2003 IMTA Proceedings - International Military Testing Association

way both in and out of school. A significant minority of students use technology other than a
computer, e.g. WAP/ Mobile phone (27%), television (TV) (17%); or games console (17%) to
access the Internet.
Access to the Internet does not appear to be a significant problem for this age group.
Nevertheless, it may be the case that potential recruit applicants who have left school and who
have not gone on to a higher educational establishment may not have the same free access to
the Internet. Alternatively, the proliferation in the use of alternative technology to access the
Internet indicates that, for some groups at least, fairness concerns relating to Internet access
might be diminishing.
Job Search Activities
Forty-one per cent of all respondents stated that they had used the Internet to search for job or
college opportunities. Most of this group (86%) stated that they accessed the Internet for such
information either once a month or less than once a month. Forty-three per cent of
respondents said that they had used the Internet to search for college courses; 27% stated that
they had searched for a job; 19% had searched for information about an organisation; 9% had
registered on a career or job search web site; and 2% had submitted a CV online. Whilst
interest was expressed in using the Internet for job search activities, experience of doing so
appears limited for this particular age group. Age and expectations about when to search for a
job, as well as restricted exposure to employment processes may have limited responses to job
search questions.
Motivation to use e-selection features
Website Functionality: UT participants were asked to offer their opinions about the different
features included on the site. They were asked to rate the usefulness of the tool that formed
the basis of the task, and how much they liked the specific example with which they
interacted. The students thought most of the R&S features were very useful. Not all had the
same strength of feeling for the medical questionnaire or application form, nevertheless, most
thought it useful to some degree. The exception was found for Biodata with one participant
stating that they thought this was of little use. In rating how much they liked the specific
feature shown on the website, most tended to like the features they had used, but did not rate
them as highly as they had rated the associated concept. The medical questionnaire stood out
with half of the students reporting that they did not like it. (Evidence elicited elsewhere with
respect to specific design issues helped to inform why this might be the case).
Application Preferences: When given a choice between using the Internet or writing and
posting application forms, UT participants indicated that their preferred method of completing
and returning an application is to use Internet facilities for all actions, and their least favourite
preference was a hybrid option of downloading a paper version of the test and then posting it
back. Additionally, JSPQ respondents showed a preference for using the phone to make
contact with organisations in the application stage and request application forms. When it
comes to completing and returning application forms, students appear to want a choice of
traditional and new methods, and prefer an element of consistency in the genre of methods
chosen.
Initial selection preferences: JSPQ participants appear to have varied preferences when it
comes to initial selection features, such as biodata forms, essay, ability tests, personality tests,
tests of knowledge; and personal skills. For most features, responses indicated that having a
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45 th Annual Conference of the International Military Testing Association
Pensacola, Florida, 3-6 November 2003