Robert Half assessment test

motherwolf

Hey guys,
I recently moved across the country and contacted Robert Half in an attempt to find quick employment. Well, they called me back and invited me in for an interview and told me I'd be taking an assessment test. Anyone have any experience with the Robert Half assessment test and possibly give me some insight? The position is for a Desktop/Server Technician. Thanks for any help.

famosbrown

I've spoke with Robert Half before, but no assessment test was given. My resume spoke for my skills. I have been told by one of the guys we hired through RH for a Support position that the assessment test was pretty simple stuff.

motherwolf

Thanks Famos,
I've just been online reading horror stories about Robert Half (on Dice). Sounds like a huge waste of time. I'm a little undecided on whether to cancel or not. Interview isn't until Tuesday, gives me a little time I guess. Thanks again.

famosbrown

No problem. I don't think it would hurt to go speak with them. We've used them to find some good candidates for I.T. positions. I've also went in to speak to them about Infrastructure Management type jobs, and they are willing to find or wait on something that fits your needs. You could use them as a free job hunter for you . You can do the same for all of the other contracting/staffing companies as well. I will say, that RHT has presented the most talented people than any other contracting/staffing agency in my area.

Good luck, and my advice is to just have fun with it. The interview is probably just to see what you are seeking and what they have currently.

mog27

Lots of horror stories about Robert Half. There is a thread hanging around here all about it.

KGhaleon

They seem to always have nice jobs available, but sometimes I wonder if those jobs actually exist or not. Maybe they get something for getting people to sign with them.

I went for an interview there several months ago, and they pulled a surprise assessment test on me. It was really pathetic, and had mostly simple A+ type questions on it. I completed all 30-50 questions in ten minutes with only a few wrong. They test you on various topics, usually related to the job position.

Still, never heard from them again.

shednik

I had interviewed with them to discuss a NOC position that they had posted, the guy told me I fit their needs perfectly and that he'd set up an interview within a few weeks. No test was administered for anything but needless to say I emailed him about a week and half later and he said he had no update yet....and have yet to hear form him since...oh well shortly after that I got hired at Bayer

mog27

My bad experience with them was like this...

I had to drive to downtown Baltimore to meet someone there for a possible employment through them. It was a long drive and I got lost in some really dangerous neighborhoods and it took me a while to get there. When I got there I talked with the guy and it sounded really great, like they were going to work real hard to find me a job. Well I never heard a thing from him and he totally ignored every email I sent him and every phone message I left. It was like I didn't exist after dedicated my day and all that time to come in, fill out paperwork, and meet with him for a while.

hypnotoad

HR people are phony scumbags and are full of hot air.

These are the kids who became "business majors dude" because they couldn't do anything else -- and they sunk to the HR department because they can't handle money, numbers, or procedures.

cgyballer

Watch out for Robert Half, I came to an interview with a fairly open mind after hearing the "horror stories". Unfortunately they were mostly right.

1. There was a surprise assessment that I did ok, but not great on, had i known what it was on ahead of time I would have done a lot better

2. The Robert Half hiring lady seemed rather arrogant and rude and criticized the format of my resume. I thought that was rather unprofessional given the situation.

3. They told me they would tell me if I got the job one way or another by "x date" well x date came and i didn't hear anything. I emailed the lady she said the company (who they refused to tell which company it actually were) was still deciding and they would let me know by "y date". Well y date comes and I hear nothing, so i once again emailed again and they said they would let me know FOR SURE by "z date" well DEJA VU take a guess what happened.

4. What I found to be particularly odd was it was for weekend project work that was to run from October to May, BUT i saw the same job posting months after the project was to finish, not to mention they advertised this on job boards in Toronto and BC, and the job is in Calgary. Well nobody is gunna move to calgary for weekend work!!! All this leads one to believe that it was a fake job posting and they waisted my time

famosbrown

I've had nothing but good experiences with them...both using them as a job hunter and using them to seek candidates.

When we used them to seek candidates, we expected them to only present qualified professionals and not just anyone who applied with them. We've never regretted any applicants received by Robert Half. I used to always receive job descriptions from RHT for potential jobs matching what I wanted.

NOthing bad to say about them at all. Maybe difference in location or people? I don't know .

Crunchyhippo

I interviewed with them, but I had no experience, so they mainly just told me to get some, then call us again. Their benefits weren't good - I'd be paying through the nose for medical benefits, something I really need with a family.

sromagazine

I took their test and was above their international average. I talked and talked and talked to this lady and finallly she got me a **** job. She said I had to show them how I could perform and got me a laptop refresh job which I would finish in 2 hours time and then had to sit around for 6 hours a day doing nothing. I was bored out of my f#@#@ mind for months. It was decent pay though. After that I never heard back from them. I emailed and called many times but was just ignored. I filled out the feedback form and put all negatives and got a call the next day getting thanked. When I post my resume online I put RHT need not call.

Aquabat [banned]

stay away from them, and every other company like them

KGhaleon

What about Tek Systems? I've interviewed there two or three times and never heard back from them. I got another call from them a while ago and they want me to hop a commuter down to their office at 9:30AM tomorrow for an interview...I really need a job, so I'm feeling pretty crappy about going over there.

Aquabat [banned]

i wouldn't waste your time actually going down there. they will do the same thing, they've done it to me.

you interview, they tell you about a **** job while you are there. then they don't call you ever again.

cisco_trooper

KGhaleon wrote:

What about Tek Systems? I've interviewed there two or three times and never heard back from them. I got another call from them a while ago and they want me to hop a commuter down to their office at 9:30AM tomorrow for an interview...I really need a job, so I'm feeling pretty crappy about going over there.

TekSystems has a lot of crap up here. They always call me for crap they have that I MAY have been interested in two years ago and try to pay what I MAY have taken four years ago. Don't be surprised by an extremely low offer...

filkenjitsu

Staffing Solutions always did well for me and my wife.

Tyrant1919

I had a good experience interviewing in Oakland, CA.

Receptionist was polite and helpful. Had to fill out paperwork and stuff. Interviewer was very profesional. He knew what he was looking for and what to ask. I didn't go in for a specific job. He did tell me ahead of time that there would be a test. I took their Desktop support and Office one.

I did get a call for a two day temp job for 18/hr just moving computers to a new location. I turned it down because it was too short notice. I then moved and told them I won't be available anymore.

Overall my experience with them was good. But I was never 'hired' at anytime.

I'd recommend them if you've looked elsewhere without any luck. Otherwise, you're better off on your own.

Aquabat [banned]

Tyrant1919 wrote:

I had a good experience interviewing in Oakland, CA.

Receptionist was polite and helpful. Had to fill out paperwork and stuff. Interviewer was very profesional. He knew what he was looking for and what to ask. I didn't go in for a specific job. He did tell me ahead of time that there would be a test. I took their Desktop support and Office one.

I did get a call for a two day temp job for 18/hr just moving computers to a new location. I turned it down because it was too short notice. I then moved and told them I won't be available anymore.

Overall my experience with them was good. But I was never 'hired' at anytime.

I'd recommend them if you've looked elsewhere without any luck. Otherwise, you're better off on your own.

i like ur avatar

undomiel

I had a call from Tek Systems the other day. The gal didn't have any jobs to present for me but wanted me to cart on over to the other side of Phoenix so that we could have an interview and fill out all of the paperwork so that maybe she'll present me a job or two at the time. She also told me that the job market for administrators has dried up due to the economy and all she could really get me is maybe a tech support job.

famosbrown

Again...it's all based on location. I know for sure that administrator jobs are PLENTIFUL in my area, and the staffing/contractors tend to be paid to find talent for them.

KGhaleon

I took a bus to downtown LA the other day for an interview, and it went well. I think some recruiting companies don't want to recruit random people, but professionals they can trust. I've interviewed with them three times in the past few years. It gave me an excuse to check out Little tokyo and Chinatown afterwards.

I have another interview scheduled today at another recruiting agency(across town), so I'm pretty annoyed...and getting poorer by the second due to metro expenses.

undomiel

Well considering how many postings and calls I have gotten about admin positions I don't buy it at all. Especially when looking outside of Phoenix and around the country there are plenty to be had. It felt like she just wanted to discourage me so that I would go for one of her low pay tech support positions. Just the feeling I got.

Jammywanks

Here's my story with RHT:

I posted my resume online on dice.com, a few hours later I got a call from them. I set up an appointment for an interview for an open position. I was already working at the time so I had to schedule some time off ahead of time. So on my day off I go to the interview, and they wanted me to fill out paperwork that had ALL MY INFORMATION, such as SSN, Name, Address, Resume, TAX forms, photo copies of ID's, etc.

All in all I think thats a little overboard considering 1) The job I came to interview for was no longer available (she made up some shitty excuse saying they were hiring internally and got 4 guys who they knew already). 2) I don't like giving up my personal info unless I see a paycheck.

So basically they might be advertising fake job positions that really don't exist, by the time you get there, they tell you such and such story that the job is no longer available, but "we meet with clients before hand cause we like to be professionals".

I actually did get a call from them several weeks later for an available position. Only this time I did not respond since I was a bit happier with my job at the time.

If people say stay away from RHT and the like, what other choices do they have? Agencies will be the way to go if you're entry level in IT.

Update: I am no longer working at my current employer. So I could very well call RHT back since I already went through the trouble with them. If the money is right I would go for it. Thats not to say I will be looking elsewhere at the same time.

calaverasgrandes

I interviewed with them about 3 months ago. They also gave me the test. I pretty much scored off the charts on their (mostly outdated) test. The lady gave me the impression that they had a ton of jobs all the time and would have lots of things coming up for me.
They offered me one job for about $17 that would have been a hellacious comute. I kind of balked. I also mentioned that I dont have a car and would be using mass transit to get around. Havent heard back from them since.
The company I currently work for has no problem with my car-less-ness. They just email me the address for a job, I do a quick websearch and get back to them.

On another note I get the impression that some companies are only interviewing so they can satisfy the requirements of their H1B visa program. I have even had one guy let slip that it was the case. Not about the position I was going after, but rather for their DBA jobs.
I dont have any problem with people immigrating legally to fill jobs that there arent any qualified guys for. But I think some companies are gaming the system to reduce their salary costs. I mean, sheesh I'll ask for the moon salary wise, but at least give me a chance to accept the job at the H1B rate.

Mikdilly

Curious if anyone has ever left a full time job for a contract to hire position thru someone like RHI or Manpower. Did they regret it or feel it was a good move? I currently have something full time and just interviewed with RHI, took their assessment tests and was told I was above the avg of those that took it in the last 90 days, sounded like a crock.

eMeS

I received a random call from RH today...I'll count this one as today's clueless recruiter call

Me: This is Michael
RH: This is so and so with RH, how are you today?
Me: Good, what can I do for you?
RH: I found your resume, and I'm wondering what type of work you're looking for?
Me: I do independent consulting and training, primarily in -
RH: You didn't answer my question...what type of work are you looking for?
Me: You interrupted me before I could finish. Do you want to know what I do, or is there something specific you're looking for?
RH: No, go ahead.
Me: Have you read my resume?
RH: Yes, but it's not clear, and I don't understand what you do.
Me: I do ITIL, IT Service Management, ISO 20000 consulting, implementation, and training. I also do Six Sigma work. All of this, along with my experience is clearly stated in my resume.
RH: We don't have any positions for any of that.
Me: Then one of us is talking to the wrong person.

-Pause-

RH: Ok, thank you for your time.

The woman was arrogant and unprofessional. I generally avoid these types unless there is something really sweet about the deal...which is rare.

This is almost as good as the "offer" I received yesterday from another agency to install software with respect to an ITIL implementation. The hourly rate offered, aside from being incredibly low, was just strange...it was something like $XX.63" I have no idea where they came up with the .63....

MS

dynamik

eMeS wrote:

Me: Then one of us is talking to the wrong person.

Literally made me

Schluep

dynamik wrote:

eMeS wrote:

Me: Then one of us is talking to the wrong person.

Literally made me

I laughed at that line as well, very good response.

eMeS

Schluep wrote:

dynamik wrote:

eMeS wrote:

Me: Then one of us is talking to the wrong person.

Literally made me

I laughed at that line as well, very good response.

Thanks!

I wish I could be that clever all the time...I guess the daily clueless recruiter call has helped me hone that skill in this situation only....

MS