One would think 97% would be good enough for me to get hired as a census worker, but that has not happened so far. I spoke to a person who was hired for the preliminary work in 2009 and she told me that everyone she worked with was a veteran, and that is the only reason she believed she was hired as she did not get a perfect score on the test. Veterans get a 10 point bonus to their score. So if they scored a 90% on the test, their total would be 100%. If they scored 97% on the test their total would be 107%.
Flathead Valley has lots of veterans and right now the unemployment level is near 11% so competition for jobs is fierce. A far cry from North Dakota where census officials in the western part of the state were on the local news pleading for people to be census workers. North Dakota has the nation's lowest unemployment rate. Western North Dakota is where the massive oil exploration and development is happening and the problem is not finding a job, but in finding a place to live.
I am not a veteran so the best I can do is 100%. I agree with helping veterans, but getting a 10% bonus is a little too much.
The test is 28 questions. I also learned that if you get only half (or 14) correct, this is not a score of 50%. but a score of 77%. Huh?! Only the government can come up with a decision like this.
So it appears someone can test badly and still get a good score. Add in a 10% bonus and my friend said that explained some of the 'doorknobs' she worked with on the 2009 census prep work.You know.. as to how important the census is to the states for apportioning money and representation, and the claims of census under-counts etc., you'd think the states would try to ensure qualified census workers were hired - even if the federal government is the one doing the hiring.
The test was again held today at the local job service center. There were two sessions and I took the noon session. Last year there were 20 to 30 people taking the test; today there were eight of us. Of the eight people, three of us were re-taking the test.
People re-taking the test did not have to fill out the forms again. We only needed to show our passport or several other ids. We still had to locate on their maps the grid with the location of our address. Apparently the census bureau tries to have you work in this area or a nearby one.
Unlike the last time I took the test, the census worker conducting the test was experienced in running the testing session. We started and ended on time. He also graded the tests at the end and gave us our scores. Apparently there are four tests as I had test D. He had a template for each of the tests and he laid the appropriate template over our answer sheets to quickly check the answers.
I was halfway through the test when I realized I was taking the test I had taken last year. The questions started to be more and more familiar. Unfortunately I couldn't remember what I had answered last year. Uh oh... the pressure is on now to get a higher score. How could I live it down if I got a lower score on the same test?
I finished the 28 questions in a little over 20 minutes of the 30 minutes allotted to take the test. I spent the rest of the time double checking my answers and was able to double check half of them. This was good as I discovered I had one answer wrong. For the question about matching names, my question had two names not found in both lists instead of the one I had initially thought. Combinations of: Allan, Allen, Schmidt, Schmitt, Marie, Maria, and various versions of Roderiguez. It is easy to confuse these names.
This time I scored 100%. If I hadn't gotten 100% I could have taken the test again at 3 pm as there were seats available to do so. Apparently you can take the test over and over with only your highest score counting even if you get a lower score on a later test. So I imagine most people who take the test end up with high scores.
I was pleased with my test score especially as I had not practiced with the test quiz online at the census department's web site.
Now I have to wait for them to call me if they hire me. Apparently they are hiring people to work this Spring to follow up on the people who do not fill out their census form and mail it back. Then in August or later they need people to tabulate and verify the census data collected. Like I said before the Flathead Valley has lots of veterans so my odds of getting hired is lower than you'd expect for a person who got a perfect score on the test. Then again, I wonder if one would want a job collecting census data from people who don't send their forms in? Knowing the number of anti-government types in this Valley, this job may not be that pleasant.
13 comments:
Yeah....so I just found out I got 2 answers wrong on that darn test. The guy tried to say I did good, but I was bummed b/c the test is soooo frickin easy. And the fact that veterans get 10 pts does not help my case either.....oh well. Good luck to you.
Hi, Thanks for your write up! I just took the test and happened upon your site after doing a google blog search trying to figure out if my score was going to get me a job or not. I ended up missing 2, and just like you said in your other census post, my errors were really just dumb mistakes. But in a way, that was the beauty of the test. Even though it was clear that the test was designed to be tricky, I still fell into one of their simple traps.
Anyway, do you have any idea as to why you were not hired to work last year? Do you think it will be different this time? Do we just wait and hope to hear from them?
Anyway, thanks for the write up, you did a nice job on both of them.
- Pat
Thanks for your comments.
I think I wasn't hired last year because:
- they weren't hiring as many people in 2009 as they were in the preparation phase and didn't need as many people then, and
- The Flathead Valley has lots of veterans. I know a woman who was hired in 2009 and worked a lot. She said everyone she worked with was a veteran. She also got the 10 point veteran's bonus because her husband is a disabled veteran.
The good news is that this morning they called me and over the phone I was hired as a census worker. In western Montana they are now hiring census workers. Next week is the class training (4 days).
Wow, I think I just took the same test today that you took! I had that Ana/Anna, Allen/Allan, Schmidt/Schmitt, Rodriguez/Rodrigez question.
I am bummed because I know that I missed "controversial"; I picked unpleasant when I now believe the correct answer is debatable. Perhaps it is because I dislike controversy.
Do you recall what you picked for the "shortest, most direct" route on the map question? I picked the route where you went north, turned west on a side street and then went north on the final street to the destination corner. However, there was also a choice to just go west and then north to the destination corner. I disliked this question, because the distances traveled were equal; I went with the answer that most approximated a straight line, so I hope I got that one right.
Regarding the 10% bonus for veterans, I'm fine with it, but I think it should be capped at 100%. In other words, if a vet got a 94%, then they should be "bonused" up to 100%, but not beyond.
Anyway, good luck with your training and work! Hope I will be able to (in spirit) join you!
I bet your answer for controversial was chosen by lots of people. I had to think about my answer for the word.
I don't remember what map route I chose on the hiring test. Now that I have gone through the training I have all those practice and the final test maps in my brain. I think on the hiring test I selected the 'west then north' route.
I like your solution for the veteran bonus. I agree with rewarding veterans for their active duty service to our country. However when competing for a limited number of jobs it can be tough when to get the job you have to be perfect and yet others who get a number of answers wrong are still placed ahead of you on the hiring list.
From the number of veteran vehicle license plates in the parking lot, the people I spoke with who told me they were a veteran, and my gut impression of the other men, I suspect I may have been the only non-veteran male among the 13 men in the training class of 30, and that only by scoring 100% on the test did I get the job. But I could be wrong.
Actually your comment about military bonus is half right. Veterans get 5 points (with some limitations depending on their service) and disabled over a certain percent or spouse or mother of a disabled vet get the 10 points. I work in the census office as a clerk (lower pay) but am trying to get back out in the field as I love the outside job....Also sometimes the reason people don't get hired is that they limit the days and hours they say they can work! I tell people to put 40 hours and mark all days available to increase their odds. And also if you have a cell phone put it first to contact as most jobs are offered during the day so you want to answer that call the first time they call you. And don't forget the background check you have to pass and the fingerprinting... But I do love the job and contacting people - no such thing as a stranger to me! Good luck....Linda
Linda, thanks for the clarification about the veteran bonus.
The first time I took the census test the testing coordinators had mentioned the 10% veteran bonus, and later when talking with a woman who was hired last year she mentioned getting the 10% bonus because her husband is a veteran. But her husband is a disabled veteran so that now makes sense.
A guy (a veteran, I believe non-disabled) I met in the training class said he scored 93 on the test. He was hired a week before me with his (now apparent) score of 98. Then again, he lives in our canvasing area while I live in the area next to our canvasing area, So probably explains why he was hired before me.
On the application I had indicated I'd work 40 hrs/week and that I'd be available all days of the week.
I wasn't fingerprinted until the first day of the training class. So one may be 'hired' for census training, but won't go any further if they don't pass the fingerprint check.
I am enjoying the job very much. The weather here has been great (Spring is in the air!) and most of the people I meet are friendly. I had a guy offer me a beer (which I declined as I was on duty), and a woman shut the door in my face when I told her I was from the census bureau.
The other thing I forgot to tell you is that if you and the vet have the same score ( after their "added" points) the vet will get the job offer FIRST before you...but if you have the higher score you should be offered it first! I've seen things in my office done wrong but since they were in a hurry they let some clerks call people and make the job offers and they weren't properly trained so mistakes got made... I would not make the calls but there was nothing I could do about it. THAT almost made me quit. I'm not saying more as I'm sure it's not an isolated incident. Good luck and I hope you continue to enjoy the work. People are fun and funny - so when you come across those "characters" remember to not take it personally as they would be equally obnoxious to anyone that came to their door! Later - Linda
lol. i had to laugh..i just took the test last week (indiana) i also had test d. they didn't have their game on completely either, put the wrong address in the paper for the test site, and then the worker just looked at us like we were idiots when we said something about it. wish they would of given us our scores, test was pretty easy, just hoping i didn't make a dumb mistake congrats on getting the job :) enjoyed your blog :)
I know for a fact that non-veterans with scores below 30 have been hired by the Census. "Required" scores depend on the relative scores in the area where you live. (In my town, though, they have plenty of applicants who got scores of 27 or 28. So, people with scores below that are far less likely to get called unless they live on an end of town from which few people have applied.)
I am confused by your mention of scores of 27, 28, and 30. Our test only had 28 questions. When the tests were graded our score was then given to us in percentages. I.e. 100%, and 97% or 98% if you got one question wrong.
I am not surprised people with scores less than 100% are being hired. You are correct that it all depends on how many people take the test for an area and what scores they have. In the Flathead we had an unemployment rate of 13.7% in January and lots of applicants. Flathead County also appears to have a higher than normal percentage of veterans. In western North Dakota with all the oil exploration and development most everyone has a job and their unemployment rate is the lowest in the U.S. In January the census was desperate to hire workers in western ND as they didn't have enough applicants to fill all the positions.
The census does hire people outside their district. I live near Kalispell but I was hired for another part of the county. FYI - Flathead County is larger than the state of Rhode Island.
To anonymous..the shortest route was the second one..the answer with three steps said east not west..sorry you picked it..that's how they get'cha..good luck to all posters!
To the people that think it's not fair that veterans get preferential treatment.
If your 38, or under go find a recruiter. Sign up, become a defender of freedom and liberty.Than you to will get preferential treatment for federal jobs.
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