In order to determine which type of skill assessment test to administer, you need to first set your job requirements. These will help you figure out which skills are absolutely crucial to the role and which you can evaluate during the hiring process. Your job requirements are dependent on your candidate persona, so figure out who it is that you’re looking for, as well as the qualities and skills they possess.
Once you understand the skills
and qualities needed to succeed in the role, you can determine which types of employment screening tests you will use.
Hard Skills Tests
Alternatively, hard skills are specific to certain roles or departments. For example, a software engineer needs to have strong programming skills, while an account executive would need the ability to sell successfully. In short, hard skill tests help employers determine if candidates are capable of doing the job they’re applying for.
Emotional
Intelligence Tests
An emotional intelligence test measures a candidate's ability to interpret their own emotions and the emotions of others. It's a basic skill for workplace survival, but a vital skill for roles such as sales or customer success.
Integrity Tests
Integrity tests help employers weed out dishonest, unreliable and/or unethical candidates by revealing character downfalls. For example, while you might be able to surmise that someone who lists fluency in a foreign language on their resume is inaccurate — if they can't carry out a conversation in that tongue — an integrity test can pinpoint this and other concerning qualities about the applicant.
When dealing with these types of questions, being subtle is key. By asking, “Have you ever published unoriginal work?” it’s less obvious to the candidate what you’re trying to get at, and he may feel uncomfortable changing his answer.
Personality Tests
Personality tests are behavioral assessments that evaluate a job candidate’s disposition, suitability for specific roles, and fit with your company culture. Make sure you hire people who reflect your company culture; hiring people who are similar to your current employees isn’t as useful as hiring people who add diversity to the workplace.
These personality tests can help you better understand your job candidates by delineating various personality traits such as introversion and extraversion or creativity and logic.
Culture Fit Tests
Hiring exclusively for culture fit is a self-limiting recruitment strategy that will lead to an office of clones. Ultimately, this can create a toxic company culture. However, you still want to hire people that are similar to you and believe in your mission statement. A personality fit assessment allows you to determine whether or not a candidate possesses the specific attitudes and beliefs that will enable them to be a productive member of your team and office.
Physical Ability
Tests
While physical ability tests are straightforward and can help you assess candidates' physical capabilities for a role that requires manual labor or is physically demanding, make sure to avoid discrimination by asking for personal information that could be in violation of EEO regulations.
Language Tests
To select the best candidates for multilingual positions, give them tests that evaluate their language skills. Consider administering both written and oral exams to determine if they have any limitations. You can also conduct interviews in different languages to assess their speaking skills.
Drug Tests
Drug tests are often administered once a candidate has accepted an offer, or to a few select individuals: new hires, CEOs and high-level executives. Before administering a drug test, employers should be aware of state laws concerning the issue—some states require that drug tests only be performed after an individual has been given notice of the test.
Where Can We Get Pre-Employment
Testing Done?
For the best candidates for your
open positions, PCP Works can help. PCP Works provides a variety of
pre-employment testing services, including aptitude testing, personality
testing, and skills testing. They can tailor their pre-employment testing
services to the specific needs of your company. Contact PCP Works today to learn more about how can they help
you to find the best candidates for your open positions.
