Approximately 50% of all companies use some sort of skills testing when hiring (Joyce, 2006). Skills tests give employers valuable information about their future employees and allow them to make educated predictions on how someone might perform in their new role.
Nowadays, there are a variety of different tests that are used in recruitment with cognitive ability tests, personality tests, job simulations and assessment centres being some of the major tests used by companies.
It is crucial for job seekers to have knowledge about some of the types of tests they might be asked to complete because it can give them a competitive advantage and allow them to stand out from all the other candidates.
Past experience has shown that individuals who have completed a skills test prior to applying for a job are more likely to achieve higher marks in a job application skills test and are also more likely to obtain employment.
The 5 main benefits of undertaking skills test training are:
1. Be job ready – undertaking skills test before applying for a job can ensure that you walk into the job test feeling confident and ready to knock the test out of the park! It is a known fact that practice makes perfect and a skills test can allow you to be familiar with the types of questions you may be asked. Practicing skills tests guarantee that you achieve a better mark on the actual test and give you a higher likelihood of gaining employment.
2. Reduce test anxiety – undertaking a skills test before applying for a job will ensure that you reduce test anxiety and feel comfortable whilst taking a job test. When individuals are anxious about a new test that they have not seen before, they are more likely to make mistakes and find it hard to concentrate. Practising a skills test ensures that you are able to concentrate and achieve the maximum mark you are capable of achieving.
3. Identify strengths and weaknesses – practising skills tests are a great way to identify your strengths and weaknesses. A practise skills test can give you direction as to what skills you need to promote to the employer during an interview. Likewise, skills tests can highlight areas that you need to improve before applying for a job.
4. Take a skills test to a job interview – taking a skills test to a job interview can highlight your ambition and proactive attitude to the employer. A skills test can be given to an employer to show them what your strengths are and highlight why you should be employed in front other candidates.
5. Set yourself apart from the others – undertaking a practise skills test gives you a competitive advantage and will make you stand out during the recruitment process. Employers only receive limited information about each candidate and a skills test can give them a detailed outline of your strengths and reinforce why you should be chosen for the job. A skills test may be the extra piece of information that ensured you are chosen for a job position in front of someone else.
Contact CIRCLE Recruitment & HR to ask about our range of skills testing and what may assist your job search.
Christopher Bourgeois, is a CIRCLE Recruitment & HR Human Resource intern currently completing a Bachelor of Commerce at the University of Wollongong.
References:
Joyce, A 2006. Before Scoring that Job, You’d Better Ace the Test, The Washington Post, 08 June, viewed 19 July 2016, .
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