A bad hire has serious consequences for an employer. For this reason, most hiring managers go to great lengths to make effective hiring decisions. More and more companies use pre-employment testing as a way to improve their hiring choices. Learn more about the testing and how you can prepare for it.
Understanding Pre-Employment Testing
Your resume is only a document, and it doesn't tell an employer everything they need to know about you. Furthermore, there's no guarantee what you put on his resume is factual. Job applicants often lie and exaggerate the truth on their resumes, and employees have come to expect this.
Because of the deceit, employers want to test their potential hires before they advance them in the hiring process. They may make each applicant take an assessment test geared towards identifying their skills and personalities. Although the format of the tests varies, most are available online.
The Types of Tests
You can break down the pre-employment tests into the following categories:
Personality Questionnaire: This type of test focuses on your personality traits rather than your skills. If an employer wants to make sure they have a candidate of a certain character, they may demand this exam. They might look for someone who is confident, an extrovert, or persistent. The desired traits depend on the workplace and the position.
Job Knowledge Test: When a position demands a certain amount of knowledge, the boss could request this type of test. It verifies the claims on your resume and prevents an employer from needing to provide excess training.
Culture Fit: If you don't fit in well with your new company, you won't last long in the workplace. With a culture Fit test, an employer can determine whether or not your values align with the company's.
Cognitive Ability: Certain jobs require a high level of intelligence. If you apply for this type of position, you might need to take this type of test. It looks at your logical, verbal, and numerical abilities.
Soft Skills: All jobs require some level of non-technical skills. If you're good with problem-solving or communication, you have valuable soft skills. In a soft skills assessment, an employer can learn about those skills.
Hard Skills: You might notice a few key skills in a job description. For instance, a position might require a high level of typing skills. In this case, the assessment is likely to test your typing speed.
Situational Judgement: From a resume, you can't tell much about how a person prioritizes or follows directions. So, an employer uses a situational judgment assessment to determine this.
When Does Testing Occur?
Just as the type of pre-employment testing varies, the timing of the gets varies. Some employers choose to test candidates before they even look at resumes. As a result, they don't waste any time looking at unqualified candidates. However, most employers wait to test until they look at the resumes. They only call applicants for interviews if the candidates pass their exams.
Although it's rare to test in the hiring process's late stages, it's not unheard of. In the case of background checks and drug tests, employers may wait to test until you're about to receive a job offer. Every employer is different, so keep that in mind when you apply for jobs.
Does Pre-Employment Testing Help You Out?
It's obvious that Pre-Employment Testing helps out the employer. But is it purely for them? While the company benefits from requiring a test, you also stand to benefit. During the testing process, you learn a lot about the company and what they want. If you don't agree with some of their values, you know the job isn't right for you.
Another benefit of the test is that you won't end up in a dead-end job. If you receive a job offer for a position for which you're not quite qualified, you won't last long. It's only a matter of time before you are either fired or so overwhelmed you quit.
In either scenario, the job is a red flag on your resume. A potential employer will question the short stint and doubt your value as an employee. Although you can overcome a short employment period, it hurts your chance at a job offer.
Will a Failed Test Keep You from a Job Offer?
If you take a pre-employment test early before an employer looks at your resume, there's not much hope you can overcome the failure. But an assessment later on in the process may not destroy your chances at employment.
It depends on the type of test and your reason for failure. If you fail a personality assessment, but the hiring manager likes you, they'll probably ignore the assessment. But if you lied about your qualifications and failed a skills test, you can say goodbye to the job offer.
Should You Prepare for an Assessment?
Unlike your college final exams, an employment assessment isn't something you need to study for. Whatever type of assessment you're taking, it's not testing skills you need to learn. Instead, it tests for skills or qualities you should already possess.
However, there are a few things you can do to prepare for an assessment. First, familiarize yourself with the company and the job listing. Research their values and beliefs, and check the company's website and job listing for keywords. Are there certain traits or skills that appear multiple times? If so, you should know that the assessment might test you in those areas.
When you take the assessment, honesty is key. If you need to lie to get the answer an employer wants, you're not the right fit for the position. You end up wasting your time and the employer's time.
Calm Your Nerves
Perhaps the best way to prepare for the assessment is to calm yourself. If you don't do well on the evaluation, the job isn't for you. And when it comes to assessments that test your hard skills, you have nothing to worry about. As long as you were honest on your resume, you should pass with flying colors.