions, as well as their motivation, interests and values. Your results can then be compared to the characteristics considered essential for the job. Some firms also use them during an interview process to assess what future training will be needed and they can form the basis of a future personal development plan.
The most commonly used tests are Saddle & Holdsworth (SHL) so it is advisable to look at the sample tests on www.shldirect.com. They have free examples of both aptitude and personality tests on the site. You can work through them on a timed basis and get feedback from the site.
For Personality style Tests you could look at:
- www.teamtechnology.co.uk/tt/common/contents.htm this has an example of one of the most commonly used Personality tests the 'Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) - so it can give you an indication of your personality type.
For Aptitude tests you could try:
- The Civil service employer selection tests at www.faststream.gov.uk and www.gchq.gov.uk
- For the GMAT (Graduate Management Admissions tests (which test verbal, numerical and logical ability for those applying to business schools and MBA's) try www.gmattutor.com or www.getfeedback.net/products/psy/wgcta_ranra.html. This also has Watson Glaser Critical Thinking tests and RANRA - Rust Alpha Numerical Reasoning Appraisal.
- For those going for positions at director and partner level it is well worth looking into the Watson Glaser tests as these are commonly used as part of partner assessment processes. It's a demanding test aimed at complex decision making, strategic planning etc. So again look at www.getfeedback.net/aptitude.php