Types of recruitment tests and questionnaires

What techniques and tests do human resources teams use to select candidates?

Recruiters and recruitment experts use various tests and questionnaires to select the right candidates for the jobs they offer. to select the right candidates for the jobs they offer.

The job interview can be a good tool to get to know the applicant and to ultimately decide whether or not he or she is qualified to perform the duties required for the position. But using the interview alone to determine whether or not the candidate is the person you are looking for may not be entirely reliable.

Nowadays, many selection processes include various tests (e.g. role plays) or psycho-technical tests to determine the professional aptitude of the candidates, to get to know their personality and to assess their motivation. The combination of these tools is the best option if we want the selection process to be as accurate as possible.

• Recommended article: "Job interviews: The 10 most frequent mistakes".

The concept of competence

The origin of these tests is to be found in the concept of competencewhich arises from the need to assess not only the set of knowledge, skills and abilities that a person may possess, but to to appreciate his or her ability to use them in concrete situations and to solve problems that may arise in a specific work environment. in a specific work environment. Likewise, the concept of competence refers to the attitude, motivation and conditions of the individual and his or her behaviors.

The different tests or questionnaires used in personnel selection processes have the mission of assessing as a whole the four different dimensions present in the concept of competency. four different dimensions present in the concept of competence. These are:

• Knowing how to be: refers to the personal dimension, the attitudes and values that guide the candidate's behavior.
• Knowingis the technical component, i.e. academic data or knowledge.
• Knowing how to dois the methodological component, the ability to apply knowledge: skills, dexterities, methods of action, etc.
• Knowing how to beis the participatory component. It refers to skills related to interpersonal communication and teamwork.

• You can learn more about the concept of competency in our article: "How to face a competency-based interview: 4 keys to get the job".

Types of recruitment tests and questionnaires

But, What are the tests or questionnaires used by recruitment experts? What do these tools aim to measure? Here we explain

Professional or knowledge tests

Professional tests simulate real-life situations and conditions that may be encountered in a particular job.. Therefore, these tests are intended to determine an applicant's level of proficiency to perform the job for which he or she is applying and are used to obtain information about the applicant's training, experience and specific knowledge.

There are two types of professional tests: the knowledge teststests, which evaluate content related to the occupation; and skills testswhich evaluate specific competencies related to the occupation. Among these tests, we can find: language tests, typing tests, tests of mastery of computer tools, tests for repairing or assembling an appliance, etc.

Personality questionnaires

Personality questionnaires try to extract through different items the main traits of an individual's character. to be able to deduce the suitability and adaptability to the job position to which the individual aspires. For example, if a subject participates in a selection process for a sales position, one of the personality traits that recruiters will assess is extraversion.

Recruiters can use different personality tests, but two of the most commonly used are: the Big Five questionnaire, which measures sociability, responsibility, openness, agreeableness and neuroticism; or the EPQ-R questionnaire, based on Eysenck's PEN model. For these questionnaires, the answers are neither bad nor good, they simply reflect the candidate's personality or his or her way of thinking and acting in certain situations..

In addition, for some jobs, it is a prerequisite to pass some personality tests related to mental health. For example, one of the most widely used tests is the MMPI-2 (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory). Its use is focused on the identification of the personality profile and the detection of psychopathologies, so it can be used, for example, in selection processes for police personnel.

Psycho-technical questionnaires

Psycho-technical questionnaires are intelligence tests or aptitude tests which are usually presented with a time limit for completion. They are tests that evaluate the intellectual capacities of the applicants for the correct performance of certain jobs, and they allow to evaluate the cognitive capacities of the person, such as general intelligence, memory, perception or attention.

This type of questionnaire is also used to determine more specific aspects of the applicant's intelligence, for example, verbal aptitude, numerical aptitude, spatial aptitude, capacity for abstraction or concentration.

Situational tests

Situational tests are also known as group dynamics, and are used to assess the competencies and skills of candidates, as well as to predict their performance in the workplace.They can be used to assess the competencies and skills of candidates and to predict their performance in a given job. During this type of test, a situation is recreated that simulates the conditions and demands of the position, which the subjects will have to face by putting into practice a series of competencies necessary for the efficient performance of the task.

Situational tests are increasingly used because they have proved to be one of the most they have proven to be one of the most useful and accurate tools for the assessment of competencies.During the test, candidates put into practice the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to solve the situation-problem or specific task.

The situational tests most commonly used by personnel selection experts are:

• Writing a reportEvaluates the capacity for analysis, reasoning and written expression.
• Making a presentationEvaluates the ability to structure a presentation, oral expression skills, and public speaking skills.
• Tray exerciseAssesses planning, time management, problem solving, verbal and written communication skills.
• Role playingEvaluates different competencies depending on the role played. For example, leadership or teamwork.