JoceAndChris
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Here is a sample question from my online interview to be a Census Collector. Promise you all faithfully I'm not cheating as I have submitted the test but I did copy and paste the questions into another document, as I found them so extraordinary.
What this says about our country's attitude to job-hunting keenness I think has to be seen to be believed. I have never read such a load of hyper-inflated, nonsensical, obsequious tripe in all my life. By the way, this job will pay just £7 something per hour. And yet you are expected to work through this utter sh*** just for shoving some leaflets through a door
You have to imagine the following scenario:
"The government has decided to implement a programme called the ‘Health of the Nation’. The programme is designed to establish the health and fitness of people living in the UK.
Under this programme, people from across the country will be asked to participate in a health assessment. This will involve a series of simple medical tests. These will include height and weight measurements, a blood sample and a small number of fitness checks. These tests will take place in one of a number of mobile medical centres that will travel around the country. Participants will also be asked to provide information about themselves such as their date of birth and occupation.
Not everyone in the country can be tested but it is important that a representative cross-section of people is included in the programme. It has therefore been decided that people living in particular pre-selected areas will be invited to participate. As an incentive, each participant will be paid £50 and given a free health assessment.
For the programme, the UK has been divided up into regions. Each region has a number of sectors and each sector has a number of areas. For each region there is a Regional Manager and for each sector there is Sector Manager.
There is also a Central Management Unit (CMU) for the whole country. CMU is responsible for organising and overseeing the programme.
The programme has three phases; these are described below.
Phase 1: Advertising the Programme
This phase involves putting leaflets through the doors of homes within pre-selected areas defined by postcodes. The leaflets explain the programme and invite people living in particular areas to take part. The leaflets give a call centre telephone number so that interested people can book an appointment at one of the mobile medical centres.
Phase 2: Lifestyle Interviews
This involves conducting short lifestyle interviews with people living in pre-selected areas. The interviews will cover issues such as diet and exercise.
Phase 3: Follow-Up
It is anticipated that additional work will be needed to make sure enough people from particular groups participate in the programme. For example, it is expected that extra work will be required to encourage enough elderly people to take part. Phase 3 involves knocking on doors in targeted areas and persuading people from under-represented groups to book an appointment at one of the mobile medical centres.
Your Role
You have been contracted by CMU to be part of the field force working in Moreton City during Phase 3. Your job is to knock on doors in targeted areas of the city and encourage more people from particular groups or parts of society to participate.
Phase 3 will take place over a 14-day period from Monday 9 November to Sunday 22 November inclusive. You are expected to work weekends and have been contracted to work 100 hours.
You have been on a half-day training course organised and run by CMU two weeks ago. There is also an E-learning website that is available for you to use.
Your supervisor and Sector Manager is Mark Thompson. You report directly to Mark Thompson.
There are five other members in your team. They are: Rachel Guptill; Louise Nettlebeck; Graig Reid; David Smith; and Marcus Wilson.
The following situations come from the third test, and there are 8 situations in each test.
SITUATION 1
It is 9am on Monday 9 November.
It is the first day of Phase 3 and Mark Thompson has told you the first few areas where you need to work. In particular, he wants you to work in Stratton today and tomorrow. You are unfamiliar with this area.
Mark has provided you with maps of the different areas and address lists giving the properties at which you should call. Looking at the maps you realise that the print quality of some is very poor. In fact, the map of Stratton is very difficult to read in some places.
The address lists also give you some details of the people that live at the properties, For example, the lists include an indication of residents’ ages and whether they are employed full time, part time or are unemployed.
You also have a Record Book to log your progress and make notes about your work.
The CMU target for Phase 3 is 15 properties an hour.
Please choose the best four of the following eight options.
You must select exactly 4 options.
1)You decide that you will try and get through 80 addresses on each of the 14 days.
2)Email Mark Thompson and explain you will have to start working in a different area to Stratton because the map of this area is not good enough.
3)Start working through your address list straight away; there is no need to waste time planning your work.
4)Call Mark Thompson and ask if there is any additional advice he can give you about the work.
5)Work with the Stratton maps the best you can.
6)It is going to be a busy two weeks without a break. Decide to sort out a few things around the house this morning and start your work this afternoon.
7)Spend the first hour of today planning your work for the next few days.
8)Decide to spend some time this evening reviewing how your work went today.
What are the correct answers?
What this says about our country's attitude to job-hunting keenness I think has to be seen to be believed. I have never read such a load of hyper-inflated, nonsensical, obsequious tripe in all my life. By the way, this job will pay just £7 something per hour. And yet you are expected to work through this utter sh*** just for shoving some leaflets through a door
You have to imagine the following scenario:
"The government has decided to implement a programme called the ‘Health of the Nation’. The programme is designed to establish the health and fitness of people living in the UK.
Under this programme, people from across the country will be asked to participate in a health assessment. This will involve a series of simple medical tests. These will include height and weight measurements, a blood sample and a small number of fitness checks. These tests will take place in one of a number of mobile medical centres that will travel around the country. Participants will also be asked to provide information about themselves such as their date of birth and occupation.
Not everyone in the country can be tested but it is important that a representative cross-section of people is included in the programme. It has therefore been decided that people living in particular pre-selected areas will be invited to participate. As an incentive, each participant will be paid £50 and given a free health assessment.
For the programme, the UK has been divided up into regions. Each region has a number of sectors and each sector has a number of areas. For each region there is a Regional Manager and for each sector there is Sector Manager.
There is also a Central Management Unit (CMU) for the whole country. CMU is responsible for organising and overseeing the programme.
The programme has three phases; these are described below.
Phase 1: Advertising the Programme
This phase involves putting leaflets through the doors of homes within pre-selected areas defined by postcodes. The leaflets explain the programme and invite people living in particular areas to take part. The leaflets give a call centre telephone number so that interested people can book an appointment at one of the mobile medical centres.
Phase 2: Lifestyle Interviews
This involves conducting short lifestyle interviews with people living in pre-selected areas. The interviews will cover issues such as diet and exercise.
Phase 3: Follow-Up
It is anticipated that additional work will be needed to make sure enough people from particular groups participate in the programme. For example, it is expected that extra work will be required to encourage enough elderly people to take part. Phase 3 involves knocking on doors in targeted areas and persuading people from under-represented groups to book an appointment at one of the mobile medical centres.
Your Role
You have been contracted by CMU to be part of the field force working in Moreton City during Phase 3. Your job is to knock on doors in targeted areas of the city and encourage more people from particular groups or parts of society to participate.
Phase 3 will take place over a 14-day period from Monday 9 November to Sunday 22 November inclusive. You are expected to work weekends and have been contracted to work 100 hours.
You have been on a half-day training course organised and run by CMU two weeks ago. There is also an E-learning website that is available for you to use.
Your supervisor and Sector Manager is Mark Thompson. You report directly to Mark Thompson.
There are five other members in your team. They are: Rachel Guptill; Louise Nettlebeck; Graig Reid; David Smith; and Marcus Wilson.
The following situations come from the third test, and there are 8 situations in each test.
SITUATION 1
It is 9am on Monday 9 November.
It is the first day of Phase 3 and Mark Thompson has told you the first few areas where you need to work. In particular, he wants you to work in Stratton today and tomorrow. You are unfamiliar with this area.
Mark has provided you with maps of the different areas and address lists giving the properties at which you should call. Looking at the maps you realise that the print quality of some is very poor. In fact, the map of Stratton is very difficult to read in some places.
The address lists also give you some details of the people that live at the properties, For example, the lists include an indication of residents’ ages and whether they are employed full time, part time or are unemployed.
You also have a Record Book to log your progress and make notes about your work.
The CMU target for Phase 3 is 15 properties an hour.
Please choose the best four of the following eight options.
You must select exactly 4 options.
1)You decide that you will try and get through 80 addresses on each of the 14 days.
2)Email Mark Thompson and explain you will have to start working in a different area to Stratton because the map of this area is not good enough.
3)Start working through your address list straight away; there is no need to waste time planning your work.
4)Call Mark Thompson and ask if there is any additional advice he can give you about the work.
5)Work with the Stratton maps the best you can.
6)It is going to be a busy two weeks without a break. Decide to sort out a few things around the house this morning and start your work this afternoon.
7)Spend the first hour of today planning your work for the next few days.
8)Decide to spend some time this evening reviewing how your work went today.
What are the correct answers?