How To Conduct And Review Pre-Employment Tests

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Resumes, cover letters, and interviews are all good ways to learn about job candidates, but you can only tell so much about a potential employee without seeing them in action. To solve this problem, many hiring managers administer pre-employment tests to their job applicants.

In this article, we’ll explain how to conduct and review pre-employment tests, tips on how to conduct these assessments effectively, and the different types of pre-employment tests available.

Key Takeaways

• Determine what skills you want to test in your pre-employment assessments.

• Administer pre-employment tests early on in the application process.

• Don’t use pre-employment test results as the basis of your hiring decisions.

How to Conduct and Review Pre-Employment Tests

1. Determine what you want to test. Look at the requirements of the job and determine what skills and abilities a candidate needs to have before they show up on their first day of work. In other words, what are the things you can’t or don’t want to train them to do?

   These could be hard skills like editing, using Excel, or solving IT problems. It could also be soft skills such as staying calm under pressure or using critical thinking to solve problems.

2. Pick your test(s). Now that you know what you’re trying to test for, it’s time to set up your tests. There are a number of ready-made tests available for you to use, or you can create your own – you just have to make sure it follows all legal guidelines, so check with your HR department and state and federal employment laws first.

   These tests can be super simple or in-depth and complex. Here are a few examples of tests you could conduct:

   • Skills test. One of the best ways to test someone’s hard skills is to have them use them. To do this, you can ask job applicants to find the 20 grammatical errors you’ve put in a document, complete a typing speed test, or make an Excel spreadsheet to your specifications.

   • Cognitive test. These tests measure candidates’ ability to problem-solve, think creatively and critically, and perform under pressure. They usually come in the form of timed puzzles or games.

   • Personality test. Having a candidate complete a personality test can be very helpful in learning whether or not their personality is compatible with the job they’d be doing. However, just make sure you don’t use the results of this test as your main reason for hiring someone.

   • Hypothetical situation test. Pick a problem that your organization or team recently faced (and solved) and present it to your candidate. Ask them how they would go about solving it to get a better idea of how they make decisions.

3. Decide when to administer the tests. To avoid even the appearance of discrimination, you should administer pre-employment tests early on in the application process. This means sending it to candidates immediately after they apply or immediately after their initial phone interview.

   Administering the assessments this early also helps you quickly weed out unqualified candidates and allows you to use the results to inform your interview questions.

4. Decide how to administer the tests. Ask yourself and your team these questions:

   • Will you send the candidates a link to an online test? Or will you email them instructions and ask them to email you the completed project?

   • How long will they have to complete the test?

   • Who will the results go to?

5. Review the results. After you receive the results of the pre-employment test, look them over. If your test has the right answer, grade the candidate’s answer. If it doesn’t necessarily have one right answer, consider how effective their method was – not just how well it aligns with what your organization usually does.

   Jot down some notes about the results of the assessment, and add them to the candidate’s folder. Then, you can use them in conjunction with the rest of their application when you decide whether to invite them to an interview or not.

Tips for Conducting Pre-Employment Tests

1. Don’t ask about information unrelated to the job. This includes personal information protected by anti-discrimination laws such as gender, age, religion, race, or familial status. This is an important step to follow to ensure your pre-employment assessment is fully compliant.

2. Keep it short. If you’re making your own skills test, limit yourself to ten or fewer questions. This not only makes it less overwhelming for the candidate, but it also makes it simpler for you to review.

3. Set time limits. Give a due date for the test to ensure that you don’t have assessments pouring in a week after you’ve filled the position.

   In addition, put a time limit on all of your pre-employment tests. This helps keep candidates honest in their answers, as they have to go with their guts rather than having time to overthink and research.

   When setting time limits, however, try to balance giving the candidate a reasonable amount of time to complete the test with getting the results back in a timely manner.

4. Don’t rely solely on the test results. These pre-employment assessments are designed to help you learn more about the candidate and see their skills in action: They shouldn’t be the deciding factor in whether or not you’re going to hire them.

   Use these test results as you would their answers to interview questions – as one piece of the puzzle, not the whole picture.

5. Involve your HR department. The hiring process is full of compliance landmines, so make sure you keep your HR department in the loop about all pre-employment tests you use.

   It can also be a good practice to have them administer the tests and pass the results on to you. This helps you ensure that you’re being fully ethical and compliant in your pre-employment testing.

Types of Pre-Employment Assessments

Pre-employment tests and assessments can come in many forms, ranging from skills tests to background checks. Here are a few of them:

• Skills test

• Cognitive test

• Personality test

• Knowledge test

• Hypothetical situations

• Situational interview question

• Integrity test

• Emotional intelligence test

• Work sample test

• Physical abilities test

• Background check

• Drug test

Pre-Employment Tests FAQ

1. What is the purpose of pre-employment tests?

   The purpose of pre-employment tests is to get a better idea of what skills and abilities a candidate has. Candidates can write anything they want on their resumes, so requiring them to complete a pre-employment assessment is key to determining how proficient they are in certain skills.

   In addition, these tests can give you a better idea of how they think and approach problems, as well as their personality traits.

   While the results of these pre-employment tests shouldn’t be the only determining factor in your hiring decision, they can be helpful in deciding which candidates to move forward in the process and which ones to eliminate.

2. What are three examples of pre-employment tests?

   Three examples of pre-employment tests are skill tests, cognitive tests, and personality tests. Skill tests examine a candidate’s proficiency in a particular skill, whether that’s using Excel or designing a web page.

   Cognitive tests examine the way candidates approach and solve problems. These are usually puzzles or games that may not directly relate to the job you’re working to fill, but they put candidates in high-pressure situations and give you insight into how they think.

   Personality tests are often the most controversial pre-employment test, as many people say it’s unethical to hire someone based on their personality type. On the other hand, others hold that learning more about a candidate’s personality is helpful for deciding whether they’d fit well with the position or not.

   If you do choose to use this type of pre-employment test, clear it with your HR department first, and don’t let the results of the test be the basis for your hiring decision.

3. What is an important consideration when administering tests to job applicants?

   An important consideration when administering tests to job applicants is that the test is applicable to the job. In other words, whichever test you choose has to directly apply to the responsibilities of the job the applicant is applying for.

   For instance, if you’re hiring for a marketing job, you shouldn’t test applicants’ accounting skills. In addition, if you’re hiring for a job that doesn’t require the employee to do anything but sit at a desk, you shouldn’t give them a physical abilities test.

   If you do test for unrelated skills or abilities, you could be violating discrimination laws. To avoid this, always clear your pre-employment tests with HR before administering them.

4. What is a basic skills test for employment?

   A basic skills test for employment is a test that assesses your basic communication, math, and cognitive skills. These tests measure the skills candidates will need to be successful in a wide variety of entry-level jobs. These skills include things like grammar, reading, basic math, and problem-solving.

   There are a variety of publicly available basic skills tests, so employers can choose the one that best fits what they’re looking for in a job candidate.

   Some employers even have their current employees complete these tests so they can get a feel for what future candidates will need to be proficient in. They can also use these results to create applicable professional development opportunities for their workers.

Author

Caitlin Mazur

Caitlin Mazur is a freelance writer at Zippia where she has written 140+ articles that have reached over 1 mil viewers as of June 2023. Caitlin is passionate about helping Zippia’s readers land the jobs of their dreams by offering content that discusses job-seeking advice based on experience and extensive research.