Nielsen Analytical Assessment test

Hello. I have passed the phone interview for Nielsen Analytical Consulting and BASES, but I am now going to take the analytic assessment. Does anyone know what kinds of questions are asked on this test? Does being invited to take the test indicate that I am on my way to being hired? Thanks

Hi-
I have to take the test this week. I only know that it is step 2 in the process. I have not had any interviews other than the phone interview. The HR manager indicated that the test was 10 questions and 90 minutes long. I am to show up with a calculator.

Did anyone send you any other feedback that may be helpful to me?

Hi Dionne ,did you pass the test you already had with Nielsen,I am about to have it next week,and I'd like to learn about your experience,it was difficult? what kind of questions did you have? thanks for sharing this with me.

Truly.

ALVARO AGUIRRE

No, I did not do well at all. I am a brand marketer, but I have had a research job that required some some number crunching, but the test let me know that the job was not for me.

Hi,

I know this post was started two months ago, but I am taking the Nielsen test this upcoming Monday. Does anyone have any feedback?

What kind of questions are on it? Is the math hard? Is it stats , algebra, calc?

Any help would be much appreciated!!

jalpabhav in Iselin, New Jersey said: Hi,

Hey, I'm a native Jersey Girl! Did you ever take the test? I have to take it Monday and so far I cannot find anyone that knows anything about it.

jalpabhav in Iselin, New Jersey said: Hi. Yes I did. The test isnt bad at all. Just your usual math questions. Good luck! I got the job =)

Hi, I am also taking the assessment test. When you say math questions, do you mean GMAT & Stats questions? Because that's how I'm trying to prepare for it. Am I on the right track?

Thanks

Hi,

I am Rishi Kudale, just clered 1st round of selection for BASES. i.e. Aptitude test. There were stat, Case study prstn, English questions. Now i have been called for 3 or 4 rounds of interviews. Pls do let me know what all type of questions will be ther for interview.
Wish all of you all the success.
Thanks & regards.

Rishi k in Pune, India said: Hi,

I am Rishi Kudale, just clered 1st round of selection for BASES. i.e. Aptitude test. There were stat, Case study prstn, English questions. Now i have been called for 3 or 4 rounds of interviews. Pls do let me know what all type of questions will be ther for interview.
Wish all of you all the success.
Thanks & regards.

Hey Rishi,

I am taking the Nielsen test next week. I would like to know the kinda questions that I can posibly expect in stats and math. How do you rate the test? Was it pretty tough? Would appreciate your prompt response.

I'm taking the Nielsen Analytical Assessment test tomorrow, has anyone taken the exam and can elaborate. How difficult would you say are the questions. Thanks!

EAT120 in Boston, Massachusetts said: I'm taking the Nielsen Analytical Assessment test tomorrow, has anyone taken the exam and can elaborate. How difficult would you say are the questions. Thanks!

EAT120: What was the test like? What type of math questions where there? Easy or hard?

samga in New York, New York said: EAT120: What was the test like? What type of math questions where there? Easy or hard?

i took the test a few months ago. i thought it was pretty hard, since you sort of go into it blind. i didn't finish. anyone else not finish?

can someone pls elaborate on what type of questions/case studies are there in the analytic assessment.
pls give topics of math questions and case studies..Im going in to give the test tomorrow..so a prompt response will be appreciated

The topics on the analytical assessment are fairly simple. It is fairly standard math word problems where you have to calculate break-even points, determine how long it will take to recoup investments and working with basic level statistics (mean, median etc.) In addition to the math portion there is a written portion where you have to compose two documents to show your ability write and make a persausive point.

I honestly found it fairly easy and only got two questions wrong out of 17 (I think). I knew which two questions I got wrong on the test -- first one was because I couldn't remember the right formula and second because the question was completely unclear to me. Supposedly it only has a 20-25% pass rate which I found shocking because I passed with relative ease in my book.

Not sure if everyone is given the same test but that was the test I took in the NYC office in December.

hi samga,

thnx for the response.. could u tell me if its ok to prepare GRE or GMAT level word math problems? what were the topics covered in the case studies?

n yes, did u get the job?

The questions are GRE level questions. Written Q1 focused on a company launching a new product and you had to assess the products success based on the description provide and provide a "Go, No Go" analysis. Written Q2 focused on survey design issues and what type of question could/should be asked in a follo-up survey to get better information. Not sure if the test is designed for specific positions in Nielsen so it may be different depending on what you are applying for.

I am going to take an assessment test for Nielsen that includes objects that are broken down into various parts and you have to select the one that the object would look like onece assembled. Does anyone know or have any suggestions on this assessment test for or overall for the field representative test?

I had one interview with Nielsen about 1 1/2 years ago, with no mention of an analytical assessment. I did not get the job. I continued to pursue Nielsen positions for awhile. The internal recruiter said all new hires HAD to take an analytical assessment before even being considered. She claimed that all hires, whether for VP, entry level, or mid management had to take the same test.
When I arrived to take the test (with my calculator and pencil) I was shown to a room and given one hour to complete the most difficult "math" test I have ever had. There were questions that involved probability, venn diagrams, roi, and other topics that integrated knowledge across multiple disciplines. I was primarily a wiz in math, but I don't think I got ANY of these problems correct. I have worked closely with Nielsen reps in a former job, and believe me, they could have NEVER passed this test!
This was an extremely upsetting situation, and I actually thought I was "set up" to fail.
Since then, my good friend who is a VP at Nielsen (for nearly 30 years) has told me the company is greedy, and does not reward their employees with merit increases or bonuses, even though they are making lots of money!

I was called by Nielson for a phone interview, but i have read so much here and els where. How can all this be worth only $35,000 a year ???

Can someone elaborate the topics (Maths/Stats etc) covered in Nielsen assessment test. Thanks!

Hi Samga,

Could you please tell more about the math/stat part of the test.
Like how many questions and the topics covered.

Thanks in advance.

samga in Newark, New Jersey said: The questions are GRE level questions. Written Q1 focused on a company launching a new product and you had to assess the products success based on the description provide and provide a "Go, No Go" analysis. Written Q2 focused on survey design issues and what type of question could/should be asked in a follo-up survey to get better information. Not sure if the test is designed for specific positions in Nielsen so it may be different depending on what you are applying for.

shals in Charlotte, North Carolina said: Hi Samga,

Could you please tell more about the math/stat part of the test.
Like how many questions and the topics covered.

Thanks in advance.

Hey all -

I just took the Nielsen exam in San Francisco for a director's position. The test is 10 quantitative business-related word problems on a par with what you'd see in the GMATs and 2 essay questions. The test is designed to test mostly your logical abilities, i.e. no need for a fancy calculator. But I understand that 75% fail the dang thing. Even if you are cruising it can be tough to finish in 90 minutes. No real need to "study" stuff - you just need the ability to think with numbers and answer business questions.

I take the assessment tomorrow morning, and I'm dreading it because I hate assessments! I pray that I do well! I will try to remember to report back and let you all know how it went!

I agree with JohnDoe on the test. Unfortunately, I agree with Alvaro Aguirre too; this test puts you under tremendous stress even if you study well. I have the feeling they left the test for last to find a reason to reject me as I have the experience for the job I applied. After an exhausting interview process with calls, meetings and follow-up calls, I realized they were looking for a way to say no to me and that's why they left the test for last. They knew 75% of the people fail the test. Read all postings on the Nielsen companies by employees and people who have interviewed with them before going any further. Good luck!!!

Miss Tee in Spring, Texas said: I take the assessment tomorrow morning, and I'm dreading it because I hate assessments! I pray that I do well! I will try to remember to report back and let you all know how it went!

I took the test Tuesday morning of this week,as I had applied and was interviewng for an Associate Client Manager position, and I didn't do too well! Now for someone who is naturally a math whiz, the assessment may be a piece of cake to you! But for me, Im the type that needs time to figure things out in order to do well, and with this test being 90 minutes, I felt rushed to get finished! I did pretty good on the two case studies. Just to help others out in the future, the first case study is about a Soap Company coming out with a new product and your job is to write a letter to the president giving your hypothesis and telling the strenghts and weaknesses of the product using the data you are given. The second case study shows you a chart of results where a company did an advertisement in a magazine and they surveyed some families to see if the ad was effective. In the end, you have to answer 3 questions. I think one of them was what would you have done different? Was the ad campaign effective? And I forgot the last one! So I hope this helps someone out! As far as the math part, its a lot of probability & analytical stuff. 2 of the math problems have 3 part answers. So yeah, this assessment is no easy-breezy type of thing.

I've already heard back from the lady I interviewed with by phone, and I did not get chosen to move on in the process. However, this did not surprise me because I know I didn't do outstanding on the assessment. I am and thought that I was very qualified for the position, but after going through the process, I found that the position was a more analytical type position, and clearly that's NOT the type of job that I want and/or thought I was applying for! So Im okay with their decision!

I will say this, If you ar

I took the test earlier this year, and it was the same format has mentioned. I wouldn't say it was easy, but I managed to score well enough (I think the min you have to get is 6/10, though I was never told my exact score) to move on. After going in for interviews with 4 people that lasted several hours (this being the 3rd round after the phone interview and test), I never heard back from them. I learned of the status of my application by logging into my account on their career website a few weeks later saying they had "decided to move on with other candidates." I thought it was very unprofessional and rude, the least they could've done was send an e-mail.

paper based with calculator provided.

@John I honestly can't remember the specifics of the math portion, I just know it was very dreadful! LOL! But like I stated in my post above, if you're good in math and have great, quick-response analytical skills, then you will probably do well! Me, that's just not my cup of tea! To answer your second question about the charts, the info on the charts is very clear & simple. Its just going to show you how many people read that magazine and saw the ad vs. how many people who didn't read the magazine. From there it will show the number of people that actually bought the product. So its easy, nothing difficult. I can at least say, I did well on the case studies and thought they were fairly simple. And also, the test is paper based. They will provide you with an answer sheet, scratch paper, and a calculator along with pencils. And by the way...this is not a multiple choice test...you have to write the answers in yourself! Hope this helps you out some! Be sure to let us know how your experience went! Good Luck!

Read what their own employees say about Nielsen numbers. Search indeed.com forums for "What's the company culture at Nielsen Media Research?" and "Nielsen Media Research Salaries, Bonuses and Benefits"

Also, do a google search on "Change the Sample", "Don't Count Us Out" or about Latino and AA organizations against Nielsen. You will find plenty of articles:

artistandidea.com/tlm/?p=28
helpchangetv.com/
changethesample.net/change-the-sample-robert.html

Pretty interesting for a company that hires people based on their analytical skills.

The probability question is something like this:'
You take a test, and 60% pass the first time and 40% fail.
The second time around,80% pass the test and 20% fail.
The third time, 90% pass and 10% fail.
What is the probablilty that you pass on the 2nd time?
What is the probability that you pass on the 3rd time?
What is the probablity you fail?
Like this Nielsen assessment test, the probability that you fail, after 3 attempts, may be high!

And don't expect a call from them if you don't do well....

I completely disagree with John Doe from New York...perhaps he is a Nielsen employee incognito(I don't see his post here but I got it on my email feed)....John Doe stated that the people he met at Nielsen were really sharp and worthy of such high esteem, and he felt the test was easy. I worked with people from Nielsen who I know could never do this test. I have worked with Nielsen and IRI data in my previous job, and I can tell you, you don't need math skills like this. It is cricital to be analytical, but in my opinion, this test is more of a way to separate the cream from the crop!

@John, incorrect. I recommend this article: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conditional_probability

Don't sweat it. None of the questions require anything more than basic math. Enough of the questions have been divulged on this forum that you have a major advantage. The writing sample is EASY. The product idea you're asked to evaluate has major flaws. The case study is not too bad either. Basically you're measuring the effectiveness of a magazine ad in terms of how much (if any) effect it has on influencing people to buy product. The hint I'll offer is consider how much "incremental lift" the ad has.

@Abraham, the technical aptitude of the employees completely depends on which Nielsen company you're dealing with. There are different score thresholds depending on what position you're applying for and what client you'll be working with. Analytic Consulting jobs require 8 of 10 or better for any client team.

The third part of the conditional probability question is more like "what's the probability of passing on the second or third time" which is a bit more complex.

Here is one more example question:
A company sells widgets for $15 each and can produce 3,000 per year; $5 of the product price is profit. The company is considering buying a new piece of equipment that will cost $100,000. The new machine will increase production to 5,000 units per year. How many years will it take the company to completely pay for the machine with it's profit.

In the subsequent interviews be prepared to talk about:
-client management skills
-project management
-a time when you had to present unfavorable results
-an estimation exercise such as "how would you calculate the number of man hole covers in North America?"
-an analytic or modeling project you worked on
-why do you want to work for Nielsen ad why are you a good fit?

John in Los Angeles, California said: one question guys: in this forum they somebody talked about there being a question with Venn diagrams...is it true, or it's just overlapping set matrix? If there is a Venn diagram it's a two group or a three group diagram? is there a sample question? thank you!

Yes, there is a venn diagram question. It's not presented as such but you're expected to recognize it. It's a 2 set problem and it's one of the 2 or 3 'gimme' questions.

Something like:
10 people total
6 like the color red
7 like the color blue

There are only a coupl logical questions that can be asked about this simplistic of a setup.

Good luck.

That question has to do with people reading the paper, although I can't quite remember the exact question. Perhaps someone else can chime in.
It states something like: in a certain town of 300, 40% of the people read the morning paper, and 30% read the evening paper. THere must be some other clues, because from there you need to calculate how many people don't read either paper, adn possibly some other questions.
And from there on, I can't remember the question, but perhaps someone else can now...

And, don't forget about the salt on the pretzels question.
Be sure you know how to calculate profit (i.e., sales price - cost).
The question sets up how much it costs to make salty pretzels and then states that people would like more salt, which would cost x amount.
You have to calculate how many additional pretzels need to be sold to cover the cost of adding the extra expense of adding salt.

I am not surprised by some of the postings I read here. I don’t agree the test is just basic math as these are GMAT questions. I agree in that the test is to separates the cream from the crap with their own twisted version of what cream and crap are. It doesn’t make a difference whether you do well in the test or not as long as you seem to fit in.

c30 in New York, New York said: I am not surprised by some of the postings I read here. I don’t agree the test is just basic math as these are GMAT questions. I agree in that the test is to separates the cream from the crap with their own twisted version of what cream and crap are. It doesn’t make a difference whether you do well in the test or not as long as you seem to fit in.

There isn't a single question on the test that can't be solved with some combination of addition, subtraction, multiplication or division. It is therefore, by definition, basic math. The constraints that pose a challenge are 1) time 2) translation of words into math.

The test makes a huge difference if you perform poorly. If you pass there are still additional hurdles to overcome; fitting in is one of them.

I'm gonna take the test within a week. and the question 4 all those who took the test: how did you get prepared?? any certain tips you can give?? If I prepared 4 Gmat I can make it through this test?? if not, what shall I study concerning stat. and math?? any links, sources...etc. that you recommend?? I'd appreciate being more specific. Thanks in advance for your help :)

Moonie in Kansas said: I'm gonna take the test within a week. and the question 4 all those who took the test: how did you get prepared?? any certain tips you can give?? If I prepared 4 Gmat I can make it through this test?? if not, what shall I study concerning stat. and math?? any links, sources...etc. that you recommend?? I'd appreciate being more specific. Thanks in advance for your help :)

Just read the thread. Almost all the questions have been divulged. Practice business math word problems.

GMAT book (for math) is good.
Don't waste time on the geometry....
make sure you know your basic accounting/econ theorem: profit=selling price-cost.

Hello guys!

first thanks for all the informations you have share on this forum, I found it really helpful.
But I was wondering I someone can tell me more about the case study. someone have more example of topic they had? I will pass my test next week and I can't stop panic!
and about the analytical part, it's multiple choice questions right? but people are saying GMAT and other GRE, how is right??

thanks guys!

Hey Fred,

I've just taken the exam few hours ago. What I did is that I prepared for the GMAT. So yes, go for the GMAT math preparation. Don't waste your time in Geometry and the pure Algebra stuff. Focus more on the word problems, and probabilities, they are EXTREMELY important and simple at the same time.

The analytical part is about a new product, they ask you to write your hypotheses to the president concerning the points of weakness and strength in one page. It's pretty simple, all you need is just some basic analytical skills. You don't have to be a pro. and none of the questions are multiple choice questions.

The other question is about data of a certain product which was advertised. you should say if this ad. was effective or not, What would be your recommendation to the client, and if you have any additional questions to be added to the survey, and why.

Now the test is easy if you were well prepared, the tough part is the lack of time. I feel that I can answer all the test correctly if I were given more time and got rid of that tremendous stress. In more than one problem I got to quickly guess the answer cos I got no time to accurately check them, specially if English isn't your first language. So time management is the key. If you found that a problem would take more than 5 min. skip it and return to it later if you got time, remember you got writing to do.

Now I think you nearly got the test in your hand, so no need to be stressed. And wish me luck :)

And good luck to you as well

Thanks for this insight Moonie! hope you did well but what are your fellin about it?

I really thought it was multiple choice questions. I guess it will be hard if the time is tight...

and just to be sure it's only problems with writing answers? so no calculation?

did you saw stuff like:
"you take a test, and 60% pass the first time and 40% fail.
The second time around,80% pass the test and 20% fail.
The third time, 90% pass and 10% fail.
What is the probablilty that you pass on the 2nd time?
What is the probability that you pass on the 3rd time?
What is the probablity you fail? "

thanks again dude!

Oh and I forgot: should I revise algebra?? i hate it but just want to be sure before waisting my time with this s***

thanks

Fred in Geneva, Switzerland said: Oh and I forgot: should I revise algebra?? i hate it but just want to be sure before waisting my time with this s***

Hi Fred..i m going to pass the exam in Geneva, could you please tell me what was the test about? and how was your experience, thanks a lot!

I say don’t waste your time with this company

RuinFlag in Tempe, Arizona said: I say don’t waste your time with this company

I took the test two days and received feedback within a few hours. "Passed with flying colors". The test isn't too difficult at all, just make sure you read the questions carefully as there is usually important info in every sentence. Most of what I've seen on this forum is still in the test. Know break-even analysis, conditional probability, business math.

The assessment test is for all positions including TV Ratings Membership Recruiter and Field Service Representative? Please answer this question.Thanks