How to Prepare for British American Tobacco (BAT) Test?
It is nerve-wracking to take your first BAT test. The tobacco industry giant has formulated a specific set of tests to measure candidates’ qualities and capabilities. New hires will go through several rounds of pre-employment assessments before they are officially on board.
The BAT test is not an ordinary job test. It is demanding and pushes you to the limits. Find out what you need to watch out for when working on your upcoming BAT test.
Table of Contents
What Is BAT?
British American Tobacco (BAT), is a British multinational tobacco manufacturer and seller. Headquartered in London, the company has operations in 180 countries. BAT has been dominating the nicotine product industry for years, based on its net sales.
Its 55,000 employees specialize in numerous fields, including R&D, policy research, marketing, sales, accounting, human resources, and more. Talents in each department work together to keep the company thriving.
Being a part of the big family is an enticing idea. Whether you are a fresh graduate or looking for a new field to explore, joining the top producer will enrich your portfolio and provide invaluable learning opportunities.
What Is the BAT Test?
The BAT test consists of multiple stages. Each stage focuses on one aspect of the candidate’s quality. To pass the BAT test, you have to pass each respective division.
1. Culture Questionnaire
Labelled as a culture questionnaire, this is essentially a personality test with a twist. BAT has to know if your values and visions align with the company. Furthermore, since its business nature is sensitive and somewhat controversial, it is crucial that you share the same belief as the company to be a team member.
In the culture questionnaire, you will answer questions about your personality, characteristics, traits, and thoughts. Your answer will give the evaluator an idea of how well you will fit in. BAT is a systematic corporate with regulations to follow. You must be willing to cooperate to gain yourself a seat.
2. BAT Cognitive Test
A candidate’s reasoning ability directly reflects their capability. Someone with a logical mind can arrive at the best conclusion in the shortest time. You have to demonstrate your organizational skill by piecing together evidence with a lack of information in the test.
The cognitive test combines the numerical, logical, and verbal aspects. Questions aim to assess your creative thinking and response rate. The faster you are at giving quality answers, the better you will be at the job.
Candidates have to solve puzzles with charts and figures in the numerical reasoning test. You must familiarize yourself with statistical analysis and calculations. Not only will your answers have to be accurate, but you will also have to be quick as you are clocked. A slow response can drag your ranking back if other candidates are performing better.
In the logical reasoning test, candidates have to read through some passages and draw conclusions from the information. It evaluates your communication skill. Candidates with outstanding summarization skills will have an advantage.
Lastly, the verbal reasoning test is targeted at your comprehension skill. You need to determine whether a statement is true or false based on the information given. Most of the time, the answer is not directly available. Candidates are expected to exercise their deduction skills.
3. Pymetrics Games
BAT’s unique Pymetrics Games makes its hiring process truly one of its kind. By playing 12 games created with specific purposes, the AI will meticulously calculate your performance to determine your candidacy.
Many of these games are basic training games that you have encountered but they are timed and more challenging. For example, in the Tower Game, the player has to rearrange the three blocks effectively. The way you solve it shows your problem-solving skill. Some of the core values measured include attention, decision-making, emotion, focus, etc.
The result from the Pymetrics Games has a tremendous share in the final decision. It tells your potential employer if you are better at working with numbers, people, or technical tasks. Thus, an appropriate position can be assigned.
How to Pass the BAT Test?
1. Take Practice Tests Made by Experts
Taking a few practice tests allows you to give an extraordinary performance at the real one. Before you scramble to download any online exercises available, locate the ones made by experts. There are too many generic ones out there with no help to this specific BAT test.
JobTest Prep is a reputable online resource library that offers dozens of practice guides and trial runs to equip yourself with the right skills for the BAT test. All the materials are built by professionals with years of experience studying the BAT test. The style and structure are authentically linked to the real test.
2. Think from the Company’s Perspective When Answering the Questions
Some tests, such as the culture questionnaire, aim to filter out candidates that do not believe in the company’s work. Since the tobacco industry is frequently a subject of debate, BAT wants to ensure all its employees believe in its goals.
Keep that in mind when answering the questions. Avoid showing negative sentiments towards this area. That being said, you should not lie in the test. Even if you can pass the online test, the physical interviews will reveal your true feelings. Hence, you should not apply for the role if you are against the products.
3. Avoid Using Extreme Emotional Words
While you should show excitement for the job, the emotion should not be extreme. A well-mannered employee will remain composed and calm at all times. Express your desire to be a part of the company without acting like a child.
The same goes for negative feelings. When you are sharing your thoughts on suggestions, competitors, or a toxic work environment, do not get heated because it reflects poorly on your professional image. Win your argument with constructive points.
4. Read Through the Job Description
Put in the effort to digest the job description. Each role entails a particular trait and quality, which will be measured in the pre-employment test.
For example, if you are applying for a marketing role in the client relations department, you will need exceptional communication skills to maintain friendly relationships with customers on top of your excellent analytical mind.
The job nature deducts the direction of your test and which part will be heavily emphasized. Studying the job description is a massive pointer than blindly reciting every tip.
5. Identify Your Weakness but Also Learn to Leave It
The biggest mistake a candidate can make is not knowing when to let go of a hopeless question. Although you want to ace the test, there will be confusing questions that you have no clue about. Instead of wasting time on a dead-end question, you need to move on so you can salvage the points by solving the rest of the section.
Time yourself. Once your allocated time is up, move on to the next part immediately. You can always come back to the question at the end. As frustrating as it can be, it always guarantees a higher score to focus on sections that you are confident about. Abandon the difficult parts strategically to gain more points.
What Is the Hiring Process at BAT?
As an international company, the pre-employment process at BAT can be lengthy. The company distils candidates stage by stage with the least satisfactory applicants getting screened out at every turn.
BAT requires a significant amount of supporting documents in your online application. Get your resume, cover letter, portfolio, references, and qualifications ready. The application is quite long as you have to answer ample questions on what makes you a good fit and how you see the industry overall.
The initial screening is done by the AI. BAT will reject redundant applications or spam applications to too many positions at different levels. Therefore, you should only select no more than three roles to apply to.
If your online application is considered, you will be invited to take the culture questionnaire. This marks the official beginning of your pre-employment assessments. The score from your culture questionnaire will partially influence your chance of entering the next stage.
Candidates with marginal scores will still be sent through but those with low scores will be eliminated.
The culture questionnaires and the online test are tentative. They can take place within a week. After the online tests, the HR managers will assess your scores. Both sets complement each other if you fall short of expectations in one of them.
After full consideration, those with the highest combined performance will be put through to the interview round. The first round of interviews will be over the phone. Be prepared to justify your answers in the online tests.
Your interviewers will introduce more about the workplace with the opportunity for you to raise questions. Take the chance to ask anything you want. Do not be shy and hold back inquiries. Usually, candidates that can raise a good question will gain more recognition.
Furthermore, if you can identify the core trends at the company and suggest how you can help achieve the goals, it will impress your interviewers.
Following the phone interview, another test will take place. The leadership performance questionnaire aims to assess your management ability and how you handle emergencies. Passing this test will land you the physical interview opportunity.
The physical interview aims to give your employers a more all-rounded perspective of you as an employee and as a person. Maintaining a professional outlook will further consolidate your image as a capable candidate.
More technical questions regarding the role will be a subject of discussion. The physical interview usually lasts for 30 minutes to an hour.
After passing the interview, you will arrive at the final challenge of this pre-employment test. You will attend the assessment centre to participate in individual and group exercises with other candidates. By mingling with other prospective talents, the interviewers will now know how well you can work with other people.
Demonstrate your leadership skill by listening to others’ opinions and evaluating the best options in the group exercises without dominating the group.
This marks the end of the lengthy pre-employment test at BAT. Once you are accepted, you will be contacted by the HR manager to sign the contract and negotiate the terms.
As daunting as the process sounds, you should be happy to know that BAT has a reputation for retaining the best talents with its generous benefits and pension schemes.
Summary
There is no need to let the BAT test frighten you. The challenges it presents positively correlate to the reward you will get in the company. Now, the only thing you need is the full study preparation offered to you by Job Test Prep. Get the most detailed BAT test guide today to get your seat in this fascinating industry.
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Sarah is an accomplished educator, researcher and author in the field of testing and assessment. She has worked with various educational institutions and organisations to develop innovative evaluation methods and enhance student learning. Sarah has published numerous articles and books on assessment and learning. Her passion for promoting equity and fairness in the education system fuels her commitment to sharing insights and best practices with educators and policymakers around the world.
