This is a guest post by Angela White. Angela is an ed-tech enthusiast with a passion for writing for the consumer market in the areas of product research and marketing using quizzes and surveys. Having a knack for writing and an editorial mindset, she is an expert researcher at ProProfs: a brand that’s known for creating delightfully smart tools such as Quiz Maker.
Assessments are powerful procedures and tools used by organizations for hiring top talent. Background checks and interviews are “small” components in the overall assessment. Hiring assessments go beyond these methods. To attract the market’s finest and top talent, you should craft hiring assessments the right way. Ensure that the right elements are included in your valuations.
Every method of assessment comes with unique benefits and drawbacks. In fact, there are “specific” environments for certain types of assessments. This post highlights on how to pull together successful hiring assessments. Let’s discuss.
Tip #1 – Consider Physical and Mental Ability
In general, ability examinations are extremely important for predicting a candidate’s chances of success in the job. The ability tests should be customized to suit the occupation and need. These are important for entry-level roles. Also, they are important when you are not prepared to train the employee.
Mental ability examinations play an integral role in measuring the learning capability of a candidate. The candidate you choose must be able to perform all job-related responsibilities without any flaws or issues. Mental ability tests involve spatial, quantitative and verbal skills. Many companies create a quiz to judge the candidate’s mental abilities. On the other hand, physical ability tests evaluate the candidate’s flexibility and endurance.
Note: Mental ability assessments are treated as authentic and critical predictors of the candidate’s ability to perform. Mental ability test results can have an adverse impact on the employer’s final decision. Various studies reveals that mental ability tests have a strong impact on minority groups. For example, some candidates take more time to solve questions than the experienced. This doesn’t mean the candidate is not skilled. It is important for hiring teams to design mental ability tests that are unbiased and appropriate for the job. If the role needs speed, test the candidate with respect to speed.
Tip #2 – Test for Achievement
Hiring assessments around achievements are known as “Proficiency Examinations”.
Many industries use proficiency tests to evaluate the candidate’s current skill and knowledge. The employee focuses only on “areas” that are relevant to the job profile. These tests can be categorized into two types: Performance tests and knowledge tests.
When you craft performance tests, allow the candidate to demonstrate at least two job-oriented tasks. This could be anything like diagnosing a problem, debugging code or fixing a broken machine. This is an expensive test that may need additional resources.
Knowledge tests involve questions that are carefully chosen. It understands how much a candidate knows about the responsibilities and tasks involved. Knowledge tests are treated as traditional components in the hiring assessments. In most companies, knowledge tests are executed on paper-and-pencil. In fact, some companies hire third party agents to create a quiz on the candidate’s knowledge and skill-level achievements.
Note: The paper-and-pencil method is becoming obsolete. Many tech giants are using computers for hosting knowledge tests. This creates a calm and composed environment for the candidate. The candidate’s only focus would be the problem. This is considered as a smart way of executing knowledge tests.
Tip #3 – Group Assessments
You don’t need to stick to “one-to-one” assessments all the time. If your ultimate aim is to hire the market’s top talent, you should bring them under a single roof. This is when group assessments become useful.
During these assessments, you should prepare a common questionnaire or create a quiz. The questions should be highly job relevant. You must not waste the time of the company or the candidates. The questions should not focus on the candidate’s hobbies, schooling or job experiences. Instead, it must be 100% job oriented.
For example, if you are hiring for a designer role, ensure that the candidates are asked about design. Ideally, they should be asked to design. Then, evaluate the performance of each candidate to identify the best and fastest.
Note: During group assessments, you should take “time” into consideration. The fastest and finest candidate will be your best pick.
Tip #4 – Do Alias Interviews
Employment rounds alias interviews are common during the hiring process. In fact, this is an overused assessment method.
Employment interviews can be unstructured and absolutely unplanned. And, you may end up bagging top talent. Doesn’t this sound boring? Gone are the days when interviews were planned and carefully structured. Structured interviews have trained professionals, standard questions, timed tests and a fixed evaluation strategy. On the other hand, unstructured interviews are hosted by professionals in the job, random questions are chosen, and the interviewee may get unlimited time bounds.
It is easier to find top talent through unstructured interviews.
A recent study revealed that IT companies rely on unstructured interviews over the planned ones. Most of the time, the interviewer is advised to ask job-oriented questions. The interviewer has the freedom to probe the candidate for all job-related responsibilities and tasks.
Note: Unstructured interviews are not absolutely off-road. There are regulations and laws to govern how unstructured the interview gets. For instance, the Disabilities Act prevents interviewers from asking details about disabilities and medical conditions. The interviewer should abide by all these laws during unstructured and structured interviews.
Tip #5 – Personality Check
Any interview will be incomplete without thorough personality checks.
As suggested by its name, personality check involves analyzing the candidate’s knowledge, skills, and knowledge based on their personalized traits. Personality inventories are becoming famous in tech firms. Many interviewers analyze the candidate based on their conscientiousness, self-esteem, motivation and future goals.
Note: All hiring assessments should be backed by a personality test. Personality tests will help you make accurate predictions about the candidate.
The Bottom Line
On the whole, hiring assessments should be performed in controlled and planned environments. Even your unstructured interviews should be carried out in a perfect environment! Crafting the right hiring assessments is never easy. And, if you want to attract the industry’s best candidates, your assessments should be strategically organized.
One of the best ways to appeal and attract top talent is by hosting group events. Try to organize group discussions, group interviews, and open competitions. Make your assessments as reasonable as possible. After all, top talents evaluate assessments before giving it a try.
About the Author: Jocelyn Pick
