The federal government has gone back to the past in its search for top quality candidates for civil service jobs,
according to The Washington Post.
Overwhelmed by resumes and cover letters sent via the Internet, three dozen agencies have brought back civil service exams 34 years after last using them.
The agencies, including Defense, Justice and Health and Human Services, have started employing online tests to screen applicants for certain positions and to help promote current employees to more senior jobs, the newspaper reported.
The new era of exams, called USA Hire, uses animated avatars and videos to simulate challenges that potential or current employees could face, which test their aptitude for solving problems.
Right answers to questions lead to tougher questions while wrong answers lead to easier questions. The test is scored so that poor applicants can be quickly weeded out.
According to the Office of Personnel Management, up to 10 percent of civilian government jobs are now being filled partially based on the new test scores, the Post reported.
"Assessments have the potential to improve the hiring process like nothing I've seen in the last 30 years," said Jeffrey Neal, a vice president at ICF International, which is developing exams for the Internal Revenue Service, the Census Bureau and other agencies.
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