Not Using a Hiring Assessment Test? You’re Overlooking Candidates
By all accounts, hiring new employees in today’s highly competitive marketplace is an extremely difficult and knowledge-intensive task. According to the 2017 Talent Acquisition Benchmarking Report by SHRM, it takes an average of 36 days to hire a new employee.
There are several things that make hiring a complex process. For starters, HR professionals go through hundreds of resumes just to find one or several candidates to fill available positions. On average, every corporate job opening attracts 250 resumes.
Even more perplexing is that more than half of the submitted resumes do not meet the basic prerequisites. They are a result of “resume spammers” who spam their resumes to all job advertisements, not caring whether they fit or not. Even resumes that meet the basic requirements for the job could be a waste of time because applicants spend an average of 76 seconds reading the job description.
This means HR professionals waste a lot of precious time if they assess the numerous resumes manually. The chances of overlooking a qualified candidate also increase as the number of resumes to be assessed increases. If only there was a simpler, faster, and surefire way! Wait – there is. It’s called a hiring assessment test.
What is a hiring assessment test?
A hiring assessment test, also referred to as a pre-employment test, is a test taken by job applicants to gauge whether they would be a good fit for a job or not. It filters and screens the applications in a standardized format to reveal whether the candidates possess traits and abilities that would be valuable to a hiring organization.
Hiring assessment tests are so effective that HR managers that hire using an online assessment test for jobs are 36% more satisfied with their selection. Moreover, companies that implement HR tests for hiring experience a 39% less turnover rate than those who don’t.
Types of pre-employment tests
There are various types of pre-employment assessment tools out there. Companies use the following when hiring developers:
1. Personality tests
These types of tests are designed to measure specific aspects of an applicant’s personality. These aspects include: tolerance, tenacity, motivation, and attitude, among others.
The biggest pitfall of personality testing is that it can be time-consuming, which can result in candidate frustration or even loss to other companies. Another pitfall is that these types of tests can be costly to administer, ranging from $30 to $400 per candidate, according to a SHRM report.
2. Behavioral assessment tests
Applicants are presented with various scenarios relevant to the job and are supposed to select the best course of action. These types of tests use interviews and written tests that can potentially reveal crucial information about a candidate, especially with regard to that candidate’s work ethic and personality.
The main disadvantage of behavioral assessment tests is that they involve answering queries that may appear intrusive or unrelated to the job. As such, candidates may feel uncomfortable responding to personal questions.
3. Cognitive ability tests
Also referred to as an aptitude test, cognitive ability tests involve a series of tests and puzzles which look at different thinking abilities. They are used to assess capabilities such as decision-making, problem-solving, critical thinking, and numerical ability, among others.
The pitfalls of cognitive ability tests are test anxiety, no consideration of soft skills, and not giving a full report of the candidate’s abilities. Additionally, these types of tests may detect cognitive impairment where there’s none.
Other types of pre-employment skills testing are:
- Coding tests: These types of tests evaluate how good an applicant is in programming. They assess various languages such as Unix Shell, Bootstrap, and Spring Framework, among others.
- Remote work assessment: Due to the pandemic and other factors, businesses around the world are gauging candidates’ readiness to work remotely to ensure business continuity.
- High potential identification: These tests identify rare-gem employees that have a high potential. Critical decision making and problem solving are some of the indicators of high potential applicants.
- Language proficiency tests: These tests measure the communication skills of the applicant in terms of grammar, listening, and pronunciation.
Aptitude test sample question and answers
There are tons of aptitude test sample questions and answers online. However, for aspiring developers, aptitude tests fall broadly into three groups:
- A standard test
This type of test is used to test how competent someone is in logical, non-verbal, and numerical reasoning. It does not require any knowledge of programming. For example:
Question: 20/0.8?
Answer: 25
- A hybrid test
A hybrid test consists of logical reasoning, pattern recognition, attention to detail, numerical problem solving, and the ability to understand complex procedures among others. Some of the questions on a hybrid test include:
Question: In a race, horse A came in ahead of B. A finished after C. D beat C but finished after E. Where did D finish?
Answer: Second.
Question: One-third of a number is four times eleven, what is half of that number?
Answer = 66.
- A programming simulation
Programming simulations are for experienced developers. They include arrays, boolean operations, control structures, pseudocode, and sets, among others.
Candidates can learn to ace the main types of aptitude tests with free assessment test examples or free sample questions. The main types of aptitude tests are:
- Numerical/quantitative tests: These are the types of questions that focus on numbers.
- Verbal tests: These types of aptitude tests evaluate a candidate’s ability to read and understand the language.
- Logical tests: These are types of aptitude tests based around symbol processing and have been designed to understand a candidate’s problem-solving capabilities.
Pre-employment tests samples
More than 70% of organizations use assessment tests for external hiring, and these tests can easily make or break a candidate’s application. They can also filter out applicants that are qualified due to pressure or stress bringing test scores down. Back in the day, you may have even wondered how to pass a pre-employment assessment test.
Of course, you know now that it is best for candidates to prepare. There are a number of samples of pre-employment assessment test questions and answers online. By reading through skills assessment test samples or downloading a job skills assessment worksheet, candidates can portray their true selves in the test.
Assessment test practice
Just as students raise their examination performance through revising sample questions and notes, assessment test practice gives candidates an edge when searching for a job. Lots of applicants engage in at least one form of preparation for assessment tests.
Candidates can find aptitude tests and other free practice tests online to hone their skills and get ready for the interview. Depending on the test, you may even be able to find a job assessment test answer key.
Practicing online assessment test questions will improve performance by:
- Reducing anxiety
- Helping candidates come up with a test-taking strategy
- Developing the skills that you, the hiring manager, is looking for
How do you know if you passed an assessment test?
It is normal for candidates to feel a bit anxious after they have completed your job skills assessment test. Most assessment tests online do not provide them with a way of knowing how they performed. They have to wait for a call. If they don’t receive a call, they know they’ve failed. If they are contacted, they will receive further instructions.
When candidates take a technical assessment test on Woven’s platform, each interview is accompanied by a review. Real engineers score the work over a couple of days, then write up constructive feedback.
Our feedback consists of a detailed explanation of the things the candidate did right and areas where they can improve. We also provide notes and tips in case they ever take the test again. Candidates can utilize this feedback to become better developers and land the job next time around. Overall, Woven goes above and beyond to provide a positive candidate experience.
Best career aptitude test
It’s not easy to find the right people for the job. And while it can be helpful to use an employment test in the selection process, you also need an unbiased perspective on whether an applicant is a good fit for your organization. At Woven, there are two essential things we bring to your developer hiring process:
- Our experts know exactly how the developer hiring market is and how it operates. We offer you not just our opinions, but also our experience and research.
- Our HR assessment test for candidates is highly customized to match the environment you operate in day-to-day. As such, we will make sure that your test will help you identify developers that are likely to excel in your specific business context.
This combination is what makes Woven the best career aptitude test for your organization. See for yourself when you sign up for a free trial.
