Is Ashurst's Cognify test a joke?

[Harvey]

Hi Guys,

So....I'm convinced I just partook in a joke...

Can someone confirm whether Ashurst's Cognify test is legitimate or simply a test to see how we act under pressure?

 

[Daniel Boden]

What do you mean by a joke? Because it is difficult or what?

 

[Harvey]

What do you mean by a joke? Because it is difficult or what?

A jokes, as in, something intended to cause amusement or laughter

 

[Jessica Booker]

A lot of the games based assessments can seem like a joke/not very serious.

The science behind them (when applied appropriately) is pretty compelling though. Measures a lot of things that a typical comprehension test cannot.

I’m still in two minds about them - mainly because there are a lot of there that I don’t think have the data to say they are accurately assessing what they say they are.

 

[ComplianceChange]

I've just completed it, and I am so sure I messed it up...

I really hate game-based assessments- they are really unfair and unforgiving.

 

[Long Dinh]

A lot of the games based assessments can seem like a joke/not very serious.

The science behind them (when applied appropriately) is pretty compelling though. Measures a lot of things that a typical comprehension test cannot.

I’m still in two minds about them - mainly because there are a lot of there that I don’t think have the data to say they are accurately assessing what they say they are.

I agree with you, there are certain tests that don't accurately reflect the skills they say they assess.

For example, I would consider the emotify test mere identifying facial expression rather than testing your emotional intelligence. The ability to "read the room" and understand emotions to communicate effectively, empathize with others and defuse conflict should be assessed in more aspects and would be assessed more accurately in a face-to-face interview.

I suppose some tests are designed to assess how you can be quick on your feet and how you handle time pressure.

 

[Jessica Booker]

I agree with you, there are certain tests that don't accurately reflect the skills they say they assess.

For example, I would consider the emotify test mere identifying facial expression rather than testing your emotional intelligence. The ability to "read the room" and understand emotions to communicate effectively, empathize with others and defuse conflict should be assessed in more aspects and would be assessed more accurately in a face-to-face interview.

I suppose some tests are designed to assess how you can be quick on your feet and how you handle time pressure.

Such modular assessments like these tend to just filter out the extremes though. It’s impossible to conduct hundreds or thousands of face to face assessments.

But still not without their issues, particularly for some people on the autistic spectrum (who shouldn’t be doing these assessments full stop).

 

[ComplianceChange]

Such modular assessments like these tend to just filter out the extremes though. It’s impossible to conduct hundreds or thousands of face to face assessments.

But still not without their issues, particularly for some people on the autistic spectrum (who shouldn’t be doing these assessments full stop).

Not to mention people with SpLDs ... it was like my dyslexia diagnostic test all over again. But this time I could have wrong answer .

 

[Long Dinh]

Such modular assessments like these tend to just filter out the extremes though. It’s impossible to conduct hundreds or thousands of face to face assessments.

But still not without their issues, particularly for some people on the autistic spectrum (who shouldn’t be doing these assessments full stop).

What I meant is these skills can be more fairly judged at a later stage, for instance, at the AC. I believe recruiters can easily assess candidates' emotional intelligence through their answers to interview questions and how they interact with others without having to test it separately.

 

[Jessica Booker]

What I meant is these skills can be more fairly judged at a later stage, for instance, at the AC. I believe recruiters can easily assess candidates' emotional intelligence through their answers to interview questions and how they interact with others without having to test it separately.

You can’t really tell emotional intelligence from an application unfortunately, and seeing how people interact with other requires some kind of face to face assessment.

The EI element will only be a fraction of the total games based assessment though, and even then it will only really be looking at the extreme ends of the spectrum to make decisions to not bring them through to the next stage.

Having done this for a very long time, HR/Recruitment are being asked to be more objective, data driven and monitoring diversity. The good thing about consistent assessments like this and other psychometrics is that it allows you to collect data and also make objective decisions consistently rather than whether someone mistakenly wrote practice isn’t of practise on an application form.

 

[Harvey]

I'm pretty sure I had less than 4 seconds to simultaneously work out -31x6, 41-17, and -3+28 #legalskills

 

[Brett]

I'm pretty sure I had less than 4 seconds to simultaneously work out -31x6, 41-17, and -3+28 #legalskills

Well, I'm glad that I'm not the only one who felt like that game was insane!

Also, has anyone heard back from them apart from the "we know it's been a while but we're working on it" message?

 

[Samar]

Not sure if this is any use because tbh not sure how any of it was measured and you don't get sent the scores, but I was told I got 70 and 71 on the cognify and emotify tests which is a good score, amazing score is above 80 apparently.

I definitely thought the test was weird but I thought I did pretty well in it considering how weird it was (as I definitely could have panicked and just made a total mess of it from sheer panic). So in my opinion, 80+ is probably if you know you got basically all of them right.

p.s. I got a rejection last week for summer vac scheme

 

[JayB]

Not sure if this is any use because tbh not sure how any of it was measured and you don't get sent the scores, but I was told I got 70 and 71 on the cognify and emotify tests which is a good score, amazing score is above 80 apparently.

I definitely thought the test was weird but I thought I did pretty well in it considering how weird it was (as I definitely could have panicked and just made a total mess of it from sheer panic). So in my opinion, 80+ is probably if you know you got basically all of them right.

p.s. I got a rejection last week for summer vac scheme

That’s interesting to know! So if your scores were considerably high what was the issue? Are they expecting all successful candidates to get onto the AC you need 80+ ???

 

[Samar]

That’s interesting to know! So if your scores were considerably high what was the issue? Are they expecting all successful candidates to get onto the AC you need 80+ ???

Will PM you one sec

 

[Jessica Booker]

That’s interesting to know! So if your scores were considerably high what was the issue? Are they expecting all successful candidates to get onto the AC you need 80+ ???

thats making the assumption that no other information is consider apart from the test (which won’t be the case).

 

[JayB]

thats making the assumption that no other information is consider apart from the test (which won’t be the case).

I heard they do a point system too for the applications - do many firms do this? You need around 20 out of X to get an interview. Never heard of this before

 

[Jessica Booker]

I heard they do a point system too for the applications - do many firms do this? You need around 20 out of X to get an interview. Never heard of this before

Very common system to ensure consistency of screening

 

[wwood]

Well, I totally understand how you feel as the math tests are just crazy! I have read somewhere that they take the average of your test scores though, i.e. if you do better in other parts your results won't be too bad. Also, you can download apps that closely resemble the test. I downloaded a few and certainly felt that they helped make you less nervous. Though I was lucky to proceed to the next round, I never heard back since I hope you hear back soon!

 

[tractor12]

Very common system to ensure consistency of screening

Would you be able to tell us more details about how this would work?