MAPPED: what is it and how does it work?

Mapped is a cognitive ability test that helps you spot top-tier candidates for analytical jobs in professional services. For example, if you are hiring an analyst for a management consulting or a financial services firm, Mapped is the perfect test for your organisation, and for candidates.

Mapped tests for numerical, analytical, and problem-solving skills, and it was built from the ground up by strategy consultants and behavioural scientists to help you find the best talent and encourage diversity. 

In the following sections you will learn the following:

• Main benefits of using Mapped
• The skills you’ll test with Mapped
• The way Mapped works, including an example question
• How to request access to Mapped
• Differences between Mapped and Applied's Numerical Skills Test

Mapped's main benefits

	Manage high-volume roles efficiently: As soon as candidates complete the test, you’ll see their scores. Your effort will move away from scoring candidates to making the decision of who to shortlist.
	Find genuine analytical and commercial skills: The questions have been tested to spot the best among top-tier candidates.
	Support your diversity strategy: the test environment was designed to mitigate competitiveness and risk aversion and stereotype threat, which are known to unconsciously distort people’s performance and negatively affect diversity. Learn more
	Provide a great candidate experience: Candidates love to understand what the job they apply to entails.  They also appreciate the reciprocity of receiving feedback and scores.

Skills you'll test with Mapped:

	Basic mathematical skills: for example, percentages, calculus and orders of magnitude
	Interpreting data: understanding the story in graphs and tables.
	Analytical thinking: using available information to creatively solve problems
	Error spotting and attention to detail: Can candidates spot that extra zero or wrong calculation?

How does MAPPED work?

Candidates take the test, and the actions you can take as a job admin

Before they submit their application, candidates are asked to answer 18 multiple choice questions in 30 minutes. There are multiple variations of the questions so not all candidates answer the same test.

If a candidate requires reasonable adjustments, you can give them 25% or 40% extra time. This gives candidates the chance to perform at their best.

There is a practise test which the candidate can access more than once before taking the real test. Please note that the practise questions will remain the same no matter how often they re-take the practise test and their answers will remain populated in the answer fields, unless they are changed.

The timer to the real test can be also be re-set so that the candidate can take this again, which may help if for example they experience difficulties such as wifi/ browser issues. The timer can be re-set via the Admin candidate application summary page. Shown below.

What happens after candidates take the test

You’ll see Mapped scores on your candidate hub as soon as candidates complete the test,  so you can easily decide who to shortlist.

As a candidate experience booster, candidates can also see their total test score on the personalised feedback link that you can share with them. 

 

How to request access to Mapped?

• First, check with your customer success manager if Mapped is part of your subscription and the number of credits you have available.
• Go to the role for which you want Mapped to be added, then go to the assessment options section under the role builder, and request access to Mapped. 
• Once you request Mapped, someone in our support team will enable it and confirm this action with you. You can also verify that Mapped has been added to your role by going back to the assessments section. There will be an ‘added’ icon.
• That’s all, you’re ready to launch your role with Mapped.

Differences between Mapped and Applied's Numerical Skills Test

Both Mapped and the Numerical Skills Test (NST) are ready-to-use tests that Applied has designed so you can spot top talent and manage high-volume roles easily. The table below contrasts both tests so you can better decide which test to go for. 

	Mapped	Numerical Skills Test
Who can find this test valuable?	Mainly professional services firms. For example, management consulting and financial services. ‘Top tier’ candidates (higher level of difficulty)	Broader market/customers that hire analytical roles Less difficult than Mapped.
Skills	Basic mathematical skills, interpreting data, analytical thinking and problem solving, error spotting, and attention to detail.	Numerical computation, numerical estimation, numerical reasoning, data interpretation.
Questions and time	18 multiple choice questions with multiple variations each assigned randomly to candidates when they start the application	20 multiple-choice questions, with no variations
Time	30 minutes (for reasonable adjustments, admins can increase 25% and 40% of time)
Test environment for candidates	Both tests are set up in an environment that is designed to mitigate competitiveness and risk aversion and stereotype threat, which are known to unconsciously distort people’s performance and negatively affect diversity. Mapped has some extra videos specific to consulting/finance that appeal to the value of showing a diverse group of people working in the industry.
Test scores on candidate management	They’re both displayed as a column in the candidate management hub. The only difference is that Mapped scores are colour coded (green, yellow, red). The Numerical Skills Test doesn’t have this colour coding yet.
Candidate feedback link	Candidates can see test score on their feedback link in a similar way: a total score x/y.