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The pre-employment tests are the tests used by employers to evaluate job applicants (Youngman, 2017). The pre-testing may include their emotional intelligence, work skills, experience, language proficiency, and integrity. The primary aim of pretesting is to identify the candidates that are most likely to succeed in open positions as well as those not qualified. The pre-employment tests play a vital role in the organization in that it helps in the identification of the candidates who are more likely to perform better in the assigned jobs. Besides, the pre-employment tests aids in improving the morale of the employees thus crucial in the minimization of staff turnover. They are also essential as they help in saving time as well as the cost involved in the selection process and therefore saves the company unnecessary expenditures.
Various types of pre-employment tests that organizations use in testing the employees do exist. The pre-employment tests determine the type of candidates, their eligibility as well as their ability to perform the required tasks safely and effectively. In overall, the tests serve as a tool for the hiring managers and as well help them in avoiding the hiring bias during the hiring process. Some of the pre-tests which are mostly used and are of great significance include the personality tests that are used to assess the degree to which a person has certain traits or are able to predict the likelihood that the individual will be able to engage in certain conduct (Kaplan & Saccuzzo, 2017). The primary objective is to determine whether the candidate will be fit for the position as well as the company. The personality tests are therefore written in such a manner that they will reveal any of the attempts at dishonesty and thus the primary aim of the personality tests is to hire the employees who fit the as an ideal employee profile of the company to which the hiring is done.
Talent assessment tests are also used during the pre-employment testing as they help in the prediction of the new hire’s job as well as retainability (White, 2017). The primary focus of the talent assessment test is the evaluation of the potentials skills and abilities as differentiated from either personality or skills revealed by the employees’ work history — the tests aids in determining whether the applicant will be successfully hired. The cognitive tests on the other side measure the candidates reasoning ability, memory, accuracy as well as speed in performance and their reading and arithmetic skills. The cognitive tests also function as an intelligence test. Emotional intelligence as well can be used as a pre-employment test, testing the individual’s ability to understand their own emotions as well as those of others. The emotionally intelligent individuals have the ability to work well with other employees as well as interact with the public and handle situations more maturely and professionally.
The pre-employment tests are legal as long as the organizations do not use the results of the test results to discriminate by the race, sex, color, disability, nationality or religion (Ghosh & Ravichandran, 2018). For the pre-employment tests to be legal, they must be valid and must be related to the job to which is being applied. However, there are pre-employment tests that are illegal in most circumstances, and some of them include the lie detector tests in accordance with the Employee Polygraph Protection Act. Test validity refers to the extent to which the test accurately measures what it is supposed to measure. Validity is, therefore, a measure of how well a test measures what it claims to measure. A validity test ensures that the results are an accurate depiction and reflection of the dimensions undergoing assessment. It is therefore crucial in ensuring the standardization of the results making it more viable to use due to accuracy.
References
Ghosh, A., & Ravichandran, S. (2018). Understanding Hospitality Employers’ Perceptions of Preemployment Testing in Determining Successful Hires. International Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Administration, 1-30.
Kaplan, R. M., & Saccuzzo, D. P. (2017). Psychological testing: Principles, applications, and issues. Nelson Education.
White, M. F. (2017). True Employee Turnover Costs: A Qualitative Case Study (Doctoral dissertation, Northcentral University).
Youngman, J. F. (2017). The use and abuse of pre-employment personality tests. Business Horizons, 60(3), 261-269.
