Pre-Employment Assessment: A Comprehensive Guide

As you wade through an ocean of applications, you’ll inevitably stumble upon self-proclaimed “detail-oriented perfectionists,” “proactive team players,” and a cast of other resume clichés. It’s the same old script on repeat, and you can’t help but wonder if it’s time to retire resumes altogether. Let’s face it: there are more effective talent assessment methods to sieve through the claims and find real talent.

Enter pre-employment assessment methods — a more insightful, data-driven approach that delves into skills, behaviors and problem-solving abilities.

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Roadmap

• What Are Pre-Employment Assessments?
• Types
• Using Pre-Employment Assessment Tests
• The Wrap-Up

What Are Pre-Employment Assessments?

Pre-employment assessments are a pre-hire screening method to evaluate candidates’ skills, abilities, personality traits and overall suitability for a particular role before making a hiring decision. These standardized assessments measure cognitive abilities, technical skills, personality traits, emotional intelligence, and behavioral competencies to determine overall fit and compatibility. Assessment results help hiring managers make informed decisions, reduce hiring bias and identify best-fit candidates for the organization and the position.

Types

In the relentless job market, where competition is the name of the game, 70% of talent surveyed in Criteria’s latest report see pre-employment assessments as their chance to showcase skills that resumes can’t quite capture.

Pre-employment tests come in all shapes and sizes, and while it’s not a one-size-fits-all approach, nailing the combo is the way to go. Below, we’ll spotlight popular assessment types. The following are the most common pre-employment testing types:

1. Cognitive Ability Tests

Hiring criteria vary from role to role. Certain positions need someone with sharp thinking skills, while some roles call for people who are quick on their feet. So, how do you measure these qualities? Cognitive ability tests assess an individual’s general intelligence, problem-solving skills and learning ability.

Popular frameworks include:

• Wonderlic Personnel Test
• Criteria Cognitive Aptitude Test (CCAT)
• Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal

Benefits

• Provides an objective scale measuring candidates’ cognitive capabilities.
• Predicts future job performance, especially for complex roles.
• Pinpoints candidates with strong analytical and problem-solving skills.

Limitations

• Not suitable for measuring specific or niche job-related skills.
• Potential for cultural or language bias.
• Might not account for emotional intelligence or practical problem-solving.

When to Use

Ideal for roles that require quick thinking, problem-solving, and the ability to learn on the fly. Think of it as the mental obstacle course for positions where agility and sharpness are key.

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2. Personality Assessments

AI and new-age technology are making heads turn. However, according to the World Economic Forum, human skills are irreplaceable, and as AI functions evolve, jobs requiring creativity, collaboration and empathy continue to thrive.

Personality assessments evaluate these qualities, determining what candidates are like to work with and how their existing traits match with the role. For example, traits like creative thinking, adaptability and collaboration are vital for a marketing executive role. On the other hand, HR personnel must be empathetic, communicative and skilled in conflict resolution.

Popular personality assessment frameworks include:

• Big Five Personality Test – Evaluates candidates based on openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism, providing insights into their interpersonal dynamics.
• Hogan Assessments – Assesses personality characteristics, values and potential derailers to predict workplace performance.
• DiSC assessment – Categorizes individuals into four primary personality traits: Dominance, influence, steadiness, and conscientiousness, helping employers understand communication styles, work preferences and future value to the team and organization.

Benefits

• Provides insights into a candidate’s work style and interpersonal skills.
• Useful for team building and understanding team dynamics.
• Aids in predicting cultural fit within an organization.

Limitations

• Self-reporting bias influences results.
• Traits measured aren’t always directly related to job performance.
• Ethical concerns about privacy and potential misuse.

When to Use

These assessments are ideal when hiring for roles where teamwork, communication, and adaptability are crucial.

3. Skills and Job Knowledge Tests

According to a recent TestGorilla study, 70% of companies relied on skills-based hiring methods in 2023. In the same report, 88% of respondents reduced mis-hires and 82% reduced time-to-hire. Recruiters are focusing on bringing in candidates with the right skill sets.

Skills and job knowledge tests cut through the fluff and get straight to whether a candidate has the right know-how for the job. Assess a candidate’s specific skills and job-related knowledge.

Common tests include writing ability, technical knowledge, numeracy, general job-related competencies and micro skills.

Benefits

• Directly measures job-related skills.
• Uses frameworks to evaluate candidates’ abilities and develop comprehensive profiles.
• Helps identify competent candidates.

Limitations

• Doesn’t assess soft skills or adaptability.
• May not be suitable for roles requiring on-the-job learning.
• Time-consuming to develop and administer.

When to Use

Ideal for roles where expertise is a must. Whether it’s coding, design or data analysis, this assessment method ensures candidates don’t just talk the talk but also walk the technical walk.

4. Situational Judgment Tests (SJTs)

If you want to cut through the noise and quickly determine a candidate’s ability to hit the ground running in their job, situational judgment tests (SJTs) are the way to go. They present candidates with real-life scenarios and ask, “What would you do?” to evaluate their capability to handle potential job-specific challenges and situations.

Benefits

• Mimics real-world job challenges to help evaluate applicants’ aptitude for navigating complex workplace scenarios.
• Measures problem-solving and decision-making skills.
• Identifies candidates with good judgment and situational awareness.

Limitations

• Development and validation are time-consuming.
• Doesn’t capture all possible job scenarios.
• Candidates may try guessing the “right” answers.

When to Use

STJs are useful for roles involving diverse and challenging situations, like managerial, project management and client-facing positions.

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5. Behavioral Assessments

What defines an ideal candidate? Is it someone who has the right technical skills or someone with clear potential?

In a recent report, Jackie Dube, CEO of the Predictive Index, had this to say:

If you hire smart people that are positive and curious, you can train them to do anything. If, from there, you match people’s behavioral drives to the job you ask them to do, magic will happen because they’ll have the space to think above and beyond the task.”

Evaluating how individuals approach tasks, interact with others and handle various situations helps you determine potential talent’s overall fit for the role, the team and the existing company culture. Behavioral assessments reveal how someone behaves in the workplace, how they tackle challenges and whether they’re more of a team player or a lone wolf.

Benefits

• Provides insights into a candidate’s actual behavior in a defined capacity.
• Predicts cultural fit and team collaboration.
• Evaluates talent for desired job-specific behavioral competencies and tendencies`

Limitations

• May not capture a candidate’s ability to adapt to new situations.
• Candidates can consciously or unconsciously provide responses that they believe are socially desirable or align with what they think the employer wants to hear.

When to Use

Behavioral assessments are useful hiring tools for all roles. Still, these assessments are especially valuable for positions where interpersonal skills, teamwork and cultural fit play are essential for success.

6. Integrity and Honesty Tests

While there’s no truth serum to surface candid responses during the talent selection process, integrity and honesty tests are the next best thing. This assessment gauges factors like trustworthiness, reliability and ethical conduct through structured questionnaires. Open-ended questions use scenarios and dilemmas to assess workplace ethics, decision-making and truthfulness.

Benefits

• Provides a nuanced evaluation of a candidate’s ethical character.
• Safeguards the existing workplace and workforce from disruptive hires.
• Deters dishonest candidates from applying.

Limitations

• Certain questions may inadvertently lead candidates to disclose personal information or experiences while responding to ethical scenarios, potentially raising concerns about privacy and the unintentional revelation of sensitive details.
• Doesn’t account for cultural differences, leading to potential bias against candidates from diverse backgrounds who interpret or respond to scenarios differently.

When to Use

Suitable for roles with high security and financial responsibility where trustworthiness is critical.

7. Physical Ability Tests

Physical ability tests measure a candidate’s physical fitness and ability to perform job-related tasks. This pre-employment test determines the physical prowess needed for certain roles, ensuring selected candidates have the stamina and agility to handle the job’s demanding hurdles.

Benefits

• Offers objective criteria and standardized frameworks to evaluate physical capabilities for a fair and consistent assessment.
• Promotes safer work environments by testing strength endurance and other essential capabilities needed for preventing accidents or mishaps.
• Accurately assesses physical prowess by aligning job-specific requirements with the candidates’ current capabilities.

Limitations

• May have legal implications if not directly related to job requirements.
• Potential for discrimination against individuals with disabilities.
• Limited applicability to non-physically demanding roles.

When to Use

Appropriate for roles where physical fitness is crucial, like firefighting, law enforcement and physically demanding labor positions.

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Using Pre-Employment Assessment Tests

Pre-employment assessments aren’t replacements for your existing recruiting process, they’re an addition to it. Incorporating hiring science into your trusty recruitment system is the way forward.

According to Gianluca Ferrugia, General Manager at DesignRush, pre-employment assessments are one piece of the larger recruitment puzzle. He says:

… We don’t use [pre-employment assessments] exclusively. It’s advisable to use these tests alongside various other assessment methods for a comprehensive evaluation.”

Consider the following tools:

1. Pre-Employment Assessment Tools: These assessment tools provide various pre-hire assessment types to evaluate skills, personality and expertise. Access built-in questionnaire templates to develop suitable tests and allow candidates to join testing platforms.
2. Talent Assessment Tools: Talent assessment platforms use company-specific performance standards and benchmarks to develop assessments and generate comprehensive talent profiles.
3. Behavioral Assessment Tools: Behavioral assessment tools provide built-in frameworks and assign tailored pre-determined competency ranges to evaluate desired behavioral competencies.

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The Wrap-Up

Pre-employment assessment tools take the guesswork out of the screening process. Once you know your company’s specific talent needs, you figure out which assessment type is ideal for you The next step is ensuring you have the right tools in your corner. A top-notch strategy includes a combination of the right assessments and software to facilitate talent evaluation. If you’re ready to upgrade, use our free comparison report to find out top vendors tailored to your hiring needs.

Are there any pre-hire assessments we missed? Does your candidate screening process include a combination of assessments? At which stages do you incorporate pre-hire testing? Let us know in the comments!

SME Contributor

Gianluca Ferruggia is the Founder and General Manager at DesignRush, a B2B agency connection platform, where he oversees a team of 130 and manages key business functions like staffing, strategy development and client relationship management. He graduated from the University of Brighton with a Bachelor’s in Business Management and Marketing and has over 8 years of experience in digital project management and online marketing campaigns, with a focus on product operations, content management, digital marketing, SEO, finance and sales.