Companies and educational institutions are opting for online exams to save costs, time, and effort it takes to arrange for offline tests where the candidates have to be physically present...
The Internet has opened up a world of opportunities, and the benefits have been extended to employers and job seekers as well. Corporate companies send emails and SMS notifications for job openings through their own channels or through third-party job portals. On the other side, candidates in huge numbers apply to any of the job openings via the Internet. It happens many times that candidates apply for a job without reading or understanding the job description. This creates a scenario where job applicants called for an interview do not possess the qualifications or skills that are critical for the role they have applied for, resulting in a waste of time, money and effort for both parties.
Pre-employment screening is one of the solutions that can help filter out unsuitable candidates from a sea of applicants. Pre-employment testing may be defined as an objective and standardised way of gathering information on a candidate’s employment suitability. The test results provide in-depth insights about the capabilities and behavioural/personality traits of job applicants based on which recruiters can make informed hiring decisions.
There are three major categories of pre-employment assessment tests:
- Aptitude tests help to measure the candidates’ general intelligence, including critical thinking, problem-solving and ability to learn and apply new information.
- Personality tests are generally used to measure behavioural traits which are crucial for the candidate’s ability for teamwork and adaption to the work environment. Some of the popular personality tests used in recruitment are based on the Big Five, 16PF and Five-Factor Model. This framework measures agreeableness, conscientiousness, extraversion, openness to experience, and stress tolerance.
- Skills tests may vary from domain to domain and also according to the job applicant’s work experience. A skill test can help recruiter’s measure competencies including communication, numerical, logical and specific job-related skills that reflect the candidate’s acquired knowledge.
How Pre-employment Screening Improves Hiring Process
Technology has made it simpler for job seekers to apply for open job positions at any company. Selecting the right talent from an influx of job applications, therefore, becomes a huge challenge for companies and recruiters. The main advantage of pre-employment assessments is that they help recruiters filter out unsuitable candidates and narrow down a smaller applicant group that have the right skills required for the job. A pre-employment assessment test also quickly highlights candidates who are serious about the job. This way, recruiters can save time and effort and easily choose the best candidates for the next round of the interview process.
Applying for a job opening can now be done in a few simple steps, which encourages job seekers to apply for any position without checking their suitability. But for a pre-employment assessment, a candidate needs to pay attention to the job description and other specificities. They will also have to make sure that their skills match with the job they are applying for. In other words, pre-employment screening helps cut down unsuitable job applications, and the test results will help recruiters predict a prospective employee’s job suitability and performance.
Applications of Pre-employment Screening
The basis and development of pre-employment testing stem from scientific research, numerous hiring and retention case studies, and analysis of vast employee data. This lends credence to the effectiveness and positive recruitment results received through pre-employment assessment tests.
Pre-employment screening proves useful in mass hiring, campus recruitment, and other situations where there is a huge influx of job applications for a single job opening. Pre-employment assessment test help screen out non-suitable candidates who do not match the job selection criterion at the start of the hiring process itself. Even during lateral hiring, some of the open job positions at a company may attract a huge number of applications. A pre-employment assessment test can help to pick the right talent from a crowd quickly. Pre-employment screening also cuts down the chances of bias-based decisions significantly, which helps decision-makers choose the right talent within the company.
MeritTrac Platforms for Pre-employment Screening
MeritTrac’s end-to-endassessment solutions aim to make the recruitment process a breeze. We have in-depth expertise in testing and assessments to create an economical and efficient recruitment process for you. Our unique suite of assessment services allows assessment of domain knowledge, personality, cognitive ability and skillsets to help you make informed hiring decisions.
MeritTrac’s dedicated in-house test content research and development team come up with proven test methodologies. Our scientifically designed assessment automation platforms ensure smooth test delivery on a large scale. Pariksha, SmartTest, CodeTrac, and SpeechTrac are some of our assessment platforms that can be used for seamless pre-employment screening. Plug and play, mobile-ready, multi-platform use, and remote assessment are some of the unique features of these assessment platforms. Our ISO 9001:2008, ISO 27001:2013 and CMMI Level 5 certified processes for testing and assessments help recruiters hire with confidence.
FAQ
FAQ
1. What is pre-employment screening?
A. Gathering data on a candidate’s job-specific skills and job suitability in an objective and standardised way is the main function of pre-employment screening.
2. How does pre-employment screening help in the recruitment process?
A. A pre-hire screening can help recruiters ensure a smooth recruitment process by filtering out unsuitable candidates at the beginning of the hiring process.
3. What are the other advantages of pre-employment testing?
A. Pre-employment testing has a faster turnaround time, which enables quick recruitment decisions. In addition, they help reduce the occurrence of judgement-based hiring by providing data-rich insights regarding a candidate’s job suitability. This will result in lower attrition and improved employee engagement, which has an overall positive effect on the business and profit margins of the company.
4. What are the different types of pre-employment assessment tests?
A. There are three major categories of pre-employment assessment tests, namely aptitude, personality and skills tests that help gauge a candidate’s basic suitability for the job and company culture.
5. Why go for MeritTrac’s pre-employment assessment solutions?
A. Our in-depth expertise, dedicated content research and development team, a suite of assessment services, scientific assessment platforms, and certified processes ensure that the recruitment process is seamless, quick and delivers reliable results.
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