By Don Herion

Pop Quiz, hot shot! What happens in Photoshop when you select the "Contiguous" box in the Magic Wand options and then click a pixel? Creating a new snapshot accomplishes which one of the following actions? What year did Gilligan's Island go from black and white to color? If you know the answer to any of these questions you may have paid a visit to Brainbench.com, one of the growing band of online skills testing and certification companies.

I know what your thinking. Testing? What am I back in high school? Who can forget settling down Monday morning in Biology and the teacher smiling grimly at you? Our neck hair stands on end as we anticipate that cold, heartless phrase. "Put your books away. Pop quiz time." I'm getting the willies just typing the words. Well, chances are good that you just might hear that 'finger nails across the chalkboard' phrase at your next job interview.

The IT industry is searching for methods to improve their hiring decisions. Determining a potential employee's skill level is not always discernable in a one on one interview. Testing is a useful way for an employer to determine if an applicant is the right match for a job opening.

Brainbench.com, headquartered in Virginia, was created to help companies make intelligent hiring decisions, and help them retain and develop their existing staff by using online testing. In 1999 Brainbench performed over 400,000 tests for many leading companies, including, EDS, Ernst & Young and J.P. Morgan.

Brainbench's online testing site covers dozens of software applications, including: Adobe Photoshop 5.5, Cisco Network Support, Flash 4, and others. Brainbench calls their tests assessments. Unfortunately, the name switch does not prevent sweaty palms. A typical 'assessment' number from 16 to 40 questions and takes from 20 minutes to an hour. You receive a score from 1.0 to 5.0, 5.0 being highest. Applicants also find out how they compare with other applicants. A summary reveals the examinee's relative strengths and weaknesses. Applicants are allowed a single 15-minute break they can choose at any time. To pass the certification at the 'Standard Level' you need a total score of 2.75 or higher. To pass at the 'Master Level', you need a total score of at least 4.0. Whatever happened to 'pass' 'fail' for scoring options?

Going above and beyond the call of duty, I sampled the 'practice assessment' (i.e. test) for Photoshop 5.5. All 'assessments' are of the multiple choice variety, with 5 possible correct answers. You have 3 minutes to make your choice (a clock is visible in the status bar). If you run out of time that question is registered as 'incorrect' and you are sent to the next question. Below is a screen shot of one of my questions.

Photoshop question from Brainbench.com

Finding qualified candidates is becoming increasingly difficult in today's tight labor market. Hiring the wrong applicant can cost a company months of lost productivity. Brainbench, and other companies like them, have a powerful tool to improve a company's hiring practices. For job applicants, companies like Brainbench can help show companies that they have the right stuff. So, don't be shocked if you show up at your next job interview and your potential employee smiles and exclaims, "Pop quiz time."

Note: The answer to the three questions in the first paragraph:

1. This restricts the selection or fill to areas connected to the area clicked
2. The Snapshot makes a temporary copy (or snapshot) of any state of the image
3. Gilligan's Island went to color in 1966

PS: My score for the Photoshop 'assessment' has been declared 'Top Secret' and is not available to the public.