5 Platforms That Help You Assess Candidates' Skills - Glassdoor for Employers

5 Platforms That Help You Assess Candidates' Skills

Few things are more frustrating for recruiters than discovering late in the interview process that the candidate they thought was a superstar has been exaggerating their skills. Not only do you lose out on that candidate in particular — but you also have wasted valuable time that could have been spent cultivating other candidates. But it’s not always easy for recruiters to truly assess how skilled candidates are — often, recruiters hire for positions that they aren’t intimately familiar with, so they have to take candidates more or less at face value.

The solution? Assessments. In the past 10 years or so, there has been an explosion of platforms designed to measure candidates’ skills. Many companies incorporate these early in the interview process so that they can be confident in a candidate’s abilities before they even speak to the hiring manager. Read on for a handful of the different options you might want to consider!

HackerRank

HackerRank is among the most well-known platforms used to evaluate programming skills, largely due to its existing popularity among developers — through their programming challenges and technical interview practice options, the company has already attracted over five million developers to their platform. Employers using HackerRank have the option to choose from pre-populated challenges or customize their own, and can seamlessly integrate HackerRank into their applicant tracking system (ATS). With the ability to view instant results and automate reviews, HackerRank is a great way to identify quality candidates and streamline your hiring process.

[Related: How to Compete With Silicon Valley for Tech Talent]

The Predictive Index

Although possessing relevant hard skills is essential to succeeding in a job, it’s important to remember that soft skills play a critical role as well. In fact, it’s often easier to teach hard skills, like how to use Salesforce, than soft skills like communication, adaptability and a positive attitude. But how do you evaluate soft skills beyond what you can see during an interview? That’s where The Predictive Index comes in. The platform uses assessments to identify whether candidates are a “behavioral and cognitive fit” with your organization, and can later be used to onboard candidates according to their specific results. The Predictive Index can also be easily integrated into your ATS.

eSkill

Some organizations only implement skills tests for one particular department or role (commonly, engineering hires). But regardless of which field somebody is applying to, a skill assessment platform can help ensure that they have the experience and knowledge necessary to thrive. If you’re hoping to assess candidates in fields like IT, sales and HR, you may want to consider a more robust skills assessment platform such as eSkill. Boasting “over 600 standard job-based and subject-based tests” with additional customizable options, eSkill has assessment options for just about every role you can think of, and can test everything from email etiquette to financial analysis to Photoshop and more.

[Related: 7 Questions to Answer Before Hiring People with IT Skills]

The Athena Quotient

If there’s one trait that you want new hires to have, it’s good judgment, no matter if they’re an intern or an executive. Judgment is perhaps even more important than hard skills or personality, as it is often the only thing separating excellence from catastrophe. Typically complete in 30 minutes or less, the Athena Quotient tasks candidates with placing a variety of phrases in order from best to worst. Employers are then provided with detailed reports that shed light on factors such as a candidate’s ability to make decisions, deal with difficult situations and follow directions.

Traitify

Every recruiter hopes that the people they hire will be just as successful as their company's existing high performers. Traitify was designed to help companies understand which qualities lead their superstars to excel, and how candidates measure up in each of those areas. In a 90-second mobile assessment, candidates are presented with a series of words and images and asked whether or not they identify with them. Employers are provided with intel on candidates' personality traits and interests, as well as how they compare to high-performing current employees, in order to better predict their likelihood of success. As a bonus, the quick, easy-to-use and highly visual format means that candidates are more likely to complete the assessment.