Pre-employment tests have become more popular since it is a great way to filter large applicant pools and reduce employee turnover costs. By implementing pre-employment tests in your hiring process, you are essentially measuring the likelihood of a candidate’s success in that role.

A pre-employment test consists of a series of questions chosen to test the candidate in a specific area or for one skillset. A pre-employment assessment combines several tests to test for the necessary skills for the position. The recruitment team at GCS Malta have outlined five types of pre-employment tests your company can equip to simplify the hiring process!

  1. Personality

Personality tests can be a great indicator to check whether the candidate will be a right fit for the company’s culture and position. However, remember that there are no wrong answers for this test since it is all subjective. There are various tests you can opt for:

  • The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator test
  • The SHL Occupational Personality Questionnaire
  • The Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI)

  1. Cognitive ability

Cognitive ability tests tend to be more demanding than personality tests since they ask questions related to problem-solving, numerical reasoning and analytical skills. A common cognitive ability test is the General Aptitude Tests (GAT).

  1. Language

Language tests measure the candidate’s proficiency level according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). Usually, the candidates are given a language test depending on the level of proficiency necessary for the position:

Level Proficiency
Pre A1/A1/A2 Basic
B1/B2 Independent
C1/C2 Proficient

  1. Emotional Intelligence

While this type of test is relatively new, research shows that by assessing your candidate for their level of emotional intelligence, you can evaluate their:

  • motivation
  • adaptability
  • decision-making
  • level of empathy
  • openness to teamwork
  • interpersonal effectiveness

Some employers opt to use the Berke assessment to review the range of emotional skills the candidate has and whether they are a good match for the job.

  1. Skills

Skills tests can be both general and specific to job-related competencies. In a general skills test, the employer tests for job readiness skills such as numeracy. However, many recruiters opt to use a specific skill test to overview the candidate’s soft and hard skills. For example, if the job posting is for a content writer position, the recruiter will assign a writing task to demonstrate your writing skill.

Why GCS Malta?

At GCS Malta, our highly-experienced Recruitment team can offer a quick and cost-effective recruitment service. So check out our recruitment vacancies and contact us today for more information.

Article by Sarah Jane Gauci