Rio Tinto Tests & Hiring Process Preparation – 2024

What Is Rio Tinto?

Rio Tinto is an Australian company founded in 1873. They are a metal and mining firm headquartered in London, England. Rio Tinto has its operations in thirty-five countries on six continents. They employ almost 49,000 people that are hired for their talents in the broad categories of engineering, business, and science. The Rio Tinto disciplines can be further divided based on specialties and the needs of the company.

What Is Rio Tinto’s Hiring Process?

Rio Tinto has an extensive hiring process. They use a variety of tools to evaluate the cognitive, social and emotional traits of each candidate. There is a total of five rounds of recruitment, each focuses on one of the aforementioned traits. Job seekers interested in Rio Tinto can expect the following interview process:

• Application
• Online Cognitive Assessments
• Video Interview
• Online Personality Assessments
• Final Interview

Rio Tinto Application Process

Rio Tinto’s application is fairly straightforward. Along with education, work experience, and other relevant information, applicants must answer a handful of pre-screening questions. These questions with be on the application form and they are usually competency-based. This means that the questions inquire about past behavior to try and predict the applicant’s future behavior. After the application form has filled out, the applicant must attach a tailored CV and cover letter. About a week or two after the application has been submitted and reviewed, candidates will be invited to take a series of online cognitive assessments.

Rio Tinto Online Cognitive Assessments

The cognitive assessments are sent to the candidate via email and must be completed within three to five days. Some tests come in a game-like format instead of a typical testing format. The results of these assessments are appraised alongside the candidate’s performance during the next stage, the video interview.

The subject matter of the assessments depends on the career path that has been chosen. The three broad categories, science, engineering and business, will take different tests with little to no overlap. Candidates may encounter one or more of the following aptitude tests:

• Numerical Reasoning
  The numerical reasoning exam is a mathematical assessment that examines the test taker’s proficiency with data and operations. A handful of questions accompany a graph or table that must be analyzed for trends and resolutions to the problems presented in the questions. The questions are multiple-choice and timed.
• Verbal Reasoning
  The verbal reasoning test presents a series of brief passages. These passages discuss completely random topics, some are relevant to the job and others are not. Generally, prior knowledge of the topics described in the paragraphs is not necessary. This is done to emphasis how the test taker works with novel information. There are a handful of questions per passage, each of the multiple-choice and timed. The results of this assessment inform Rio Tinto of the candidate’s reading comprehension and grammar skills.
• Pipefitter
  The pipefitter test was tailored to the engineering side of Rio Tinto. This assessment resembles a short computer game and takes about twenty-five minutes to complete. There are four sections: reading comprehension, principles of mechanics, spatial reasoning, and mathematical reasoning. The diagrams and images will represent certain principles or depict problems that must be solved by altering parts of the image.

Video Interview

The video interview is self-recorded. This means that this is not a live interview. The instructions are sent briefly beforehand, and the questions pop up on the screen during the interview. The video interview takes about twenty minutes and the majority of the questions are competency-based. There are, however, a handful of job-specific questions.

After the video interview, the candidate’s performance during both the interview and the assessments are reviewed concurrently. If Rio Tinto is impressed by the results, the candidate will move forward to the fourth stage of the interview process.

Online Personality Assessments

The online personality assessments measure particular traits to see if the candidate is a good fit behavior-wise for the role. These traits are outlined in advance by Rio Tinto. The personality tests typically focus on the candidate’s workplace conduct and how they work under pressure, however, some questions stray into a more general context.

The personality tests used by Rio Tinto take about an hour and a half to complete. They take a while because they are detailed and in-depth to give the company the best possible picture of the candidate’s temperament and disposition. Rio Tinto’s behavioral tests include:

• Situational Judgment Test (SJT)
  The situational judgment test is a behavioral assessment measuring the test taker’s performance in a work environment. The SJT presents hypothetical scenarios depicting a stressful situation, a conflict, or a typical workplace interaction. Following the scenario will be a response to the situation. The test taker’s job is to rate the response based on how appropriate it is given the circumstances. There are, on average, fifteen total scenarios given throughout the test.
• Personality Test
  The personality questionnaire is a simple assessment. There will be a series of statements describing an event or general likes and dislikes. The candidate must mark how strongly they agree or disagree with the statements. The personality questionnaire offers Rio Tinto with a clear picture of the candidate and their social traits, work preferences, and more.

Final Interview

Rio Tinto’s final interview is with senior members of the department. The questions range from job-specific to brain teasers to competency-based.

The final interview is held at one of Rio Tinto’s main offices and can last from one to three hours. The length of the interviews depends on what Rio Tinto feels is necessary. Candidates will be informed of their standing with the company about a week after the final interview.

How to Prepare for Rio Tinto’s Online Assessments?

Rio Tinto’s online assessments are one of the hardest parts of the entire interview process. It’s easy to make silly mistakes and get flustered under the pressure. To be as confident as possible on these tests, it’s important to prepare for the tests.

Preparing for the tests can be done in a number of ways. The most popular, and one of the most efficient, is by using online practice tests. Practice tests are a great tool because they replicate the conditions on Rio Tinto’s assessments. This allows you to get a hang of the material and time limits before the scores really matter. You will also get to see your results which loosely predict how well you will do on Riot Tinto’s online tests. Additionally, practicing with these mock tests gives you the chance to find the pace that works best for you, so you can optimize your scores.

The behavioral tests are a little harder to prepare for because there aren’t technically any right or wrong answers. Rio Tinto is, however, looking for specific answers. These answers are the ones that correlate to the company’s values and their outline of the ideal candidate. By aligning your answers to the role description on the job posting and the company’s values, you are making yourself Rio Tinto’s best choice. Rio Tinto’s values are:

• Safety
• Teamwork
• Respect
• Integrity
• Excellence

Conclusion

Devoting enough time toward preparing for Rio Tinto’s interview process is one of the most important steps you can take. They are looking for someone who is confident, well-prepared, and eager to learn. Best of luck!