Was it a trick question?
marc
3,126 Posts
Interviewing for a payroll clerk.
Had 12 questions - the final one was to calculate a net payroll check.
I gave an hourly rate, number of hours, and federal tax withholding percentage. Just for fun, also had a pre-tax and an after tax deduction. After all of that, asked to compute a net payroll check.
Notice I did not mention FICA and MEDI.
Guess what, not one person remembered to deduct the combined 7.65%.
My wife said it was a trick question. I said yes, but payroll clerks should know this without having the software program to lean on. I was testing not only calculation skills (they had a hand calculator), but knowledge and basically how well they thought through the question.
What do you think? Was it a fair question?
Had 12 questions - the final one was to calculate a net payroll check.
I gave an hourly rate, number of hours, and federal tax withholding percentage. Just for fun, also had a pre-tax and an after tax deduction. After all of that, asked to compute a net payroll check.
Notice I did not mention FICA and MEDI.
Guess what, not one person remembered to deduct the combined 7.65%.
My wife said it was a trick question. I said yes, but payroll clerks should know this without having the software program to lean on. I was testing not only calculation skills (they had a hand calculator), but knowledge and basically how well they thought through the question.
What do you think? Was it a fair question?
Comments
I would have, at the very least, asked you if you purposely left out those deductions or did you want me to use them in the calculation.
Gene
Your wife should see the timekeeping hypothetical that one of our residential supervisors asks of dorm manager applicants. Some candidates have dropped out of the running in despair and horror.
Last Sunday morning I went to Panera's to buy bagels. They came to $3.12. I gave the clerk three one dollar bills and a quarter. She stared back at me with an 8' stare in a 6' room look on her face, then stared down into the cash drawer. She finally yelled to a coworker, "What's 25 minus 12?" I ended her nightmare by whispering, "13." And we're supposed be one of the so called "smart states"?
Good luck, marc!!!!!!!
Fair question, but instructive about how difficult it is to find good people who can actually think their way through a situation.
Sure, an experienced payroll clerk should have asked if you wanted that also taken out. But I could argue that they were following directions to the letter. Do you want someone to ask questions or follow the process? That is your decision.
I would not disqualify someone that otherwise interviewed well because they could not answer that question the way you wanted it answered. If you hire a good person you can teach them the process.
My payroll clerk is not a MENSA member. She processes the payroll EVERY week, makes very few mistakes and is has good relationships with our people. That is more important to me than figuring out whether I wanted FICA taken out or not.
Also, while they are in the minority, there are some organizations who do not withhold FICA, and maybe your candidates were more clever than you thought, were fully aware of that possibility, and therefore didn't see anything unusual in your question. Okay, maybe that's a stretch. How about the fear of raising the FICA issue only to have the test administrator sarcastically say, "Does the question ask you to calculate FICA? Can't you follow simple written instructions? Why are you disrupting the test session?"
Besides, Marc, if your wife told you you were wrong, then you were wrong. You know that, especially right before Mother's Day.
Anyway, in my relationship with my wife, I always get the last words in our arguements.
They are "Yes dear."