Go ahead, test me.

July 21, 2008 12:02 PM

For what jobs are applicants accepted largely based on an examination? Inspired by this question.

Examples of this type of hiring practice would be the United States Foreign Service examination and USPS.

posted by dkleinst to Work & Money (4 answers total)

Most police departments rank potential candidates by testing them first, some fire departments do as well. In Milwaukee, I know library aides are offered jobs based on test results. A publisher named Arco offers vocational test books, which give you an idea of the variety of jobs that are offered based on test results.
posted by drezdn at 12:07 PM on July 21, 2008

New York State has a civil service system--for most state jobs, you have to take a test specific to the position you are applying for. If you score well enough, you are placed on a list and then contacted when a position opens up. If several people are trying for the same position, your score will affect how you are rated against the other candidates. Info here.
posted by Jemstar at 12:31 PM on July 21, 2008

There's the ASVAB for the US military. (Here's what wikipedia says are the required scores to get in.) Of course, there's other tests, like medical and whatnot, that an applicant must pass.
posted by philomathoholic at 1:12 PM on July 21, 2008

Many actuaries have to take tests to get promotions. I don't know if they are required to get the job in the first place though.
posted by Four Flavors at 4:11 PM on July 22, 2008