What is Pre-Employment Testing? Discover the Different Types of Pre-Employment Tests

A pre-employment test is an assessment candidates take during the job screening and hiring process.

Employers use pre-employment tests to determine personality traits and characteristics, cognitive abilities, job knowledge, aptitude, skills, and on-the-job behaviors. Using these tests gives hiring managers a better understanding of job applicant skills, culture fit, and performance potential prior to making a hiring decision.

Hiring managers, HR departments, and executives use pre-employment tests to assess candidates for:

• Personality or character traits.
• Skills and abilities.
• Job knowledge (e.g., technical or theoretical expertise in a particular field.)
• Software or language proficiency.
• Emotional intelligence (i.e., how well someone builds relationships and understands emotions.)
• Integrity and honesty.
• Attitude toward employers.

Different types of pre-employment tests can help you understand—prior to an interview—whether or not a candidate could be a good fit for a particular job.

While many people use pre-employment testing and pre-employment screening interchangeably, they are not exactly the same thing.

Pre-employment testing assesses candidate abilities, skills, knowledge, attitudes, values, and personality traits. Employers use them to identify candidates that are most likely to fit well into a job and an organization. They are a great way to objectively evaluate candidates and eliminate hiring biases.

Pre-employment screening is meant to uncover potential red flags and to verify information, such as identity, background, and education. Drug testing is sometimes included in this category.

A pre-employment test can provide more information than a resume or interview. It gives hiring managers insights that make it easier to compare candidates and make informed hiring decisions. When you include pre-employment testing into your hiring process, you can:

• Ensure hiring practices are fair. A pre-employment assessment program reduces bias and discrimination. It uncovers and documents abilities and merit.
• Instantly identify top candidates. Use an employment test to identify which candidates to bring in for interviews.
• Improve job interviews. Sample interview questions provided with pre-employment exam results help you deeply explore important topics, traits, and skill areas.
• Make informed hiring decisions. Ensure candidates have desired knowledge, skills, and abilities for the role and your company culture.
• Reduce bad hires. By determining which candidates have the right personality for a given position, you can reduce hiring mistakes and lower your turnover rate.

Before discussing how to choose the right pre-employment tests, here are the five types of commonly offered assessments. They will help you confidently narrow your list of applicants and improve the quality of your interviews.

1. Personality tests

   Are the personality traits of an applicant well-suited for a particular job? A personality test can help you determine if an applicant is comfortable working independently. It can measure how organized they are, how well they might adapt to new situations, and if they are persuasive.

   Assess personality

2. Honesty and integrity tests

   Useful types of hiring tests will help you discover the honesty of job candidates. The integrity of the people on your team is crucial to company culture and the well-being of your business. That is why it's important to gain insight into risky behaviors and attitudes. You'll want to uncover any history of drug or alcohol abuse or indications of violence. It's also insightful to explore their attitudes toward previous employers.

   Measure integrity

3. Aptitude tests

   An aptitude test allows you to measure a candidate's ability to perform a certain task or acquire knowledge in a specific area. These tests will uncover how well a job candidate thinks through things like organization, logic, and reading comprehension, and can help you consistently and objectively assess the strengths and weaknesses of each potential employee.

   Test aptitude

4. Skills assessments

   A pre-employment skills test evaluates an applicant's mastery of job-specific knowledge and skills. It lets you both verify and measure abilities claimed on a resume and also make it possible to objectively compare candidates.

   Assess job skills

5. Job knowledge tests

   Unlike skills tests, which assess whether a candidate can do something in practice, job knowledge tests evaluate a candidate's underlying, theoretical knowledge of the role and its requirements. This knowledge takes time and effort to acquire, and can be demonstrated most effectively through the completion of a job knowledge test.

6. Custom role-specific assessments

   You may need to customize some pre-employment tests to assess knowledge or abilities that aren't included in premade aptitude and skills tests. With Hire Success^®, it's easy to design, administer, and score tests on any topic, software program, or skill set you choose.

   You can select questions from the various categories within our question database, as well as add your own job-specific questions. Or, if you have an existing assessment, you can upload it to the Hire Success^® system to leverage the test administering and reporting capabilities.

   Create your own employment test

Once you know what pre-employment testing is, the next challenge is exploring the types of pre-employment tests available and determining which assessment type you should recommend for the hiring process. Selecting the appropriate tests and testing company will help you:

If you're considering using pre-employment testing in your hiring process, it's important to understand the best practices for pre-employment testing. There are a few key steps you can follow to ensure that the testing process is fair and effective.

1. Identify the skills and abilities that are necessary for the job. This information can be used to assist with developing a job-related test or series of tests for your applicants.
2. Use the same test or tests for all applicants who apply for the same job. This will help ensure the testing process is consistent and fair for all job applicants.
3. Provide adequate instructions and support for applicants. All applicants should be provided with sufficient instructions and support throughout the testing process, as well as ample time to complete the test or tests.
4. Use the test results as just one factor in the overall hiring decision. Pre-employment test results should be weighed against other relevant information, such as the applicant's resume, references, and interview performance.
5. Follow all applicable laws and regulations. Your process must comply with all laws and regulations regarding pre-employment testing, including those related to disability and discrimination.

With Hire Success^®, you can organize your hiring data in one place and easily share it with your team. A professional provider makes the process affordable, convenient, simple, and compliant.

Few people like tests, so it is natural to encounter mixed feelings about them among job candidates. On the positive side, they show that an employer is eager to make fair and objective assessments. Strong candidates see them as a chance to showcase their skills. On the negative side, some people approach tests with some anxiety. They may become frustrated if the test is not accurately capturing their abilities or expertise. Long and involved tests can turn a candidate away.

Pre-employment tests are increasingly used today because of challenges in the hiring process. Credentials are not all created equal. A degree from one school may not be equal to the same degree somewhere else. Candidates increasingly are using AI to put their best foot forward and mask weaknesses. The need to ensure hiring processes are fair and unbiased, to improve efficiency, and to uncover the strongest candidates continues to drive increased test usage.

You can minimize the negatives and get the most value out of a pre-employment testing program with these tips:

• Use tests that candidates can see are relevant and that uncover information pertinent to a specific role.
• Be transparent about the purpose of the tests and what candidates can expect.
• Test fairly and professionally with well-validated tests administered in a user-friendly way.
• Don’t overload candidates, and respect their time.
• Know and comply with all applicable employment laws and regulations.

The use of pre-employment testing is typically one step in the overall hiring process, and the specific timing of the testing will depend on the needs and preferences of the employer.

In some cases, employers may choose to administer tests as part of the initial application process before the first round of interviews. In other cases, employers may wait until later in the hiring process, such as after an initial interview or after a second round of interviews.

The important thing is to ensure that the testing is administered at a point in the process when it will provide useful and relevant information to help with your hiring decision.