Reply to: Psychometric test for new contract - tell them to f-off?

[PerfectStorm]

If it makes you feel better, think of it like being another module of the usually dodgy training you'll have to do when you get there anyway.

If it's worth the trouble - knock it out of the park, write what they want to see.

[ladymuck]

I think its fair to say that doing a psychometric would place you at risk of direction and control LOL

Maybe the purpose of the test is to see how easily a person can be directed and controlled

[Bluenose]

As part of their interview process - Would you do the test?

It's supposed to be outside IR35 - not exactly a standard way to engage with a vendor.

I think its fair to say that doing a psychometric would place you at risk of direction and control LOL

I would only do this test if it was an inside gig working on Nuclear or Defence assets.

[m0n1k3r]

They probably do one for permies, so just do the same for everyone. Goes to show how well "outside" this is

Most clients don't think of contractors as independent suppliers of professional services, but as mere temp employees who should be subject to precisely the same rules and tests and perm employees.

[hairymouse]

I once interviewed with company that had a psychometric test that was obsessed with how fast you could do math in your head. Round after round of adding numbers! After I failed, they wanted me to take it again and strongly hinted that I should do some practice tests. No thank you.

I hope having a data engineer that can do sums quickly is worth all that.

[cojak]

As part of their interview process - Would you do the test?

It's supposed to be outside IR35 - not exactly a standard way to engage with a vendor.

Bloody hell - one of my primary reasons for going contract was to avoid that crap in a permie interview process.

If you have other opportunities (and there are always other opportunities out there), tell them to stuff their interview where the sun don’t shine*.

*or politely decline, but I wouldn’t do it.

[TheDude]

Just pretend you are on the Krypton Factor and do it.

[courtg9000]

Our hit rate at Oliver Wyam (tier 2 management consultancy) was way above 1:10.

If you mean Oliver Wyman then I can see why!

[malvolio]

Our hit rate at Oliver Wyam (tier 2 management consultancy) was way above 1:10.

I suspect it is for many of the bigger consultancies... once they have established a client base and a reputation. Hardly relevant to either your argument or your audience though, is it?

[DrewG]

Of course it won't. 10 to 1 would be exceptional. You might have mentioned that when promoting your personal solution to finding work.

I don't have a problem not getting the work. Watching some else implement it is irritating, doubly so when they make a pig's ear of it...

Our hit rate at Oliver Wyam (tier 2 management consultancy) was way above 1:10.

[northernladuk]

Psychometric testing of supplier's personnel on a B2B contract does not seem reasonable to me.

It's hard to imagine a large consultancy accepting that a client could test its consultants.

This would be appropriate for an employment relationship, though.

The odd thing is it would have actually benefitted my client delivering in to a large retail client. It's a massive programme and very stressful. There have been a number of people that have joined and gone in under two months due to not understanding the nature/politics/activities of a massive programme and the pace it's going at. They did have three interviews to try and get that over but still some candidates manage to talk the talk but can't walk the walk. A bit of psychometric training would have helped them I think...

but in general yeah, it shouldn't be reasonable in general.

[malvolio]

Pitch to close ratio will never be 1:1. Why would you expect that?

Of course it won't. 10 to 1 would be exceptional. You might have mentioned that when promoting your personal solution to finding work.

I don't have a problem not getting the work. Watching some else implement it is irritating, doubly so when they make a pig's ear of it...

[DrewG]

Whoop di doo....

I did a presentation to a fairly major supplier on how to analyse, remedy and operate their misfiring service function. Spent a lot of my time preparing it, did the presentation to a senior management team, never heard any more. However, mysteriously, my game plan seemed to have been taken on board and was being enacted some months later.

I've also done the same thing when working for a service provider to two or three of their prospects, this time on multi-million pound ITTs. Each one represented several thousands of pounds in effort and preparation. None were taken up, although there's a well known charity organisation out there with a really poor web-based service that is a rubbish implementation of one of those proposals that they got the lowest bidder to build.

It is possible to convert presentations to long term contracts (I've managed that as well in the past) but the conversion ratio in the real world is not that great. You have to be lucky and/or niche to do it reliably

Pitch to close ratio will never be 1:1. Why would you expect that?

[malvolio]

1. A prospect was looking to migrate from NetSuite to S/4HANA.
2. I drew up a few slides to walk through my experience doing exactly that, for another client, in the same industry vertical
3. My slides covered the key areas requiring focus, pitfalls specific to their operations etc.
4. The prospect turned into a client, and that same client is still with me, except I now run their systems as a managed service provider, they pay a fixed retainer for me and my 2 offshore staff to support their logistics operations on S4

I have three clients like the above while working as an independent contractor on the side.

If I can grow the operation, I won't need to ever speak to a recruiter again.

Continue to take the piss though, I've spent years working for leading firms, selling professional services. I now work independently across two timezones while many here are out of work for months at a time.

My contracting exposes me to the leadership of mid-sized firms that are growing. I often meet with PE firms and other investment/operator funds that own my contracting clients and that is how I network into deals that I can turn into long term retainers.

This is all over your head because you only understand how to shoot a CV into jobserve and beg the recruiter for a 20 quid uplift inside IR35.

Whoop di doo....

I did a presentation to a fairly major supplier on how to analyse, remedy and operate their misfiring service function. Spent a lot of my time preparing it, did the presentation to a senior management team, never heard any more. However, mysteriously, my game plan seemed to have been taken on board and was being enacted some months later.

I've also done the same thing when working for a service provider to two or three of their prospects, this time on multi-million pound ITTs. Each one represented several thousands of pounds in effort and preparation. None were taken up, although there's a well known charity organisation out there with a really poor web-based service that is a rubbish implementation of one of those proposals that they got the lowest bidder to build.

It is possible to convert presentations to long term contracts (I've managed that as well in the past) but the conversion ratio in the real world is not that great. You have to be lucky and/or niche to do it reliably

[jamesbrown]

1. A prospect was looking to migrate from NetSuite to S/4HANA.
2. I drew up a few slides to walk through my experience doing exactly that, for another client, in the same industry vertical
3. My slides covered the key areas requiring focus, pitfalls specific to their operations etc.
4. The prospect turned into a client, and that same client is still with me, except I now run their systems as a managed service provider, they pay a fixed retainer for me and my 2 offshore staff to support their logistics operations on S4

By the way, I'm enjoying your style of posting enumerated lists without any hint of irony.