Category: GF Blog

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We have recently introduced some new functionality as requested by many of our partners.

You can now link students directly to any assessment of your choosing. Simply log onto the platform, click an assessment, copy the URL, and link this in place/s of your choosing.

Great for workshops, pathways and experiential sessions.

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Over the last few weeks, you may have noticed changes to your landing pages, portals, and login pages if you are a member of our partnered cohort. Our team have been hard at work ensuring that your team and students have the most up to date branding for your institution. With the dawn of our new website, it only made sense for the branding to follow suit for the seamless and professional experience that our partners promise to students.

We strive to update branding automatically at least every two years as part of our continuing journey for an overall comprehensive and quality service that the team and our partners are proud of.

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The GF team are pleased to announce the latest in our range of game-based assessments: ‘MathBubbles™’. Now, your students can prepare for even more of the most common gamified technology harnessed by top employers globally.

Employers harnessing this style of assessment include the likes of P&G, IBM, and Unilever. As top employers continue to leverage this gaming technology, the more vital it becomes that GF assessments facilitate candidates to get familiar with the environments and tasks that they can expect to face.

Our research into game-based assessment has shown us that there are many types of game-based assessment used for hiring. Each game type can be defined by its objective i.e. what can it discover about the candidate? For example, some game-based assessments attempt to measure one aspect of a candidate’s personality such as risk and emotionality as measured by the BART or Balloon Game. Others, attempt to discover something above one’s competence in certain areas such as multi-tasking. The remaining have the objective to investigate a candidate’s basic levels of ability, fundamental to success in most workplaces.

‘MathBubbles™’ fits neatly into this latter category of game objectives. It delves into one key area of ability that employers are increasingly looking for in candidates as an indicator of future performance – mental arithmetic. In other words, MathBubbles™ measures how effectively and quickly a candidate can perform simple calculations in their head.

Similar to the assessments created by game publishers Pymetrics, Revelian, Aon, and HireVue, students can use MathBubbles™ to become prepared for this common style of assessment, and increase their chances of passing their mental arithmetic game assessments first time. Head to the ‘Games’ tab today on the GF portal to start MathBubbles™.

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1. What are aptitude tests?

Aptitude tests are similar to ability tests. The former assess the potential to acquire knowledge generally, whereas the latter place these in a specific work context. An aptitude test enables an employer to assess and appraise the potential, talent and ability levels of prospective employees. Employers can appraise one’s ability using an aptitude test to make a decision on the best candidates to decide on whether to hire someone or not.

2. Why are aptitude tests difficult?

For most candidates, the difficulty of aptitude tests lies in completing the tests under timed conditions. In numerical or logical reasoning tests, candidates tend to have about a minute or so to read the question, analyse the graphs and patterns, and choose the correct response. For those who have never practiced, stress kicks in as this is a new situation for them. Many candidates complain they did not have enough time to finish the tests, and the ticking clock made them too nervous to focus on solving the problems at hand.

Aptitude tests are used by big employers to sift through the candidates and reduce the number of candidates that are offered interviews.

If you do not want to jeopardise your chances of landing a job, you should start practicing aptitude tests now! Practice makes perfect.

3. How can I improve in aptitude tests by practicing?

The best way to prepare for aptitude tests and improve your scores is by practicing. The first thing you need to do is understand what type of aptitude tests you will be required to take.

Based on your chosen position and company, you can check to see which aptitude test/s you are likely to take by checking their recruitment website, through email communication, or by seeing what other candidates say about the process on online forums and employee websites. Visit our website to take a free aptitude test and see how you score.

Click here to practice. You can practice a free aptitude test under real timed conditions and also receive a personalised performance report with a list of recommendations to work on any improvement areas. Each aptitude test also comes with worked solutions, so you can study the most common types of questions in your own time to avoid surprises when you take the real test.

What else can help me improve in aptitude tests? Continue reading for our list of top tips.

4. Top tips to improve in aptitude tests

In this section we will present some of the general rules and best practice for solving aptitude tests, as well as presenting test-specific tips to improve your scores.

General Advice

Aptitude Test Tip 1: Don’t ask anyone to help you

Choosing to cheat with aptitude tests is the worst course of action. Not only is it immoral, but you may also be caught cheating and ruin your chances. Your employer may ask you to sit the same aptitude tests as part of your final interviews or assessment centre days to verify if it had been you solving them in the first place.

Aptitude Test Tip 2: Always ask for feedback to improve

There is nothing more valuable than good feedback, especially if you had not been lucky in receiving a job offer or progressing to later stages of the recruitment process. By reading the report, you will see what your weak and strong points were, so that you can work on your personal preparation plan. If you do not receive a report, contact the recruiter and ask for personalised feedback, perhaps over a call or over email.

It may be the case that it was one of the aptitude tests where you did badly that ruined your chances. Perhaps, you had done excellent in the aptitude tests but were unsuccessful before the interview stage, because your answers to motivational or competency questions in the online application form were not convincing. It is important to know what your improvement areas are so you can work on these going forwards.

Aptitude Test Tip 3: Focus on your improvement areas

This point reiterates the message of the advice written above. Understand what your improvement areas are and then practice, practice and practice similar assessments and challenges until you see your score improve. Practice can help you get familiar with working under timed conditions and reduce chances of error due to stress and time pressure. If you struggle with any specific aptitude test, the section below will be a perfect place for you to start.

Aptitude Test Tip 4: Understand the differences between tests

Before you can even start preparing or practicing the aptitude tests, you need to understand what skills they measure and understand the general format of the tests and questions. Are multiple choice options or a text box option provided for the answer? Are there any prerequisites to some of these tests?

You are best of starting your preparations with a list of tests you are confirmed, or you expect, to take and then understand what these tests are before you start practicing.

To read more about different types of aptitude tests click here.

Aptitude Test Tip 5: Check what you are allowed to use in the test

In some tests, such as numerical reasoning tests, you will be allowed, or rather expected, to make use of a calculator to arrive at your answers. Make sure you are familiar and confident in your accuracy and speed of operating it. Check that it works beforehand!

As a general rule for all tests, make sure you have a piece of paper and something to write with nearby.

Aptitude Test Tip 6: Move on to the next question if you struggle

As you go through all questions, bear in mind the average time allocation you have to answer each question. If you only have a minute and a half to crack a numerical reasoning question, and you have been trying to understand the question for the past two minutes, it is probably a sign you need to move on.

These tactics may change if there is negative marking or no time limit. Generally, these tests are not negatively marked, so you are better off guessing the answer and moving to the next question in instances where the chance of correctly solving a problematic question in the next 30 seconds is low. Negative marking will be indicated in the invite email or test instructions, so make sure you read these carefully before starting the assessment.

Aptitude Test Tip 7: Read all questions and instructions carefully

Although this one seems obvious, you would be surprised how many candidates start answering the questions before having understood the objective of the question or data that is presented to them. Without reading instructions, some candidates are not aware of the required answer format, such as approximations to the nearest integer or providing an answer as a percentage or absolute value.

Read the instructions twice and carefully read the questions and make sure you understand them before looking at the figures and possible answers.

Test Specific Advice

1. Numerical Reasoning Test Tips and Advice

Click here to read more about what Numerical Reasoning Tests are.

Numerical Reasoning Test Tip 1: Refresh basic Maths.

The level of Maths that you will be expected to know for numerical reasoning tests does not go beyond basic GCSE arithmetic, such as calculations involving percentages, ratios, fractions, estimates, and data manipulation that can be related to time, currency or measurement.

You should work through online examples of GCSE math questions: calculating percentage differences, percentage increases and decreases, calculating ratios, converting measures and currencies, etc.

You should also practice reading data off a variety of data sources: tables, pie charts, line graphs, bar charts, stock charts, etc.

Numerical Reasoning Test Tip 2: Improve speed and accuracy 

Practising can help you manage your time effectively as both speed and accuracy is essential for success. To perform well, it is important that you work both quickly and accurately. Test takers who have practised have a much better chance of demonstrating their fullest potential, than those who have not practiced, as they are familiar with tests and working under time pressure.

Numerical Reasoning Test Tip 3: Get comfortable using a calculator

It will be helpful if you also practice working through numerical problems on your calculator to ensure that you feel confident in using it. Many candidates rush while working on their calculator and even a simple mistake or negligence may give them the wrong answer.

Numerical Reasoning Test Tip 4: GF Performance Reports to enhance your performance

Our reports provide data driven insights based upon your performance and make recommendations on how you can improve your performance in Numerical Tests. You can store your reports online and access them anytime whilst tracking your performance as you improve. By continuing to practice and applying the suggested recommendations, you can enhance your chances of a successful performance on your actual test.

2. Logical Reasoning Test Tips and Advice

Click here to read more about what Logical Reasoning Tests are.

Logical Reasoning Test Tip 1: Eliminate incorrect answers first

In logical reasoning tests, the main problem is identifying the underlying patterns in a series of a few diagrams to establish which of the diagrams in the answers will follow.

Therefore, focus on establishing the patterns between the diagrams presented and start by crossing out the answers that cannot be the correct answer.

It is recommended to make a list on a fresh piece of paper ahead of the test where in each row for each question you write down A, B, C, D, E for the answers, and as you work through the question cross out the answer that cannot be correct until you find the one that must be correct.

Logical Reasoning Test Tip 2: Get creative about the patterns

There is no pre-requisite for logical reasoning tests are there is no closed list of the types of changes and spatial manipulations you are expected to guess.

The list of possible patterns is endless.

But there are some common types of manipulations that you can train yourself to recognise, such as:

• Counting the number of shapes in each diagram to establish if there is any trend (number of shapes may increase/decrease across diagrams in a pattern).
• Counting the number of edges of the shapes in diagrams to establish if the sum of all edges of all shapes between diagrams have a sequence, or if the individual shapes change based on the number of edges across the sequence.
• Paying extra attention when it comes to information such as colours of shapes.
• Being aware that the positions of shapes around the diagram will typically not be random: the shapes may move between the diagrams and also change into other shapes; some shapes may cover other shapes as they move around the diagrams, either in a clockwise or anti-clockwise manner; or shapes may move along columns/rows/diagonally around the diagrams, even if these lines are not drawn on the diagram. Look out for such movements of shapes across sequences.
• Being careful when looking at shapes for any minor differences between diagrams, such as whether lines have arrowheads, or whether the shapes are filled or empty. The inclination may also change, or some shapes may disappear every now and then from the diagram completely.

Logical Reasoning Test Tip 3: Adjust your approach by becoming aware of the common types of spatial manipulations in logical reasoning tests.

There is no better way to adjust yourself to analyse such subtle spatial differences between diagrams than by practicing logical reasoning test questions. After having done only a couple of logical reasoning tests you will already be familiar with some of the most common spatial manipulations used. This will put you in good stead to get familiar with some of the types of questions you may be faced with.

3. Verbal Reasoning Test Tips and Advice

Click here to read more about what Verbal Reasoning Tests are.

Verbal Reasoning Test Tip 1: Get as much practice as possible

Get as much practice as possible. Use practice websites that offer timed tests, so that you can be relaxed and confident when taking the assessment and more focused on doing a good job.

Verbal Reasoning Test Tip 2: Read a lot

Ideally relatively complex information such as scientific or journal papers. Focus on understanding the logical flow of the text. Convert sentences into questions. Attempt to answer: True, False, Cannot Say from your prepared questions, as you would in a Verbal test.

Verbal Reasoning Test Tip 3: Get familiar with the way the texts are written

Verbal Reasoning Texts are written in a specific way. The passage of text is written to fit test objectives. It is not a familiar piece of text taken from a newspaper or a book. It has to be very precise, short and leave no room for interpretation. Thus, you need to learn how to find information, then extract and interpret this in order to answer the questions.

Verbal Reasoning Test Tip 4: Only base answers on information contained in the text

In verbal reasoning tests, you are allowed to make logical inferences only based on the information in the text. It is often difficult to evaluate if statements in the question are true or false, if the candidate has pre-existing knowledge. Questions may be asked in a way to trick candidate into giving answers based on what they know, and not on what they read in the passage.

4. Situational Judgement Tests Tips and Advice

Click here to read more about what Situational Judgement Test is.

Situational Judgement Tests Tip 1: Understand the expectations for the role you applied for

There are no right or wrong answers in Situational Judgement tests, but there are answers that are more or less likely to get you your dream job. Situational Judgement Test examines your fit to the role you applied for, as well as overall company culture.

To do well in this test you need to understand the requirements for a role you applied for, the type of everyday work situations that may be challenging, areas of conflict, as well as overall goals and ambitions of the company. Do some research to understand the culture of the company.

You need to demonstrate yourself as a candidate who will fit in well and hold similar priorities and preferences that are echoed across the organisation.

Once you understand what these encouraged behaviours and solutions to problems are, try to identify these in the Situational Judgement Test questions and point to the answers that will present you as the best fit.

Note: Selecting a Worst course of action as the Best course of action (and vice versa) may lead to negative marks. Be careful in choosing your response/s to a particular scenario.

Situational Judgement Tests Tip 2: Think back to your previous experiences

Situational Judgement Tests will present you with work life scenarios in which you will need to identify the course of action that is most desirable. In many of these situations it will be helpful for you to think of your own past experiences, or perhaps the professional behaviours of someone you admire. If the SJT scenario presents a situation similar to your previous experiences (or the experiences of your role model), think of the solutions that brought you/them the most value and success to the team and the ones that made work easier, more transparent and engaging.

Similarly, have a think about what someone else who you admire for their professionalism would have done.

Concluding Remarks

Aptitude tests continue to be used by many organisations across the globe. Practicing these can help ensure they are even more effective at doing their job – practicing will reduce the chance of error, such as issues of managing time and unfamiliarity with the assessment type itself.

Keep practicing and good luck!

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The existence, scale, and handling of discrimination has been highlighted by the recent year’s historically pivotal social movements. Support for the Black Lives Matter movement and the challenging of disparities between different groups of people have become widespread globally, not to mention that the UK this year marked 25 years since the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. Much has changed, but much work is still to be done to level the playing field. Workplace discrimination is no exception to these systematic forces, whether this is concerning the well documented wage gap between men and women, or the low acceptance rate onto undergraduate or PhD courses of BAME applicants. In this article, we are going to explain the challenges faced by applicants and employers in the hiring process in light of existing social structures, and how employers can take appropriate measures to avoid discrimination when hiring.

Forms of Discrimination in the Hiring Process

Before we delve into the ways that companies reduce the risk of discrimination entering the hiring process, it is important to bring focus to this article, which will refer largely to three non-exhaustive ways that someone can be discriminated against in the hiring process. It will also be important, for the purpose of this article to understand the aspect of the hiring process that are vulnerable to letting through existing discriminatory attitudes, or behaviours.

• Physical and Mental Disability Discrimination. As with many areas of society that are shaped around a set of norms of mental and physical well-being, so too can the hiring process. This means that a candidate’s mental or physical well-being and individual circumstances could be overlooked when it comes to assessing for certain abilities, such as numerical, or verbal ability, or in a candidate’s behavioural competence in an interview. This means that factors extraneous to those that make the individual good at their job impact on their ability to take a test as compared to someone who does not consider themselves to have a physical or mental disability.
• Discrimination based on one’s actual (self-identified) or perceived gender. Someone’s actual gender has been shown to correlate with differences in technical ability. For example, men tend to do better in numerical reasoning tests than women, but woman do better than men in verbal reasoning. One’s perceived gender, or the gender identity someone is deemed to be by others to have, could affect how they are perceived in CVs (e.g., name), interviews (bodily markers) etc. with the existence of unconscious or explicit biases.
• Discrimination based on one’s actual or perceived race. Like gender-based discrimination, there are differences in performance on technical tests depending on one’s actual race (importantly, this is correlational and so causation cannot be inferred). One’s perceived race, such as your name in a CV, or bodily markers in an interview, could elicit pre-existing biases. For example, an interviewer who has discriminatory attitudes may manifest these by judging a Caucasian person to be more professional sounding than a person of colour despite providing the same interview response.

With these in mind, we now move onto identifying the reasons why processes should be put into place to avoid forms of discrimination. Then, we’ll cover three processes that exist and are used by employers actively to avoid these forms of discrimination, of which you can look out for in an application process.

What are the advantages of avoiding discrimination?

There are two important beneficiaries of avoiding the existence of discrimination in the job application process.

1. The first of these, of course, are the disadvantaged or under-represented applicants to the roles. There are measures in place that reduce the strength of the forces of systematic and/or individual discriminatory beliefs. These measures work to give all a fair and true test of their suitability to the role, where otherwise factors beyond their control may be used for or against them.
2. The second advantage of reducing discrimination is for the employer. This benefit is broad and can be felt in many ways. For example, through these additional steps, the employer can work more effectively towards diversifying their work force as they reduce the chances of eliminating candidates in a discriminatory fashion. Another example of a benefit to the employer is that they can be more confident that they take on the best candidate for the job.

What do employers put in place to mitigate risk of Discrimination?

We now move onto what employers can and should do within the hiring process to reduce the risk of discrimination. It is important to mention that while these measures often do decrease the chances of discrimination seeping into the process, they are independent factors, so do not alone determine the success in avoiding discrimination – nor indeed are they jointly sufficient for eradicating discrimination. Nonetheless, here are three ways that many employers explicitly attempt to avoid discrimination.

1. Safe measures of success in Online Assessments.

Assessments can roughly be separated into three different categories, depending on what they aim to discover about the candidate who takes them. Some assessments assess a candidate’s technical ability, the ability to deal with and interpret information and draw conclusions. These include Numerical and Verbal Reasoning Tests. Other assessments unveil insights as to the personality or preferences of a candidate, for instance the Work Personality Questionnaire. Finally, some assessments aim to discover one’s behavioural competence, such as a Situational Judgement Test.

With this background in mind, it can be appreciated that each of these is equally important as to someone’s suitability to the role and company. However, certain categories can have vulnerabilities that if not addressed could increase the chances of discrimination being expressed.

One example of such a vulnerability is technical ability assessments. Employers using assessments that aim to measure your ability, whether that be numerical or verbal for example, must be wise to existing research that exists. Research has shown that there are existing group differences between groups outside of the 30^th percentile. However, no one demographic dominates the lower end of the normal distribution curve. In other words, no one group performs better in technical ability until after the 30^th percentile. Research suggests that there are groups/demographics that tend to achieve higher scores as compared to the norm group on certain tests. This means that some people’s actual race and/or gender correlates with performance. For example, research has indicated that women outperform men on their verbal reasoning ability (e.g., Izzaty & Setiawati, 2019). To ensure that such group differences do not impact performance, the cut off for progression in the application process should as industry standard be set this low at around the 30^th percentile. Companies can then morally and legally defend their recruitment process as attempting to avoid the discrimination that we see in different groups.

Another example of a potential vulnerability for exposing the process to discrimination is in interviews which largely aim to find out about one’s behavioural competence. If done in the incorrect way, with insufficient or misguided training, the chances of discrimination can increase. Structured Interviews and training can be used to reduce the impact of pre-existing discriminatory attitudes of the interviewer. One example of an existing bias that may exist is identifying with a candidate, whether intentionally or not, more if they perceive a resemblance between themselves and the interviewee. Structured Interviews can ensure that the biases of the interviewer do not seep into the decision-making response and guide the interview. Instead, the performance is based solely on the responses given for the same questions, like-for-like.

2. Reasonable Adjustments

If you consider yourself to have a disability, employers should have measures in place that take this into account. This is because those with issues of accessibility, whether that be to do with vision, mental health, mobility, learning, may well be equally suitable for the role. Disability is not a reflection on the individual’s ability to perform on the job, rather a reflection of society’s structured ability to cater for everyone who exists outside of widely used ‘norms about how people can typically physically function’ (Jenkins & Webster, 2020). Some examples of measures that can be put into place to improve accessibility include subtitles, audio reading, assessment zoom functionality, and additional time. Each of these take steps to ensure that people have a fair chance of displaying their technical talent, behavioural competency or personality. With respect to additional time, even if this is not made explicit, you are well within your rights to contact the employer you are applying to regarding additional time if you consider yourself to require this. Other accessibility features may vary depending on the company and/or assessments required. However, if they do exist, it is best practice to make this explicit in communications with applicants – so watch out for these.

3. Practice

Familiarity with assessments can be a large factor in one’s performance in employer assessments. Those who are more familiar with the type of questions they may be asked, whether it is a numerical reasoning test, or a situational judgement test for example, are more likely to perform closer to their true ability. It is important to stress that practice in not designed to make you better as such at certain things, e.g., numerical ability, and certainly not personality (this is largely considered rigid in nature). This is especially the case here where employers are looking for an applicant’s true ability rather than learning ability. Rather, practice helps candidates get familiar with the environment. They ease stress, nervousness, and other confounding variables that can affect one’s performance.

However, not everyone prior to their job application is aware nor able to, for whatever reason, practice assessments and gain this much needed familiarity. Encouragement and/or practice assessments prior to the “real thing” could be a sign that the employer acknowledges group differences as well as research around the importance of familiarity (Bradley et al., 2019). People who are familiar are significantly more likely to perform closer to their true score, free from extraneous factors. Practice can then be a step taken to eliminate risk of employers receiving assessments that do not reflect ability, rather a show of candidate’s individual circumstance.

Closing Remarks

Having now covered the realities of discrimination, the importance of combatting discrimination, and how it is presently combatted in the hiring process, I’d like to conclude by stressing the importance for employers and candidate’s alike of recognising and acting on existing discrimination. Discrimination should not be ignored, disregarded, overlooked, nor understated. While measures have been put in place, such as those discussed above that you can look out for, this is a space we should and are continually striving to perfect. Additionally, as assessments develop whether that be in the game-assessment arena, or more interactive assessments, further discussions will need to be had around the topic of discrimination and further measures that can be put into place.

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Automated software is increasingly becoming the industry standard tool for employer recruitment, for companies both large and small. It is no surprise that with the rapid development of technology, employers are looking to exploit it wherever possible to benefit their objectives. Importantly, this software has not yet reached its vast potential, and this poses numerous questions for those applicants who merely appear as numerical entries in this software. Of primary concern is the question – is using such software fair for job applicants, for whom the job hunt is a real life-changing struggle? Such automated software comes in many forms, so let’s explore these, and evaluate some of the challenges that automated CV parsing, in particular faces.

What is automated software – what are we talking about?

Automated software is an umbrella term for those software programs used by companies as part of their wider recruitment processes that generate candidate reports, feedback, and even decisions based on an algorithm. This may include résumé parsing software that sifts through CVs and application forms, or Artificial Intelligence (AI) that is able to decipher an applicant’s facial expressions, behavioural competence and make a decision on who fits the role’s requirements.

From the moment you apply for a role, it is possible that your application is being fed into automatic software that can help employers evaluate and filter your application. For example, automatic CV software looks for certain key elements in the information provided and draws these out to paint a picture of you as a potential employee. Some common elements of your application that they identify are the location of the applicant, the employment and education history, the important competencies and skills mentioned, and how you score on any required assessments.

The competencies that companies look for in job applications varies, however these should be made clear to you in the job description. The competencies that will be particularly valuable depend on the company’s values and the position being applied for. However, the keywords most frequently identified by automatic software are ‘hard skills’ rather than ‘soft skills’. Hard skills are those qualities that you have evidence of and training in, such as your degree, maths ability, IT skills, foreign languages and many more.

Another frequently, and more contested form of automatic software is Artificial Intelligence in Video Interview Software. This software is capable of automatically reading many aspects of your performance, including micro expressions, tonality of voice, and the speech at which you’re talking. These data points that are collected help form a verdict on the behavioural competency of the candidate taking the interview.

How many companies use an Automatic Software?

There are many providers of Automatic software solutions, some of the most popular being HireVue for AI Video Interviews, and Daxtra, Indeed, Hiretual, and many more for résumé parsing.

It is estimated that more than 60% of companies use résumé and CV screening software, with it becoming increasingly more common the bigger the company is. Résumé and CV parsing software has become a common aspect of many companies that already use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), with this requirement most commonly appearing near the very beginning of an application process.

Artificial Intelligence in video interviews on the other hand, has become increasingly popular in previous years, particularly so since the Covid-19 pandemic struck the world and forced a shift towards distanced working, learning, and hiring. Some examples of companies using this automatic software are Procter & Gamble and CapitalOne, with HireVue alone having had 700 companies use their Artificial Intelligence supported Video Interviews in some capacity.

Why do companies use automated technology?

Simply put, the reason that companies are so keen to use Automatic Software is to save time and money, legal reasons, and to improve the quality of candidates being hired.

1. Time & Money: Using automated software to sift through the heap of information companies deal with will save time. It would take many extra employees and hours to wade through and successfully identify the right candidates. And, of course, extra employees would mean further money invested in human resources. It is a far more viable (and objective) option for companies to spend less money on CV parsing and artificial intelligence video interviewing platforms, which to these companies saves time, cost and increases legal defensibility due to more objectivity (vs. subjective interpretations by a human CV sifter).
2. Avoiding Discrimination: An extremely important incentive for the use of an automatic software is that it makes abiding by discrimination laws much easier. These technologies do not base the success of an application by an applicant’s perceived or actual gender, race, sexual orientation, or religion; unlike humans who are likely to hold biases, some of which they may not even be aware of, based on these features, and are vulnerable to making more subjective decisions.
3. Accuracy: Finally, the idea behind automated software is to accurately hire the right people. They provide, in theory, a standardized rather than arbitrary way of evaluating the performance of a CV, with some claiming they have 95% accuracy. This implies that risk is relatively low. The score provides the employer with an indication of how suitable the applicant is for that role.

What are the shortcomings of using Automated Software?

Despite the increasing popularity of this technology, there are some drawbacks of using Automated Software in applications made by those that will be fed through the companies’ hiring system. These include:

1. Contrary to the goal of increasing accuracy (as in point 3 above) to hire the right people for the job/company, some strong candidates can be missed and shunted out of the process unfairly. This is because this technology has not been around long enough to be valid, and is therefore not infallible. This problem largely arises because automated technology is unable to account for the vast number of ways that candidates will express themselves in their application. Perhaps synonyms are used in place of the exact keyword, which are not listed as criteria for the company. The result of this is that a candidate may write a perfect-to-read CV, but it does not get to the next stage when processed by the increasingly specific software. The company then misses a potentially valuable candidate, who is removed from the process, wondering where they went wrong; this lends to poor reported candidate experience.
2. Candidates can unfairly manipulate or bypass the system. One rare but not unheard-of technique for success, considering the widespread use of CV parsing software, is to put small white (non-visible) writing into their CV, only detectable by these systems. Within this small writing, invisible to the human eye, are keywords that the software will be programmed to pull from the text. This means that despite the visible content perhaps being of average quality at best, the hidden content raises the score on the database. However, it is important to stress that this is not common or recommended and will likely raise a red flag for those that look at the output.
3. The use of unusual formatting and graphics on a CV, despite adding value when a person reads your CV, often go misread or unnoticed by automated software. For example, you may decide to use graphs or colours to differentiate certain parts of your CV, but that is not appreciated by the system. Once again, like the first drawback, this can result in an otherwise suitable candidate being rejected unfairly from the process.

As we can see from these limitations, it is fair to say that automated software is far from perfect. These systems have yet a long way to go and organisations should in fact be using these with caution.

How to overcome Automated CV Parsing Software

Despite these drawbacks and the vast enhancements that are needed for automated software systems to be effective, they are here to stay. In fact, these systems are highly desirable for most companies with the relatively cheap solutions that are on offer and the ease which they bring to the hiring process. This means that irrespective of the fallibility of the software, candidates will have to work with them, at least until they become more sophisticated and refined. Let’s take a look at how you can overcome CV parsing software.

It would be unprofessional and unethical to suggest that candidates add numerous hidden keywords (undetectable to the human eye) to their CVs. Instead, we have some tips that aim to mitigate the drawbacks of automated CV software. These are provided with the hope that candidates can increasingly learn to improve their chances of progressing in the application process. We provide these in a nice easy acronym of the vowels, AEIOU, to help you remember the steps:

• Assume that the application is going to be read by someone. Imagine that this person is really interested in seeing a succinct relaying of certain qualities/criteria specific to the role you are applying for.
• Embrace the hard skills that you possess, making sure that these are clearly and plainly presented, especially those that are a requirement for the role you are applying for. These are skills that are quantifiable, such as qualifications, foreign languages, or IT skills. If for example you are a Certified Data Professional, rather than writing ‘CDP’, write ‘Certified Data Professional (CDP)’ making use of parentheses.
• Identify whether the company is using CV parsing software. This can often be inferred from evidence of an applicant tracking system (ATS) on the portal that stores your application process. If the URL of the application form contains the name of an ATS provider, or if the company you are applying to is relatively large, then there is a high probability that they will be using an ATS; more than 60% of companies now use résumé screening software.
• Organise yourself before starting the application form by researching the role being applied for. This will help your CV stand out by showing a clearly focus of its content to the role at hand, rather than coming across as a generic CV. Start by using the job description and searching the internet for industry terminology and requirements.
• Utilise and adapt the content that already exists in your CV to plug keywords that the company are looking for in a candidate. If your CV currently talks about your previous role at a supermarket, make sure to include the keyword from the job description, e.g. SCM Software (Supply Chain Management). This is key, as it has been found that companies reject up to 75% of CVs automatically, with the remainder only making it before human eye.

As you may have noticed throughout this article, there are many aspects of a CV that play a role in determining whether it will make it past an automatic software; these aspects include your job description, minimum requirements for the role and formatting. This highlights an important issue with the system in that candidates are unable to present themselves as creative individuals, as is often an option through traditional CV writing, motivational questions, or Video Interview responses. Rather, you are now in a world of Automated Software Technology, required to jump through hoops. These hoops, or requirements are fixed and are rigid, leaving little or no need to express yourself and stand out. Although please note, that your CV may be reviewed at a later stage such as an Assessment Centre or before a face-to-face interview.

Automated software is now a beast of its own and an area where we can and should expect company recruitment to advance and head in the future. Automation that is able to incorporate the advantages of being cost-effective, anti-discriminatory, and highly accurate, whilst also having the functionality to interpret creative expressions in a CV, allowing people to truly stand out should be the focus of providers moving forwards. Despite this, one thing that is clear, is that traditional methods of CV sifting are quickly becoming a thing of the past for these large organisations; and with the rest of the world and industries embracing automation in all areas of life, we cannot expect recruitment to stay behind.

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The outbreak of Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) was declared a worldwide pandemic by WHO on the 11^th of March. Since then, we have experienced a great amount of change to the way we live in a very short time. Whether it is the way we work, consume or socialise – one thing that is certain is that the reopening of the economy and society will be a long and gradual process.

Many people are struggling to move on with their lives as normal. One of the biggest concerns around the world is the job market. As is usually the case during crisis, job markets come under growing cost-pressures and fewer candidates can be recruited, while at the same time the pool of potential candidates is increased by the recently unemployed. It is estimated that in the developed countries the rate of unemployed may more than double during the Covid crisis.

In this article we will navigate through a number of interesting questions that may shed light on the future of recruitment during and after Covid-19 pandemic, such as:

1) How will Covid-19 affect businesses?

2) What does Covid-19 mean for graduates and their degree worth?

3) How will the recruitment strategies of employers change?

4) What can candidates do to get jobs during and post the Covid-19 crisis?

Make sure to scroll all the way down for best tips and advice on how to be successful in the labour market during Covid-19 and the consequent economic recession.

1. How will Covid-19 affect businesses?

Many industries and businesses had already been under financial pressure before the Covid-19 outbreak. Some industries, such as high street retail, transport or travel companies had already been faced with growing cost-cutting pressure and decreasing demand from consumers.

Covid-19 meant that many of these already struggling businesses and industries had their operations grounded overnight, including shops, restaurants, hotels – as well as extended supply chains and professional-services contractors. For many professionals in hospitality, tourism or retail, career plans and expectations for the future drastically changed.

It is certain that these industries will need to change their operating models and revenue channels after the crisis. It is also expected that many of the jobs that are currently sustained through the government furlough schemes will cease to exist when the fiscal aid finishes.

Other industries, including big multinationals, have had to rapidly adjust to new ways of working from home. These businesses have:

• Seen a decrease in the amount of revenues generated in the uncertain economic environment as some of their clients were forced to close operations or delay business deals.
• Introduced companywide pay cuts of 20% to preserve the headcount, e.g. AON in the UK.
• Invested in new technology licenses and WFH equipment for their employees, including chairs, second screens, etc.
• Opted to use government help and furlough parts of their employers. Finally, most of the new recruitment – especially of fresh graduates – has been for now frozen.

These changes will leave a lasting impact on the industries that had already been experiencing structural problems. It is only expected that the pressure to cut costs will only increase across the industries. Some, such as hotels, restaurant chains, tourist attractions or high-street or shopping centre shops will need to decrease their physical presence.

Many experts claim that what otherwise would take long years of adjustment, Covid-19 speeded up the transformation in the IT Technology in just a few months. Therefore, we will be looking at changes such as increased use of e-commerce or new remote ways of working for teams that will no longer be limited by location.

Will companies continue to follow similar ways of recruitment?

As is usually a case, uncertainty in the market makes businesses less likely to make decisions that require outlooks for a few years. One of these decisions is employing candidates without prior experience, whose training and development is costly to start with and only starts to pay off with time as employees produce valuable work. Since there is uncertainty around expectations of economic activity in the next few years, many companies will choose to uphold or significantly decrease the size of their recruitment. With fewer jobs available, and the pool of potential candidates growing – the competition for jobs will get stiffer and candidates will need to work harder to differentiate them.

How will the ways of work change with Covid-19?

Other changes in the work environment for businesses will mean growing reliance on technology and flexible ways of working; mostly remote working from home. Companies may start to choose to downsize their costly office space and invest in technologies or training to make employees more productive in their new offices in their own living rooms or bedrooms.

According to Market Watch, in cities like New York or London, the office space per employee may be as much as $15,000 a year.

Economic recessions and uncertainty usually tighten the labour market, with those who lost their jobs unable to transfer that easily, and those who have kept their jobs unwilling or uncertain to venture out and change jobs. This in turn stifles the innovation and flow of creativity. As segments of the economy are focused on recovery and sustaining daily operations, many riskier and exciting projects may be cancelled or delayed.

2. What does Covid-19 mean for graduates and their degree worth?

Covid-19 has generated a lot of uncertainty for everyone around the world, but perhaps a group most impacted are students and fresh graduates. Trying to navigate the life after university, searching for full time jobs or simply moving around is faced with a number of obstacles. In this section we will discuss the consequences of Covid-19 on graduates.

For many, a decision to start university studies is an important one – but also a costly one. In many countries like the UK or USA, students face a trade-off between finding a job with income right away, or committing a few years of their time and great sums of money in debt to receive a title they believe will bring them higher incomes and greater career opportunities in the future. Is this likely to change?

With Covid-19, traditional methods of teaching, such as class-room based learning, have been replaced by online lessons. As students receive less physical interaction, and can essentially study from their parents’ homes away, the benefit of moving out to study diminishes. With fewer incentives it is likely that more people will decide to opt out of university studies, if not just delay these by a few years. As long as the social distancing measures remain, many degrees that can be substituted online will continue to be taught remotely. This, in turn, means that for many individuals, spending large sums of money to receive an education online – especially at the time when many institutions such as Harvard or MiT offer many of their courses online, is simply not worth it.

With lower interest in taking up studies, graduates who do have a university education may be seen as more valuable to potential employers and therefore will receive higher premiums for their investment in education. On the other hand, the move away from traditional university education may also mean that determined individuals who show interest to learn from a variety of sources online and have valuable experiences will be performing better in the job market to graduates who only hold a university title. It has been long debated if university education is a good proxy for productivity at work, or whether good grades and diplomas from respected universities really reflect the merit and skills of candidates.

On top of that, the recession caused by Covid-19 means that many people who had recently lost their jobs may decide to downgrade and apply for similar positions as fresh university graduates. This will mean that with stiffer competition the university degree itself will hold less value, and that candidates for jobs will need to work hard to differentiate themselves from the crowd.

3. How will the recruitment strategies of employers change?

With the offices closed and recruiters and HR staff working from home, it looks unlikely that any candidates should be asked to participate in the recruitment process in the office.

Since the first few stages of the recruitment processes with most companies are online, little change is expected here. The candidates will continue to register their interest and fill in the information online. In the next step they are likely to be invited to take online aptitude tests, among them the most common online aptitude tests:

• Numerical Reasoning Test
• Verbal Reasoning Test
• Logical Reasoning Test

It is also very likely that candidates will be asked to take personality tests, which can include:

• Situational Judgement Test 
• Work Personality Questionnaire

The part that is expected to change in the course of Covid-19 are the stages of recruitment that required physical presence of the candidate and recruiter – including interviews and assessment centre exercises. These are likely to be either translated onto an online platform, such as video or telephone interviews, or some parts of the process may be simplified meaning candidates will not have to go through group exercises or role play exercises. It is important to follow latest communications from each company and to read the instructions received by candidates.

4. What can candidates do to get jobs during and post the Covid-19 crisis?

1) Expand your search

With the limited options in the labour market, you may increase your chances if you consider the type of industries or companies that you would not have considered before. Many starting positions will give you the same type of initial training. Thus, it may be better to find a role that you are not entirely happy with for the time being, than not working at all. After all, the experience you gain now will make it easier for you to compete against other candidates in the future.

2) Practice online aptitude tests

With fewer jobs available for candidates, being successful in recruitment will be harder. It is therefore imperative that candidates prepare and know what to expect from the process! Practising online aptitude tests can help to increase chances of successful passing, and therefore ensure that candidates will get a chance to present themselves in the next recruitment stages.

3) Be ready to make a great impression through a phone or video interview

Telephone or video interviews can be seen as either easier or harder depending on the candidate. For instance, there are those who are usually shy and nervous in new situations, find it intimidating when traveling to a new office, or get anxious in meeting staff and recruiters. For such candidates, telephone and video interviews are a great way to focus on the strengths and present oneself as confident, enthusiastic and prepared! On the other hand, for those who find making new contacts easy and are usually more expressive, having to impress the recruiters over the phone or a camera may pose a bigger challenge.

Regardless – all candidates should take time to carefully prepare for their interviews. It is good practice to start from the research about the company you are interested in, knowing the key facts about the business, its industry and competitors, including recent trends or industry risks. Secondly, it is imperative to practice speaking, on the phone or via video camera depending on the mode of interview, and to receive feedback from your friends or relatives. Pay attention to the tone and way you speak, as well as finding the right spot in terms of lighting and background for the camera. Technical preparation is crucial.

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Have you been affected by Covid-19? You’re not alone.

All around the world, jobseekers have been thrust into an uncertain space where the future is unclear.

Even those that had a job have been hit hard, with many being furloughed and others being laid off entirely.

So, what do you do?

Get ahead. Get ahead and see how companies are adapting to Covid so you can too.

How have companies been affected?

Small businesses without the infrastructure and scope of larger companies simply cannot operate with the lack of reach due to Covid, and have been forced to shut down entirely.

If we look at industries, the Restaurant industry is struggling given the lockdown restrictions. Similarly, Events just could not function without mass gatherings of people.

Retail in particular has also been hit hard, with the limitations of shopping in-person having a huge effect over the course of lockdown. Online shopping has helped reduce the impact somewhat but the economic impact of relying entirely on remote solutions has resulted in mass layoffs taking place.

Even successful companies like Pret-a-Manger have been forced to close restaurants across the UK. Other large organisations such as Intu are also struggling with a large proportion of its profits attributable to people attending its shopping centres.

What about other industries?

Well, airlines such as Virgin Atlantic are struggling to stay afloat (pardon the pun), with Travel simply not on the cards for many people. Naturally, Healthcare is already being strained, with the National Health Service in England being stretched to its limits to cope with the demands. Hospitality and Leisure, like Retail, have also been hit hard, with 46% of employees likely to be furloughed.

We are now seeing restrictions beginning to ease which should help a number of sectors, including Retail and Travel, to resume normal functioning.

However, the fear of contracting the virus is likely to still play a role – many people will still be wary of being in contact with others and may choose to limit their public interactions.

Industries will need to prepare and adapt accordingly.

What does this mean for recruitment?

There is demand but particularly in the following areas:

• Cleaning
• Facilities
• Growth
• Healthcare
• IT
• Retail
• Supply Chain
• Transportation

With companies having to cut cost, they will need to find more cost-effective ways of recruiting the right candidate.

Companies (especially large ones) will usually opt for recruitment agencies to do much of the recruitment for them. However, this is a costly solution and companies will be forced to turn elsewhere on rely on their existing technology to do the job for them.

In a nutshell, companies will need to decide whether they want to continue outsourcing recruitment (an additional expense), or delegate more work to HR. Despite companies likely to have fewer staff members working in HR, given layoffs and the focus on cutting cost, the latter seems more likely.

Applicant tracking systems (or ATSs) will still be a must, as these allow large organisations to keep an electronic record of candidates. Whether companies continue to use external solutions such as Workday, Taleo, or GF remains to be seen. We could see a shift toward internal ATSs, but this will be dependent on development times. As this is likely to require a lot of time and effort, companies are likely to stick with external providers – Technavio forecast the ATS market to grow by a staggering 106.16 million USD up to 2023.

Is recruitment already changing?

Some companies have stopped recruitment entirely or shifted start dates, with employer confidence in the economy reducing by 22%.

As we touched on above, many organisations are furloughing members of staff or cutting jobs entirely. Recently, LinkedIn was reported to have cut 960 jobs amounting to a huge 6% of its global workforce. Indeed, Covid has impacted the need for its recruitment products.

Recruitment agencies continue to provide job postings, but we should expect fewer and fewer companies to partner with them for the foreseeable future.

TIP: Don’t over-rely on recruitment agencies. We recommend checking the Careers sections of companies that interest you regularly. Sign up to their job alerts (if they have them) and visit the site often to make sure you don’t miss out on any job postings.

Online job tests and video interviews will only become more common as companies limit interactions and become more desperate to hire new talent for economic purposes. For example, GF was privileged to support the NHS with recruitment for one of its graduate schemes during the lockdown period.

TIP: You must remember that companies and HR especially will be under a huge amount of stress to recruit candidates. When a job advert goes out, their stress will be at its highest and gradually reduce once the “right” applicants come flooding in.It is your job to apply early and catch recruiters when they are most likely to consider applications.

The use of video interviews in particular is a controversial issue. The Black Lives Matter campaign has given rise to meaningful cross-industry discussions being raised. This has included the use of Artificial Intelligence in Recruitment, such as its use in detecting a candidate’s competence from their video interview performance.

With Artificial Intelligence still being a fairly recent area of research, the concern is that the parameters that determine competence are based on cultural norms. This has led suppliers of video interviewing software to pause, with HireVue receiving further scrutiny as to whether it’s A.I. technology discriminates against those with “non-traditional” faces and voices.

Big players like IBM have even stated that they will no longer offer or develop facial recognition technology.

So, what does this mean?

We may see more companies opt out of video interviewing software based on artificial intelligence, though the issue of discrimination may take longer to address. MIT’s Technology Review highlights the lack of regulation of artificial intelligence, and suggests the majority of companies offering this technology are unlikely to release their data or fully explain how their algorithms work.

Will there be an Assessment Day?

Usually, after filling in an online application and successfully completing your tests and video interview, you’re invited to an Assessment Day.

An Assessment Day, or Assessment Centre can be costly and time-intensive for companies to run, with a typical centre lasting the course of a day.

The elephant in the room will of course be health concerns. For these centres to work, many people would need to be present. Reducing the number of candidates invited per assessment centre is simply not cost-effective and timely given the hectic nature of work post-lockdown. Adding safety measures would have similar drawbacks.

Thus, companies are being forced to turn to virtual assessment centres. These attempt to mimic the real-life assessment centre from the comfort of a candidate’s home. For companies, it means they can run more assessment centres and offset some of the cost they would typically have in a physical scenario.

Here are links to the most common types of assessment centre exercises and how they have been adapted to the virtual space:

• Group Discussion: The dynamic of a group discussion would be a tad different on a video call. Timing of speech will be key as you do not want to interrupt anyone, but also want to show you’re a contributor who helps discussion move forward.
• In-Tray: These exercises attempt to simulate real-life scenarios you would encounter at work and typically measure how you respond to juggling multiple tasks. An E-Tray is essentially an electronic version of this task and can be done online without the need of supervision from an assessor.
• Presentation: It is entirely feasible to conduct a presentation over a video call, with screen sharing offered by most mainstream platforms. The challenge will be the lack of nonverbal communication visible through a video call.
• Role-play: Typically, an assessor will play the role of someone in the workplace and you will need to respond accordingly. This is entirely doable over a video call though non-verbal communication may again be lost.
• Written: Here, you’ll be presented with a brief and will be required to write a response. This will require collating information, identifying key points, and often proving arguments. On a virtual basis, you could either be presented with a PDF of the brief during or prior to the video call. The camera allows assessors to see how you work and avoid collusion.

TIP: The challenge of a video call is the lack of nonverbal communication. In a real-life setting, these gestures and nonverbal bits of information are vital for assessors to form an impression of you. However, in a virtual setting, it is more important to focus on your delivery and ensure you have everything completed on time.

The beauty of all of these tasks is they can easily be done on a virtual basis and do not necessarily require individuals present in the same room.

What to expect in the future

We are likely to see greater reliance on online technologies, such as video interviewing in the future. As companies get better at virtual assessment centres, we can expect to see more of these in the future given the implication of cost.

The issue of discrimination within Artificial Intelligence solutions remains, and is particularly relevant given the Black Lives Matter campaign. MIT suggest this will require a longer process for true change to truly take place.

In the meantime, we may see less companies employ Artificial Intelligence within recognition technology to uphold their image, such as IBM.

Recruitment agencies will struggle, and candidates may be better off going directly to companies to apply for the foreseeable future.

Companies will also be conscious of how much is spent on recruitment and may turn to cost-effective solutions, particularly as they bounce back from Covid-19.

So go forth – adapt, apply, and succeed.

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There are a growing number of people talking about emotional intelligence, but what does this buzz word actually mean? Is it just a buzz word? Or is there some reason as to why this has slowly become a prized trait within the workplace? Read on to find out more.

Emotional intelligence helps relationships

Emotional intelligence is widely considered to be the ability to monitor one’s own emotion as well as the emotion of others. Naturally, this has significant implications for the workplace especially with collaboration between colleagues and teams becoming a key facet of modern work.

For example, you may have some personal circumstances which contribute to you feeling anxious and easily flustered before a day’s work. The ability to recognise that you’re feeling this way will help you remain consistent in how you behave and respond to others on the day. Someone who is less in tune with their emotions, on the other hand, may be snappier and respond in an annoyed manner to situations and tasks where they would usually respond in a calmer manner.

In this example, we learn that emotional intelligence can help us be more consistent in how we interact with our colleagues. Consistent behaviour is key in the workplace as it helps set expectations and build relationships with other people.

Emotional intelligence helps collaboration

In the same way, emotional intelligence can help us collaborate better with others. This is already implied with the way it benefits our behaviour and relationship-building, but it also helps us identify when others need to be dealt with differently, or just require that extra bit of support.

Imagine you’re working with a team of six on a 3-month project comprising of several deliverables on the way, with agreed deadlines in place to ensure a smooth project lifecycle. Halfway through the project, with a deliverable’s deadline looming, you have the emotional intelligence to recognise a team member is struggling. This recognition benefits the team member but also the end-goal of the team, as you may then choose to lend extra support to this member. This ensures the project progresses as planned, and they feel comfortable with the task at hand.

How is it measured?

Emotional intelligence can be measured using either of the following methods:

1. Self-Report: This is where one rates their own level of emotional intelligence.
2. Other Report: This is where others rate someone’s emotional intelligence.
3. Psychometrics: This is where one must sit an assessment which is specifically designed to assess emotional intelligence.

Anything else?

Companies are always seeking to improve the candidate experience, whether this means a more seamless application form or more interactive assessments. The latter goal has contributed to some organisations using game-based assessments as part of their recruitment process.

One such game seeks to measure a facet of emotional intelligence and is being used in consultancy, finance and banking. GF’s i-EQ^TM game seeks to give jobseekers a similar experience, with this game measuring the ability to recognise facial expressions – a key facet if we are to be emotionally intelligent with others.