About the job

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Operator - Power Plant

Control, operate, or maintain machinery to generate electric power. Includes auxiliary equipment operators.

Top activities and tasks for this job:

• Adjust controls to generate specified electrical power or to regulate the flow of power between generating stations and substations.
• Monitor power plant equipment and indicators to detect evidence of operating problems.
• Control generator output to match the phase, frequency, or voltage of electricity supplied to panels.
• Control or maintain auxiliary equipment, such as pumps, fans, compressors, condensers, feedwater heaters, filters, or chlorinators, to supply water, fuel, lubricants, air, or auxiliary power.
• Control power generating equipment, including boilers, turbines, generators, or reactors, using control boards or semi-automatic equipment.
• Operate, control, or monitor equipment, such as acid or gas carbon dioxide removal units, carbon dioxide compressors, or pipelines, to capture, store, or transport carbon dioxide exhaust.
• Controlling Machines and Processes - control operation of compressors
• Start or stop generators, auxiliary pumping equipment, turbines, or other power plant equipment as necessary.

The HR Avatar Operator - Power Plant Pre-Employment Assessment was designed to help you hire staff in this role. The test provides a whole-person evaluation by measuring job-relevant cognitive ability, personality, knowledge, skills, and relevant behavioral history. Each component provides important data for hiring decisions. Cognitive ability has been linked to overall job performance in most jobs and correlates with a candidate's ability to learn new skills and to solve complex problems. Personality characteristics determine how well the candidate will fit-in with a corporate culture. Knowledge and skills indicate how much training will be needed before a new employee becomes productive. Finally, relevant behavioral history detects counter-productive behaviors that can impact job performance.

The Operator - Power Plant test includes an animated work simulation in which candidates meet customers, colleagues and supervisors in a job-related context. Post-test surveys indicate the majority of candidates react favorably to these simulations. This test also contains an automatically-scored essay component. Writing is a key skill for many jobs and also demonstrates the ability to generate, organize, and communicate relevant ideas effectively.

The specific attributes measured include:

Following completion, the test produces a Candidate Selection Report that includes an overall score and detailed scores for each attribute. The overall score weighs each of the factors based on research and analysis from the U.S. Government's Occupational Information Network (O*Net). O*Net represents over a decade of dedicated research evaluating the relative importance of various factors that lead to success in almost 1,000 different job roles.

The Candidate Selection Report also provides expert interview questions that help you probe critical or low-scoring areas, along with a guide for noting your evaluation of the candidate's responses. Consistent use of an interview guide is an important part of gaining better candidate insights and making better hiring decisions.