10 Myths About Pre-Employment Testing

The hiring process is one of the interesting and multilayered processes where selecting the best candidates from the wide pool of talent is a challenge. Moreover, in the recruitment process, you won’t actually get what you are looking for? 

You might be looking for a highly competent and experienced employee. But, there’s no guarantee that information shared in the candidate’s resume is correct and you might be stuck with an incompetent employee. According to data presented by Career Builder, 74% of employers have selected the wrong employees for the job because of the misleading information shared through resumes. 

Thus, the concept of pre-employment test gained momentum as guesswork is completely eliminated from the process and HR hires professional employees based on real talent only. The pre-employment testing is still quite under the rock because numerous organizations are still reluctant to use it.

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The reason behind not using pre-employment testing is that business owners and HR people are not fully aware of the benefits of employment testing. And, this unawareness about the topic has given birth to numerous myths and misconceptions that are becoming a hindrance in the way of pre-employment testing. 

Myths About Pre-employment Testing

One rotten apple can spoil the entire basket of apples. Similarly, one wrong employee in the organization can disturb the entire team and impact the productivity of other employees as well. Thus, it is essential to test employees through different microscopic tests before the final hiring process so that no wrong employee becomes part of your organization. To identify the wrong employees in the early stage, you have to test their skills before recruitment. 

So, if you aren’t using pre-employment tests in your organization due to the following myths, then quickly learn some real facts about pre-employment tests. 

Myth 1. Accuracy of Tests Are Questionable 

Reality – A report presented by Aberdeen Group shows that 36% of HR feel satisfied after hiring employees through pre employee screening process.

This is because pre-employment tests bring automation and provide comprehensive insight into the candidate’s skills. Since data is processed and evaluated automatically, thereby human errors will be eliminated. On the top, the test reports will be delivered on the system of recruiters directly, thus biased judgments or favoritism won’t be involved. 

This practice will provide a fair chance to all the candidates as the decision will be made on the grounds of pure talent only. Moreover, when online tests are conducted by the companies, then it ensures a 100% accurate grading process and zero presence of errors. So, undoubtedly, pre-employment tests are accurate and effective. 

Myth 2. Interviews Are More Effective 

Reality – If you think that the traditional interview method is the perfect way to assess the capabilities of candidates, then you are wrong. That’s because the interview process is time-consuming and personal judgment is a major part of it. According to a report, 27.5 days are the average interview-based recruitment period. So, if you want to hire efficient employees quickly, then interviews won’t be ideal for you. 

Additionally, the interview can only show one aspect of the candidate’s personality, whereas other important parameters remain unanswered like communication skills, cognitive abilities, and others. All these parameters can’t be assessed in one interview. But, when a scientifically designed and validated test is used to hire employees, then all the different parameters of hiring can be addressed in one go. Nowadays, some innovative business organizations are using predictive analysis, psychometric assessments, and behavioral approaches to create a flawless recruitment process. 

Myth 3. Tests Aren’t Much Predictive 

Reality – In the name of pre-hire assessment tests, today a wide range of tests are performed by HR people. But, all the tests can’t provide the same values. Thus, when you are implementing a pre-employment test, then make sure that it is valid to predict accurate results. The validation is the main element of the successful recruitment process – it gives the assessment test value. 

It will also throw light on the topic of how certain tests will predict the results. For instance, cognitive tests are considered one of the most predictive types of tests. They can provide a comprehensive prediction as compared to the traditional hiring process like interviews and resumes. Thus, when you are looking for tangible results in your hiring process, then using the equally predictive pre-assessment test is an ideal path. 

Myth 4. Aspirants Can Fake Through Test 

Reality – It has always been a problem with the self-assessment tests like biodata that candidates can easily fake them or can put the wrong information in them. Moreover, in the interviews, candidates tend to show their best behavior and try to impress recruiters. Candidates work very hard towards presenting themselves in a positive light. However, some recruiters are hesitant to use pre-employment tests because they think that candidates can fake them as well. 

But, it is impossible to fake in the tests because skills are tested in real-time. Specially faking in written or practical skill tests is next to impossible. So, cheating and faking is not an option in the pre-employment test that means you can easily identify the raw talent without any fake positive coating. On the top, pre-employment test conducting tools like Xobin present that operates on an automated proctoring system to remove any chances of cheating in the test, thus testing is void from any sort of fakeness. 

Myth 5. Tests Are Time Sucking 

Reality – Averagely an applicant spends 118 minutes preparing for a job interview. Thus, companies are trying to speed up the recruitment process so that good candidates won’t fall out of their bucket because of the time-consuming process. And, they think that testing skills of an individual candidate will be a time-consuming process so they should avoid it. 

Now, here you are wrong because online pre-employment tests are highly flexible and effective. You can use simple language in the test and make it of multi-choice options to speed up the screening process. On the top, the length of the test can be altered from job to job. To fasten up the process, business organizations can conduct a small test to weed out the incompetent candidates, and later on, they can conduct the comprehensive test when the number of applicants is small. So, the pre-employment test can be easily modified according to your time schedule using Xobin as it offers automated coding tests to speed up the testing process.  

Myth 6. Pre Testing Isn’t For Everyone 

Reality – There’s no doubt that you can’t use the same set of aptitude or cognitive test questionnaires to find the perfect candidates for different job profiles. But, if you carefully analyze the job profile and your expectations from the suitable candidates, you will be easily able to develop a skill test with high accuracy. By preparing specific questions related to the subject using the input of field experts will be a simple way to find high potential candidates. 

Using effective and reliable testing methods brings relevant and more insight to the job-specific skills and eases out the process of shortlisting prospective employees. Pre-assessment testing has been used by industries today such as e-commerce, retail, real estate, pharmaceutical, manufacturing, and others. 

Myth 7. Tests Make Applicants Nervous

Reality – These days, finding suitable employees have become a critical situation for employers, in this, employers are working very hard to leave a positive remark on candidates mind. So, it has been a lurking myth that by conducting pre-employment tests, employers will scare the candidates and they will hesitate to apply for the job. Moreover, some candidates assume that recruiters can pass biased judgments based on tests. So, in this, how can employers gain the attention of good candidates. 

The fact here is that if you are conducting 4 hours long SAT to test your candidate’s skills, then you are bound to lose the interest of good applicants. Based on the real analysis drawn from half a million different tests concluded that candidates drop out of the hiring process depending on the length. Now, if you create a 5 minutes test in a game form, then no candidate will hesitate to try it. Besides, if you use Xobin, then you can assess the personality, psych, and behavioral traits of applicants to create a better test. Thus, if you fear that good candidates might don’t participate in your pre-employment test, then make your test short and interesting.

Myth 8. Test Will Increase your Legal Costs

Reality – If your interview phase isn’t well structured, then it will potentially bring a lawsuit your way. The test should be designed carefully after considering all the state and federal rules of employment. If you include any psychological or cognitive test in your recruitment process that is somehow objectionable or dangerous, then you should be prepared for a lawsuit that can be a huge threat to your financial resources. 

So, if your test is hurting someone’s sentiments or challenging the psychology of a community, then you should not conduct such kind of test. In many situations, consent decrees require that the organization replace more subjective hiring processes with more structured solutions, which often involve testing. In short, make your test non-objectionable after following all the local recruitment laws. 

Myth 9. Tests Filter Out Good Candidates 

Reality – Pre-employment test works like any other employment test and filters out candidates based on certain scores. But, if you haven’t set the right criteria to filter out the candidates, then you might filter out some good candidates. So, the myth about filtering out good candidates is partially right because if you implement a pre-assessment test perfectly, then nothing will ever go wrong. 

For instance, sometimes companies appoint junior staff to shortlist the resume of applicants based on certain keywords. But, the junior staff isn’t competent enough to shortlist good candidates as they don’t have experience and knowledge. Thus, this will eventually let good candidates slide out. So, if you are not thoroughly analyzing the performance of candidates in the pre-test, then you won’t be able to achieve the desired results from them. 

Myth 10. Some People Are Good at Taking Tests

Reality – This is a very interesting myth that is related to the personal intelligence and skill of an individual. There’s no doubt that some people are good at taking tests and they perform well under intense pressure. But, on the other hand, some people are highly intelligent, but they can’t perform well under stress. And, this thought has been advocated to create a myth against pre-employment tests. 

Now, the personal habit of everyone is different, but if companies make assessment tests interesting and informal, then candidates will feel less nervous and can perform better in the test. And, as result, the company won’t lose good candidates because they can’t function properly under intense pressure. 

Parting Thoughts

If you are looking forward to growing in your field, then you need the support of as many as professionals you can. Moreover, according to statistics if you don’t invest in the strong candidate’s experience, then the quality of your new recruiters will be down by 70%. Thus, you need to implement a pre-employment test very carefully in your hiring process after examining all the relevant criteria. 

It is essential to clarify all the myths related to pre-employment testing so that you can hire qualified and skilled employees for your company without any problem. Just focus on your candidates and your needs before creating a pre-assessment test.