Pre-hire assessment

A pre-hire assessment (or pre-employment assessment) is a test or questionnaire that candidates complete as part of the job application process. The use of a valid assessment is an effective way to determine which applicants are the most qualified for a specific job based on their strengths and preferences. Employers typically use the results to determine how well each candidate’s strengths and preferences match the job requirements.

Valid pre-hire tests can be an effective means of identifying which applicants are most qualified for a particular job. Scientifically-based assessments (like cognitive and personality assessments) can improve the accuracy of recruiting and hiring processes. Using valid assessments to make decisions yields results that are more accurate than human judgment when identifying the applicants who are most likely to succeed in a job.

Based on U.S. federal guidelines and research any tool used to make a decision about a candidate is considered a “test” in the United States. That means that "test" includes résumé reviews, interviews, personality tests, cognitive tests, key word searches, sample job tasks, telephone screens, medical examinations, credit checks, and any other assessment activity like work simulations, questionnaires or assessments, and paper and pencil exercises.

The U. S. Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology has developed information about using pre-hire tests.

Pre-hire assessments evaluate the factors that most accurately predict a candidate’s future job performance. When the assessments are validated, they can be relied on to identify a candidate’s strengths and work preferences. Then, using algorithms, the assessment results can be analyzed to predict how successful a candidate is likely to be in a particular job. The best assessments evaluate both cognitive ability and personality factors.

Cognitive ability is also called learning ability or “general mental ability”. This category describes the ability to learn and apply knowledge to work. Cognitive ability is a consistent and nearly universal predictor of future job performance. But cognitive ability information is not enough – some technical geniuses, for example, can’t work with managers, peers, or end users. Some gifted employees cannot deliver projects on time. Personality helps explain why some employees don’t perform well, even when they possess technical skills.

Personality is the unique set of characteristics that is reflected in patterns of individual behavior. Personality and its effects on work success have been studied for more than 85 years. Because personality is relatively consistent over time, using a valid pre-hire assessment helps managers learn how candidates are likely to behave when they are at work.

...
Wikipedia