When an employer is faced with many qualified candidates for a single position based on their academic and practical background, he may need to use various tests to choose the proper candidate. Employee selection tests are designed to help employers find the ideal candidate to minimize errors in the workplace and increase the percentage of completed work. Employers should utilize the employee selection tests that apply to the work and the job position in question.
Assessment Tests
Assessment tests are used by the employer to determine if the employee has the proper skill set for the tasks and responsibilities in the job position available. This can include testing interpersonal, communication, technical, planning and analytical skills. The skills will vary depending on the job in question, as technical skills may not be as applicable for a customer service job as communication skills will be. Candidates can have their skills assessed in the form of multiple choice questionnaires and practical training scenarios. If the employer does not have time to conduct the assessment tests, he can hire assessment centers to conduct the testing on the candidates on his behalf.
Integrity Tests
Employers may find that an employee's integrity is one of the most important parts of the hiring process. This is relevant to jobs where employees work closely with expensive products, sales or customers. Integrity testing focuses on a candidate's honesty, personality, dependability, trustworthiness and reliability. This can be tested by asking specific questions, where the candidate must make decisions that are either honest or dishonest. The answers should provide the employer with the information necessary to determine whether the employee is the right choice.
Aptitude Tests
Aptitude tests are used to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the employees in terms of the specific tasks that apply to the job in question. For instance, the test will focus on the typing speed for a writer, the communication skills of a customer service agent or the technical skills of a computer technician. Aptitude tests are used to select prepared candidates to decrease the percentage of errors or incomplete work in the workplace. Aptitude tests may include case studies where candidates must solve cases that apply to the job position, work in group exercises to solve fictional issues or problems or data checking tests for clerical or data-entry jobs.
Verbal Ability Tests
Communication jobs may require that the candidates have excellent verbal skills. Reading and writing may also be requirements that the employer wants to test. This type of testing can include reading small passages and answering questions in the written form, where the employer can judge and evaluate the candidate's spelling and grammar. This type of testing should be done for writing or communication jobs, where many of the tasks require proper writing and communication skills.
