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While going through the interview process for a government-owned agency tasked with developing IT products for my city, I was told that as per regulation I had

by oboes 5y ago

While going through the interview process for a government-owned agency tasked with developing IT products for my city, I was told that as per regulation I had to pass some kind of test organized by a third-party HR company. The interviewer explaining that to me was like "we're sorry but you'll have to go through this test even though it's annoying, but that's the rule and we all had to" (big red flag). So next week I went to that HR company expecting some kind of technical/programming assignment (it was a Python position). Instead had to take part in some weird theater play in which I was playing as a clerk at the municipal office. I was given 30 minutes to study documentation about an imaginary new regulation (related to noise pollution IIRC), and then some actor entered the room and pretended to be a stubborn and angry citizen complaining about that regulation. After that confusing and embarrassing experience, I tried to explain that I didn't understand the point of this thing since I was applying to a programming job with no customer/citizen-facing component. But they were adamant that it was relevant, because it was a government job, and apparently everybody in government is a city clerk. The full thing went on for 3 hours (I hadn't been informed it would take so long). As a compensation for my time I was given a tuna sandwich (I wish I was joking).

geocrasher 5y ago
Sounds like it was a case of them trying to hire somebody who was smart enough to program in Python but too passive or desperate to walk out on a test it was clearly irrelevant. Did you end up taking the job?
- oboes 5y ago
  No, don't know if it was because of this test (I did complain when they asked me for my opinion of the test). I found something else some time later and I think I dodged a bullet. I think the blame for this test might lie on government mismanagement rather than the would-be actual employer. There is a rule making vetting by a 3rd company mandatory in the hiring process (to avoid nepotism), but they do the same kind of test for completely unrelated kind of government jobs. I have two friends who had to go through something similar when interviewing for a different local government employer (not IT-related for them, but still unrelated to a clerk job).

by oboes 5y ago

geocrasher 5y ago

Sounds like it was a case of them trying to hire somebody who was smart enough to program in Python but too passive or desperate to walk out on a test it was clearly irrelevant. Did you end up taking the job?

oboes 5y ago
No, don't know if it was because of this test (I did complain when they asked me for my opinion of the test). I found something else some time later and I think I dodged a bullet. I think the blame for this test might lie on government mismanagement rather than the would-be actual employer. There is a rule making vetting by a 3rd company mandatory in the hiring process (to avoid nepotism), but they do the same kind of test for completely unrelated kind of government jobs. I have two friends who had to go through something similar when interviewing for a different local government employer (not IT-related for them, but still unrelated to a clerk job).