Online Assessments Open Doors: From Pizza Driver To Software Developer
My first corporate job after college was working at a tutoring center in a strip mall. It was a management trainee program – online assessments and everything. What the job lacked in external appeal, it most certainly did not makeup in actual appeal. Every day, I “worked leads” and made awkward phone calls while I wore my equally uncomfortable khaki pants and a polo shirt.
The best part of the day happened at 2 pm when we started to teach. That’s what I wanted to be, after all, a teacher. In those hours between 2 and 8, I had the chance to shapeshift from salesperson to teacher.
One of the kids I taught to read was named Hope. Every Saturday, she was my first student. I taught Hope how to read. At the end of her program, I booked a meeting with her Dad to talk about her next reading comprehension program.
After delivering my pitch, he sat back in his chair and gave me a weird look. “What,” I said, panicked that I had been awkward in some way.
“I want to hire you. I don’t know what you’ll do, but I want you to work for me.”
It was the opportunity of a lifetime to go from a management trainee program to a startup where the sky was the limit, and I could try anything. I think a lot about how different my life might have been had I taken another job after school. What if I had never taught Hope?
Online Assessments Can Open The Door For Opportunity
Opportunity lingers where we least expect it, and I love the stories of when they come to life in recruiting.
Smart technology that powers purposeful assessments has that power.
This is a great example. Watch and see how text applications and online assessments turned into an opportunity for a pizza delivery driver to become a software developer at one of the biggest technology companies in the world.
Kat Kibben View All →
Kat Kibben [they/them] is a keynote speaker, writing expert, and LGBTQIA+ advocate who teaches hiring teams how to write inclusive job postings that will get the right person to apply faster.
Before founding Three Ears Media, Katrina was a CMO, Technical Copywriter, and Managing Editor for leading companies like Monster, Care.com, and Randstad Worldwide. With 15+ years of recruitment marketing and training experience, Katrina knows how to turn talented recruiting teams into talented writers who write for people, not about work.
Today, Katrina is frequently featured as an HR and recruiting expert in publications like The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, and Forbes. They’ve been named to numerous lists, including LinkedIn’s Top Voices in Job Search & Careers. When not speaking, writing, or training, you’ll find Katrina traveling the country in their van or spending some much needed downtime with the dogs that inspired the name Three Ears Media.