5 Most Common Pre-Employment Tests To Administer

Common pre-employment tests are administered by many businesses as part of their ongoing hiring processes. They are used to ensure that applicants are held to a higher standard than the average candidate. However, there are many types of pre-employment tests available to employers. Each test highlights a different aspect of a candidate’s abilities. As an HR professional, you should understand the various types of pre-employment tests that you can use. Here are the most common pre-employment test types to administer.

Knowledge Based Tests

The first common pre-employment test will measure a candidate’s knowledge of the job. It’s important to gauge how well your applicant understands the role they will potentially be performing. This is because they may end up damaging your company’s profits or reputation (or both) if they lack adequate knowledge of their position. Alternatively, knowledgable employees can help you ensure strong branding for long-term success. When administering a test for job knowledge, take your examinee’s learning ability into account. Although they might not know much about the job, they may be able to pick it up quickly. Remember that this type of pre-employment test does not indicate an examinee’s performance once trained.

Skills Assessment

Another common pre-employment test administered by many businesses is a skills assessment. There are a lot of cost-effective formats of these readily available. This will save you time and effort in their administration. Tests of this variety will be particular to the skills being tested. For example, a data-entry applicant may be tested on their typing speed and ability. Alternatively, an engineering position may require complex math and physics equations to be solved by applicants. Research on the subject suggests that testing the skills required may be one of the best indicators of job performance. However, skills are not the only thing to focus on when testing job applicants.

Personality Tests

A third common pre-employment test used by companies everywhere is a personality test. There are a couple of different types, such as the big five model and motivation tests. All of them are used to assess the degree of desirable traits or challenges in an applicant. They can also be used to predict the chances of a candidate engaging in certain conduct. These pre-employment tests are great for positions requiring a lot of social interaction, such as sales or social media customer service. However, there are more aspects of an applicant to examine than solely their personality.

Cognitive Ability Tests

The fourth common pre-employment test administered by hiring businesses is a cognitive ability test. When administering one, cognitive test content must stay relevant to the position. Studies suggesting that cognitive ability tests can have racial and ethnic biases. Therefore, keeping the content relative to the job will protect you and your company from discrimination litigation. These tests are better indicators of job performance than interviews and past experience. As a result, using the data as a general guide will help you select the best candidates. Finally, you may want to combine a cognitive test with other evaluation methods. Diversifying your testing areas with pre-employment cognitive tests will help find the best candidates.

Physical Assessments

A final common pre-employment test that many businesses administer measures physical abilities. While the need for this type of test is dependent on the position, remember that many do have physical requirements that can’t be neglected. When administering, address the ever-present safety concerns and take steps to mitigate them. Also, you’ll want to make allowances for differences in applicants’ age, gender, and ethnicity. You can rely on this type of test to give you accurate results. Applicants can’t fake physical strength and prowess that easily. You may not need one, but physical ability tests are incredible indicators when done correctly.

Many businesses use the myriad of pre-employment tests available to them. A primary test examines the general knowledge that an applicant has about the position. Another type tests the actual skills that are required of the position. Employee personality tests for hiring are also a great way to examine whether they’d be a good fit. Cognitive ability tests also works to determine applicants’ performance. Finally, examining the physical abilities of candidates, if required, can give you useful data on their disposition to the job. Administer these most common pre-employment tests while trying to find the best talent available.