What are Candidate Assessment Methods

Employee assessment methods are an essential part of the HR process for any company. These methods allow companies to evaluate the performance and potential of their employees, identify areas for improvement, and provide feedback and support to help employees grow and succeed in their roles. However, with so many different hiring assessment methods available, it can be overwhelming for companies to choose the right ones for their needs. 

Types of Assessment Methods

Using the assessment methods in hiring needs a good pair of hands who should be both knowledgeable and skillful. Among the most used assessment methods include –

• Mental and Physical Ability Tests
• Achievement Tests
• Biodata Inventories
• Personality Inventories
• Education and experience requirements (including licensing and certification)

Mental and Physical Ability Tests

Mental and physical ability tests are crucial tools for employers to identify the most qualified and capable candidates for a job. These tests can help companies make informed decisions about who to hire or promote, ensuring they have the necessary skills and capabilities to succeed in their role. Through these tests, individuals are judged on their eagerness to learn, how they will manage their job responsibilities, the labor they can put in, etc.

It is further differentiated into general and specific ability tests, where broader mental abilities like verbal, reasoning, computing, communication skills, reaction time, mathematical, and written comprehension skills are measured, respectively.

Achievement Tests

Achievement tests, also known as proficiency tests, are one of the most used assessment methods in hiring to measure the candidate’s knowledge, skills, and abilities in a particular subject or area. 

• Knowledge tests – This is where a candidate is asked to respond to several questions that will determine precisely how aware they are about the job role. They may cover a wide range of topics, depending on the job requirements and the specific skills and knowledge needed to succeed in the role.
• Performance tests – A candidate will be given a task to solve. For example, if an organization hires a computer mechanic, he will be asked to sort out a malfunctioned computer.

Biodata Inventories

These are standard questionnaires to determine individuals’ biographical information, including their education, work experience, skills, and more. Often, organizations need help executing this method as some candidates can put the wrong information regarding them in the questionnaire to improve their chances of getting hired. In that case, resumes and internal consistency checks can help the organization verify. Biodata inventories are often combined with other hiring assessment methods, such as interviews, aptitude tests, and personality tests, to comprehensively understand an individual’s strengths and limitations.

Personality Inventories

Personality inventories come among the unique employee assessment methods. This hiring assessment method involves measuring an individual’s personality traits or characteristics that will make them an excellent hire for the organization. Some common traits measured in personality inventories include self-confidence, motivation, and how fast they can get comfortable with the working environment. These psychological attributes greatly matter. A person with good knowledge and skill can deliver even better if the motivation or self-confidence is higher.

Education and experience requirements (including licensing and certification)

Education and experience requirements are among the most distinguished hiring assessment methods to evaluate a candidate’s potential for success in a particular job or role. When a company posts for a job opportunity, they mention that candidates with a specific degree are eligible to apply or individuals with certain areas of expertise or skills are suitable for the job. 

Suppose a company is looking for a news editor. In that case, it may advertise that people with a degree in media or relevant experience working as an editor in a newsroom will be considered.

Popular Candidate Self-Assessment Methods

In addition to the employee assessment methods discussed above, some self-assessment methods are also popular among employees, employers, and organizations. Self-assessment primarily helps self-evaluate, and it can determine whether a person wants to work in a particular company or the requirements of both sides match. Here are the following ways to avail –

Work-Related Values

Work-related values are values an individual believes are important on a personal level. It can include flexible hours, job security, autonomy, and a balance between private life and work. These things will help an individual understand whether he wants to work in that place, making the process one of the best assessment methods used while hiring.

Interests

The interests of candidates will help determine how well they will fit in a particular company. For example, a sports person might not fit well in an educational organization, or a computer engineer may be best suited to work in a software company. 

Personality Types

Employers look for specific personality types that suit best for their companies. These are primarily a person’s needs, attitudes, professionalism, etc. An individual’s personality can significantly determine if he can adapt to a particular type of work or the work environment.

Abilities

The ability factor is always considered when screening candidates by hiring assessment methods. A person’s abilities will justify whether they are fit for the job or not. Though people can also master various skills and abilities through practice and training, the ability test evaluates the candidate’s learnability.

Benefits of Self-Assessment Methods

Self-assessment methods used in the hiring process are unique and give effective results. Some of the benefits that these techniques can administer are –

• It gets easier for employers to assess as they get a clearer picture of the employees.
• Candidates exchange productive discussions with staff, who get involved in their evaluation.
• It helps employees understand their strengths and weaknesses, and they can groom themselves accordingly.

As an AI-enabled platform designed solely to ensure recruiter ease and maximum talent engagement, Oorwin offers a bunch of talent assessment tools. Know more about the integrations here. Happy Exploring.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the standard methods that are used when hiring new employees?

Some standard methods used while hiring new employees are – direct advertisement, promotion, transfers, boomerang employees, talent tool databases, etc.

Why is employee performance assessment important?

Performance assessment helps in evaluating the employees with accuracy. It assists employers in finding out quality candidates that can be best suitable for their organization. These evaluations are objective and based on real-time data, hence are highly trustable.

How to make an employee assessment?

To make an employee assessment, employers generally review the job description of the employees, highlight their areas of improvement, compare their strengths and weaknesses, and recommend actions to take accordingly.