How can HR help Candidates benefit from Pre-employment Assessment Tests?

If you do a quick survey of things job applicants don’t like, you will get these top three answers: a long-drawn hiring process, delayed responses, and pre-employment tests. The very idea of “tests” makes candidates cringe. And they aren’t wrong if you ask me! Most of these tests are very pro-HR. We have established many times how pre-employment assessment benefits in an efficient hiring process.

But what about benefits for candidates?
The idea of any recruitment exercise is to make it useful for both employers and applicants. The work culture of today is about inclusivity; not only for employees but also for the prospective ones. While applying for jobs, candidates want to know if their future employer cares for them. And it all starts at the pre-hiring step. 

There’s no doubt that pre-employment tests are designed to benefit the organization in screening for the finest talent. But how can it become more inclusive for candidates?

Here are a few ways HRs can balance out the technicalities of the pre-employment assessment testing process with a little personalization.

Personalize the pre-employment test request

Every time a candidate sends out an application, they are taking time and effort to write a personalized cover letter, tweaking their resumes to suit the profile, and spending long hours to go through job vacancies before they hit the apply button on your ad. Sending them a cold and crisp response seems a little unfair to their endeavors, isn’t it? Start by responding to their application by explaining why they were selected for the pre-employment test. It’s important to let your candidates know that their skills and time are of value. Explain how the test works and how they will be evaluated and give them a few tips on what they can do best. This establishes the premise that you are interested in their success and creates a personal connection. Even if you don’t shortlist them for the interviews, it drives goodwill and when you reach out to them again in the future, they will remember that they had a good try.

Select mutually beneficial tests

A pre-employment assessment might sound like it’s all about knowing the job role, but in reality, it’s not just that. Such an assessment is also to know about the candidate and how they are as individuals, whether they can fit into your company, or drive leadership in the future. It’s about looking at the bigger picture. So, when you select the set of tests, it’s recommended to have a mix of technical and non-technical tests so you understand candidates as people and not just as “recruits”.

Invest in feedback

People want to know how they scored and fared in a test. It might seem cumbersome but can go a long way in developing your employer brand. After the test, let your candidates know how they performed. Just a small thank you mail from the HR can mean a lot to them along with the results. Assessment is also about helping candidates discover their strengths and weaknesses and showing them you are a caring organization.

Appreciate the high-performing candidates

There are times when some candidates have the best performance in some tests but lack in others. Why not appreciate them for what they did best? Why not tell them where they lacked and give them suggestions on how they can improve? Free training materials, video links, or even your public content can help them train themselves better and perhaps apply for a future role. This helps you expand your recruitment funnel and earn the reputation of an organization that not only cares for candidates but also helps them upgrade themselves.

How AI can help

Come to think of it, these exercises can seem time and effort-consuming; especially when you have to sort through hundreds of applications and test results per day. But with AI-powered recruitment software, for tests, screening, and interviewing, you can not only save a lot of time, effort, and money, you can redirect those resources towards personalizing the candidate’s pre-employment experience!

Tags: candidates, pre-employment assessment