Ford Aptitude Tests, Personality Assessment, Recruitment Process & Interviews Online Preparation – 2024
About Ford
Ford is the second-largest auto manufacturer in the US and the fifth-largest in the world. The American automaker has over 175,000 employees with over 100,000 of these employees working in the United States, many of them at the corporate headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan.
Employees at Ford are satisfied with their jobs overall, which stems from the excellent benefits that Ford provides to its employees. These benefits include:
Health, life, and dental insurance
Company provided life insurance
Disability benefits
Salaried Tuition Assistance Program (STAP)
Severance benefits (job dependent)
19-21 weeks of paid maternity and paternity leave
27-29 weeks of unpaid maternity and paternity leave
A discount purchase program for Ford vehicles
All of these benefits and more make Ford one of the best places to work in the United States. Unfortunately for job applicants, this desirability can make the hiring process difficult, especially for the more desirable positions at Ford.
Ford’s brands: Lincoln, Motorcraft, Omnicraft, Quick Lane, and Professional Service Network.
What Is the Recruitment Process at Ford?
The hiring process at Ford can vary quite a bit depending on the position. All positions follow a general outline, which makes it much easier for applicants to know their standing in the hiring process and how far they have to go until they receive a job offer.
Initial Application
Ford posts all job openings on their official website. Applicants must create an account where they upload their resume, CV, and cover letter in order to apply for open positions with Ford.
Applicants can apply for as many positions as they want and qualify for once they create an account.
It is important to regularly monitor the job board if you do not see a listing for a position, you want because Ford only posts openings as they become available.
Ford Assessment Tests
Ford has many jobs ranging from customer service to engineering to assembly line work to accounting – it is a massive company that is vertically integrated, so they have positions for people of all skills and qualifications.
Some of these positions will require taking assessment tests that test the applicant’s skills or personality to determine if they meet the standards that Ford has set for the position. These tests also serve as a way for Ford to quickly filter out applicants before the expensive interview process.
With that in mind, here are some of the assessment tests you might have to take when applying for a job at Ford:
One Ford Assessment – All applicants at Ford must take the One Ford Assessment. This is a psychometric test that will determine if the applicant has a personality that aligns with the personality profile that Ford wants at their company. The questions will consist of statements and ask the applicants if they strongly agree, agree, are neutral, disagree, or strongly disagree with the statement. It is strongly recommended to review the corporate mission of Ford before taking the personality test and to have an understanding of what psychological traits best mesh with your position before taking this test. It is an online, timed test, so you will not have much time to think about each question before answering.
Numerical Reasoning Test – The numerical reasoning test is a timed, online test where applicants are presented with data in the form of graphs, charts, and tables and asked to correctly determine answers related to that data. This assessment is used for engineers, accountants, business analysts, and other positions that require the use of data stored this way as part of their job. It is strongly recommended to have a strong understanding of data sets, percentages, and ratios before taking this test. Applicants will have around a minute on average to answer each question, so speed is just as important as accuracy to pass this assessment test.
Basic Math Test – The basic math assessment is an easier version of the numerical reasoning test designed for those applying for jobs on the assembly line. It tests the basic arithmetic of the applicant. A calculator is not allowed for this assessment, and it is timed. If you are not comfortable with your mental math skills, then it is recommended to brush up on those skills as this test almost exclusively tests the applicant’s mental math skills.
Spatial Reasoning Test – The spatial reasoning assessment is given to those applying for assembly line positions. As the name implies, this test will determine the spatial reasoning skills of the applicant in a few different areas. The first area is 3D spatial reasoning. 3D objects will be presented to the applicant, and they must select an answer that best represents the object after it has been rotated in the desired way. The second section is colloquially known as the “shadow test.” Drawings of shadows are presented, and the applicant must select the object that most likely casts the shadow. The questions in the final section will present the applicants with a picture. Applicants must select the answer that best matches the presented picture. There are subtle differences in the answers, so this section can be challenging. Time is important on an assembly line, so this test is timed. Answering questions correctly is only good enough if applicants can answer all the questions in the allotted time. Taking timed practice tests are strongly recommended for this assessment.
Verbal Reasoning Test – The verbal reasoning assessment will test the applicant’s ability to gather information from text. It does this by providing a few paragraphs of information and then asking the applicant to answer questions about the information contained in the paragraphs. Just like the other tests, this test does have a time limit. Applicants must work quickly through the questions in order to answer all of them before time runs out. It is also important to note that the questions only relate to the information provided in the paragraphs. If you put a factually correct answer that is not in the provided paragraphs, then the question will be marked incorrect.
Reading Comprehension Test – The reading comprehension test is a much simpler version of the verbal reasoning test. This test is given to job applicants for assembly line positions. The questions on this test will present an excerpt from the safety guidelines and ask the applicant information about the excerpt. Assembly line workers often have to understand written safety guidelines, so this assessment serves to test if they can understand the safety guidelines they often receive during the course of their job. It is also important to note that this test is conducted in English.
Technical Test – Ford automobiles have a lot of software in them, so the automobile manufacturer has a big need for qualified software engineers. Those applying for software engineer positions will have to take a technical assessment that tests their software engineering knowledge. Applicants should expect questions about implementation, data structures, and algorithms with more of a focus on implementation.
Applicants that pass the assessment stage of the hiring process will then have to do a phone interview with Ford. The phone interview is longer than most phone interviews at around 20 to 30 minutes and will cover a variety of topics that include:
A Situational Judgment Portion – The interviewer will present certain situations to you and ask how you would respond in those situations. This is done to see if the applicant will respond to situations in a way that Ford likes. You should study the corporate policies and culture of Ford to ace this section of the interview. This is quite similar to SJT tests.
Motivation Questions – The interviewer will likely ask you some questions about your motivations for working at Ford. You should avoid any answer that talks about money or discounts. Working at Ford means working in a team, so they like to see answers that talk about that.
In-Person Interview
The final step of the hiring process is an in-person interview. This interview will be with a senior member of the team that you will work with at Ford. The questions have a tendency to call upon your past experiences and how it relates to Ford. For technical positions, you will also have to answer technical questions asked by the engineers. This sometimes involves writing code on a computer in front of a hiring manager.
Depending on the position, applicants may have to take an in-tray exercise, which is an email simulation. The applicant will be on a computer that receives 10 emails and must respond to the most important emails first. This tests the applicant’s writing skills and how they prioritize certain email subjects.
Applicants for assembly line positions will have to take a dexterity test. The dexterity test at Ford involves screwing screws into a piece of wood. There are 120 screws and applicants have 5 minutes to screw as many as possible. The automobile manufacturer is looking for both speed and quality with this text.
Background Checks and Drug Tests
Ford will not ask about your criminal record at any point in the hiring process, but they do conduct a background check before extending an offer to an applicant. The background check takes about a week to fully process.
Manufacturing positions at Ford will also require drug testing before an offer is extended. Ford uses a urine test for their pre-employment drug tests. Failure of the drug test or an unsatisfactory background check will result in Ford rescinding their offer of employment to the applicant.
Common Interview Questions at Ford
Most of the interview questions at Ford are behavioural questions that relate to your past experiences, so you should have some stories that put you in a good light already prepared. Here are some common interview questions at Ford:
Tell us about a time you found a creative solution to a problem at work. This question is so the interviewer knows whether or not you are an outside-the-box thinker. The interviewer will also want to hear about how you convinced management to go forward with your creative solution.
How did you resolve a conflict you had with a coworker? Conflicts sometimes happen in teams and the interviewer knows that – it is not a negative to say you have had a conflict. They want to see that you resolved the conflict without impacting the rest of the team or the workflow.
What are your strengths and weaknesses? Give examples. First, you should know the One Ford corporate culture before the interview and tailor your answer to that. A strength that involves teamwork and a weakness that involves difficulty saying no or getting caught up in the small details would fit the corporate culture at Ford.
How to Prepare for the Ford Assessment Tests?
Ford receives many applicants for open positions and uses assessment tests to shrink the pool of candidates. This means applicants must do very well on all assessment tests to make it to the next stage of the hiring process.
The best way to prepare for Ford’s assessment tests is to take timed practice tests that have explanations for all the answers. The time limit will ensure that you understand how to properly pace yourself to ensure you answer all the questions before time expires.
The answer explanations will allow you to understand why you got a question wrong and ensure you get it right on the real test.
It is recommended that you do one practice test without studying, review the explanations for the wrong answers, and take another practice test. You should repeat this process until you receive a perfect score on a practice test.
The One Ford test is a psychological test, which is challenging to prepare for as it is testing your psychology rather than your knowledge. However, you should read and understand Ford’s “One Ford” corporate culture for an idea of the psychological profile they are looking for in employees.
It is also a good idea to take practice psychological tests so you have an idea of the types of questions to expect on the test.
