4 Guidelines On Choosing The Right Candidate Assessment Tool

Adrian Dixon

August 13, 2018

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An accurate candidate assessment tool gives you an opportunity to evaluate candidates based on their skills, knowledge, ability to perform, and behavioural style.

It becomes clear then that recruiters would benefit by using a candidate assessment tool before a face-to-face interview. But with all the candidate assessments available in the market, deciding which one to use can be confusing.

Here are 4 guidelines for making an informed decision when selecting a candidate assessment tool.

1. Define your recruiting objectives

First, it’s important to understand the purpose of an assessment tool in your hiring process and your desired outcomes. Ideally, when choosing a right candidate assessment tool for your organization the objectives include:

Primary objective

  • To get quality candidates

Secondary objectives

  • To make unbiased decisions
  • To provide a great candidate experience
  • To make your recruiting more cost-effective

Based on your desired outcomes, outline what recruiting objectives you want to accomplish with your candidate assessment tool.

2. Decide which types of candidate assessment will best serve your objectives

Once your objectives are defined, you need to decide what kind of assessment will help you to gauge the candidate’s skills, personality, and ability to perform.

The types of candidate assessments include:

  • Technical skills test
  • Cognitive ability test
  • Situational judgment test
  • Communication skills test
  • Job simulation test
  • Personality assessment

Some assessments are better suited to test the skill set of some roles compared to others. For example, technical skills tests are commonly use for software development roles whereas situational judgment tests are commonly used for customer service roles.

3. Assess the expected benefits of the candidate assessment vendor

While candidate assessments may have similar expected outcomes, different vendors will also promise different benefits.

Expected benefits for a candidate assessment tool include:

  • Reduced administration
  • Instant test analysis and diagnostic reports
  • An automated grading process
  • Integration with you applicant tracking system (ATS)
  • 24×7 support

4. Evaluate the assessment tool based on your needs

Your evaluation of candidate assessment tools may include considerations of scientific validity, legal compliance, and level of customization.

Key factors you can consider while evaluating candidate assessment tools include:

  • Customizable
  • Scientifically validated
  • EEOC-compliant (for US employers)
  • Cheating detection or prevention

Pankaj Deshmukh is in the field of digital marketing. He works with Interview Mocha and produces content for the variety of blogs that cover topics from recruitment, social media hiring & candidate assessment. He believes that learning is never ending process and stays updated with the latest trends that are useful for producing valuable content.