Tests for copy editor candidates

Roxy · **Posted:** Mon Apr 16, 2007 10:25 pm

Hi everyone. I'm a new night editor who needs to do some hiring. Which types of tests do you find most useful in determining how suitable a candidate is for the job? I won't be testing any design, this is strictly a copy editing position. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

cobra_kai · **Posted:** Mon Apr 16, 2007 10:55 pm

Welcome...
For basic purposes, the Detroit Free Press jobs page has a decent test from the Dow Jones Newspaper Fund. It's a bit dated, but still useful.

Bumfketeer · **Posted:** Mon Apr 16, 2007 11:19 pm

I have a few particularly bad pieces of local copy saved in a file and I give it to job candidates to see what they do with it.

Wabberjocky · **Posted:** Tue Apr 17, 2007 12:26 am

I think you should add a page of local/state material to any standard test you give.

For instance, any candidate serious enough about the job to get to the test-taking point should know who Pennsylvania's governor and two senators are. They should be able to name, say, the five most populous cities in the state. They should be able to identify some top historical figures from the area. They should know some things unique to Pennsylvania law â€” say, the legal drinking age, whether there's a death penalty (and allowable means of execution), etc. They should probably know some college and professional sports basics, too.

If you think it's reasonable to presume that a serious candidate has read your paper online, you might even ask about your mayor, your city's form of government, top employers/industries, any major local public figures, etc.

That's all just off the top of my head ... but I hope you take my point.

Bumfketeer · **Posted:** Tue Apr 17, 2007 12:39 am

Re the local copy I have saved: I make sure there are a few obvious holes in it. If the candidate turns it back basically spell-checked, I consider it an automatic rejection. I want copy editors here, not proofreaders.

jjmoney62 · **Posted:** Tue Apr 17, 2007 1:21 am

I'll enthusiastically second Wabberjocky. Current events and name recognition are important. Often it's what separates one person from a pack of mostly competent editors.

I wouldn't place quite as much emphasis on knowing the area inside out, because what a candidate doesn't soak up in advance can be learned pretty quickly upon arrival. I'm glad I wasn't expected to be an expert on New Mexico before I got here, though it certainly would have helped.

onceahack · **Posted:** Tue Apr 17, 2007 10:58 am

I always try to work an internal contradiction into the test's copy---something that should be obvious to any careful reader. The recent story about a Supreme Court case that started out talking about a unanimous decision and then explained the rationale used by the four dissenters would be a good example.

lfelaco · **Posted:** Tue Apr 17, 2007 11:09 am

I've always developed my own tests rather than using standardized ones, using actual copy so it gives the candidates a sense of what they will actually be expected to work with on the job. Last time, I asked one of the reporters for a draft of a story that'd been spiked before being edited, figuring that'd have the most mistakes, only to find I had to create errors in it to make it a worthwhile test (I'll leave it to the rest of you to decide what that says about story editors...). Particular errors that I find tend to trip people up: failing to ID a person on first ref, esp. if they have a common name that doesn't get spit out by the spellcheck (Rice, Brown, etc.); words w/similar spellings (loath/loathe, e.g.); introducing an acronym and later reverting to the full name. I'd also put in some AP style errors, to see how much they know of AP style.

cobra_kai · **Posted:** Tue Apr 17, 2007 11:18 am

One useful idea I've picked up is including a story in the test that is 100 percent clean. It can give you an idea if they have the tendency to over-edit or maybe introduce errors into copy.

lfelaco · **Posted:** Tue Apr 17, 2007 11:24 am

Good point; in my scoring I do take points off for unnecessary edits.

Roxy · **Posted:** Tue Apr 17, 2007 11:37 pm

Thanks, all your input has been very valuable.

Dapper Dan · **Joined:** Fri Dec 12, 2003 1:01 am **Posts:** 273

If you're going to have a "current events" section on the test, be sure to update it regularly. For example, the Dow Jones test includes, "Among other notables who died in 1997 were Britain's ......................, who died in a car crash in Paris, Nobel Peace Prize winner ......................., who was noted for her work among the poor, and actor ......................, 89, whose portrayal of small-town Americans made him a national icon."

Such a question is unfair to a 22-year-old candidate, who was 12 years old in 1997.

If you can't update the test regularly, I suggest quizzes like, "Name 10 current U.S. senators, giving their political parties and the states they represent." The answers will change, but the questions will remain valid indefinitely.

G-Fin · **Posted:** Thu Apr 26, 2007 6:16 pm

More-recent Dow Jones tests (left side of page)

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