Employee Testing and Selection

The importance of employee testing before their selection cannot be undermined in today's world. Many, in fact, all big corporate houses and even small business organizations consider it very necessary to ensure that the prospective employee that walks through their doors is suitable for the time and money that they are going to be investing in him.

For this purpose, they put the candidates through a series of tests to gauge and judge them on various levels. The combined result of all these tests is what determines if the candidate is suitable to even proceed to the next level, i.e., the interview.

In this story, there is information on the very basic and most widely followed pattern of tests that go into the selection process of a candidate.

Procedures for the Testing and Selection of Employees

The initial contact of a prospective employee is the human resources department of a company. This department ensures that it calls for tests, only those candidates who are academically and professionally qualified for the profile that they are hiring for.

Once they sift through the numerous applicants, they pick out the ones that they think are most suitable for the profile. They put them through a rigorous battery of tests. The ones that get through these tests with the most convincing scores or results are the ones that are finally sent ahead for interviews with the higher level management.

Given below is a general outline of such a procedure. The order and types of tests may differ from organization to organization.

Generally the most basic test that is conducted on every applicant is an aptitude test. This test is aimed at gauging the candidate's basic aptitude. It is a written and/or multiple-choice test in which the candidate is asked questions that pertain to very basic and common sense topics.

It also tests the reasoning abilities of the candidate. General knowledge about the field of job that one has applied for, current events in the field, etc., are very important for this test.

If the post that is vacant is a technical one, most companies also conduct a test that will check the logical reasoning abilities of the candidate. They could use something as simple as brain teasers and riddles or have more complicated questions about mathematics to solve.

Once the person clears the first basic rounds of written tests, then comes an employee personality test. While preparing for a personality test, keep in mind that you should be comfortable and efficient enough to fit the career you choose. There's no point applying for a job as a sales executive if you are not really a people person.

This test can often be a deciding factor for many candidates, because often times, it is based on this test that companies hire. When you are confident about yourself and your capabilities towards the profile that has been offered, it shows.

And this confidence is what can make you pass the test. It will test you in regards to your overall behavior, body language, situation control (by way of hypothetical examples), anger management, leadership, etc.

The importance of effective business communication cannot be stressed enough in this world of cut-throat competition. Hence, candidates are also put through different types of communication tests including leadership communication skills, written and oral communication skills, etc.

If one cannot communicate efficaciously, then one may be deemed unfit to work in an environment that demands constant communication, be it with clients, customers, colleagues or the management.

After a candidate passes the tests mentioned above and is approved by the management level as well, the next step that most companies take is to conduct a background check on the person.

It can be a personal reference check or a thorough criminal background check or both. Both are completely legal. However, no company can use information obtained in a background check to discriminate among candidates based on their gender, religion, nationality, disability, or age.

This was an overview of the most basic process that is followed in the corporate world to test and select an employee. As mentioned earlier, the tests and procedures can be different for different organizations. So, make sure you have the right approach and the required potential when you apply for a job.