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Feb 22, 2020 (eGiiG News via COMTEX) — Recruitment is a busy industry with recruiters working diligently to place candidates for the best jobs. The ultimate objective is to connect the right jobseeker with the employer. Skills testing is an integral component in recruitment today with many recruiters using it as part of their pre-employment assessment process.

Skills assessment helps recruiters evaluate the candidate’s qualifications at the basic level. Can they do the job? Recruiters can choose from the different skills assessment tests available to send the most appropriate one to their candidates. The collection of skills assessments tests includes typing and data entry tests, and MS Office tests. However, the most common ones must be the literacy and numeracy tests and psychometric tests.

Deciding on the most appropriate test to send to candidates depends on the job role. A secretarial role will require the candidate to be efficient at typing and have organizational skills. A finance position will need someone extremely adept at Excel because they will be using this particular MS Office tool daily.

Skills tests facilitate the hiring process in several ways. Many recruitment software solutions are integrated with skills testing software so sending the tests is easy.

Here are the four reasons recruiters and hiring companies should use skills testing during their recruitment process.

1. Helps Make a Thorough Hiring Decision

If recruiters prepare a list of candidates for the employers after only a quick CV parsing, then they’re not providing a complete picture. Chances are the hiring company will rely only on the CV, the recruiter’s assessment of the candidate and an interview to make a hiring judgment.

This doesn’t provide a thorough picture of the candidate and could even lead to them making a bad hire. Skills tests are a better way to appraise a prospective employee’s performance than simply counting on CVs and interviews where they’ve either exaggerated their abilities or failed to perform well due to nervousness.

2. Quick And Easy Way to Filter Candidates

After the initial CV parsing, the quickest and easiest approach to filtering the best candidates is through skills assessment. The tests take anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes to complete. Results are produced immediately after candidates complete the tests which allows recruiters to determine instantly which of the applicants should be in the shortlist.

3. Validates Achievements in CVs

Not all applicants are honest about their abilities and experiences. Candidates are known to have lied on their resumes. Or they might have overstated how they can ace a typing test in 60 seconds. CVs grant a bird’s eye view of the candidate’s skills and achievements. Recruiters and employers will benefit from a deeper understanding of the applicant’s capabilities.

Skills tests offer equal opportunity to all candidates. They cover different key areas within the skills – financial or retail or insurance data entry, and different Microsoft Office versions from 2010 to 2019.

If the candidates are not embellishing their CVs, these tests will confirm whether they’re capable of performing well.

4. Better Indicator of Candidates’ Performance

Interview anxiety can take an applicant from promising to disappointing. Their nervousness over appearing qualified and smart can lead to them making mistakes. Employers will get a better understanding of a candidate’s ability by having them answer questions designed by experts. Psychometric tests help analyse how a candidate would function in the work environment. The questionnaire covers areas such as critical thinking, confidence and problem-solving skills. Since the tests can be done online remotely, candidates are likely to be more confident and at ease while taking the tests. These can positively affect their performance and give an authentic view of their abilities, or lack thereof.