Tips to Get The Most Out of Your Pre-Employment Screening Tests

This is the digital age. Zoom and Microsoft Teams are common ways of communicating between employers and employees. There is less physical contact allowed and working remotely has become the new normal. It should not be a surprise that, when you are hiring, hiring remotely with no physical connection has also become the new way to hire people. With this comes some uncertainty about who to hire, and there may be elements of pre employment screening tests that you simply cannot afford to get wrong.

What is pre-employment screening?

Pre-employment screening is not just criminal record checks or drug testing; it is about ensuring that the candidate has the right skills needed for the job. The resume or Curriculum Vitae (CV) may indicate that this candidate is someone you want to hire, but how can you be sure? Having pre-employment skill testing is one way to help ensure that you are hiring the right candidate, and not just the one who looks best on paper.

By using pre-employment screening tests, it is easier to eliminate unsuitable candidates without wasting human resources’ time and energy. There are skill testing questions that can be completed, such as practical, on-the-job skills, soft skills, proficiency in a certain tool or framework, cognitive ability skills and more. By using pre-employment screening, you can see if the candidate has the basic skills needed for the job, and you can rank candidates for the open positions based on how well they do.

What happens next?

Once the basic skills test has been completed and you have a group of shortlisted candidates ready, you can continue the interview process by beginning further screening tests to whittle down the list further.

There are also elements of pre-employment screening that will help ensure that the candidate you hire is the best one suited for your company. These tests can include integrity testing to learn about the candidate’s morals and principals. Pre-employment screening tests can also include an element of emotional intelligence to help you recognize a candidate’s way of communicating, dealing with conflict, and their ability to overcome challenges. This step will help you ensure that the candidate will work well with the current team.

What kinds of tests can you run?

There are several tests that can be used during pre-employment screening to ensure that all elements of the job are being met. These tests break down into seven categories of testing, including job knowledge testing, integrity testing, cognitive ability testing, personality testing, emotional intelligence testing, skills assessment testing, and physical ability testing. By using all of these elements in pre-employment screening, you will gain a rounded picture of each candidate to ensure that they match all the qualifications you are looking for, beyond just their education and employment background.

While remote hiring is becoming more common, there is no reason that you cannot ensure that the best candidate is brought forth for the final interview stages. Beyond a criminal record check, using these tests will find elements in pre-employment screening that you simply cannot afford to get wrong with your candidates. For more information on pre-employment testing click here.

March 2, 2021