Hiring the right candidate is believed to be complex because the word ‘right’ doesn’t even capture the concept of the perfect candidate in its entirety. Neither do the words ‘fit’ or ‘appropriate’ come close to what it means to land with a successful hire.

For one, humans are unpredictable. Candidates with a promising resume may perform less than their counterparts who have less-impressive curriculum vitae (CV). Next, the growth trajectory of employees, once they get hired, differs and is subject to a plethora of extraneous factors.

That’s why, from a qualification-driven recruitment standpoint, the trend of human resources (HR) management in the years to come—encompassing recruitment, employment, and training— is said to have shifted to a skill-based approach. 

This said, from the recruiter’s perspective, candidates will most likely get hired based on what skills they can bring to the table and how likely they’ll grow from there. Or in simple terms, their aptitude for growth. 

If you’re a hiring manager or even an aspirant who wants to score your dream job, here’s a guide on how aptitude tests are utilized to identify top talents.

• Use Standardized Assessments

When people talk about psychometric tests, pre-employment scales, or aptitude assessments in general, the term ‘standardized’ receives little to no attention.

But to put it out bluntly, recruiters must, in most cases, use standardized aptitude assessments in their hiring process. This is to ensure that the results of their assessment are meritorious, nearly accurate, and are under the grace of good psychometric qualities. 

To understand it better, standardization is when a test undergoes a rigorous process of test and retest, and constant test analysis to increase its validity and reliability to make it more universal. Concerning standardization, what people must understand is that results can be biased. 

Mostly, it’s culturally biased, but other demographic profiles such as sexuality, gender identity, and a lot more, confound on the accuracy of the test results. For instance, two different individuals hailing from diverse cultural backgrounds and gender identification may answer the same aptitude test, but the results may favor one over the other. 

This is probably because the assessment hasn’t undergone enough reliability and validity testing, which makes it unfair for people who don’t belong to the social group that the test originally favors. 

And with the principle of Equal Employment Opportunity (EOP) being disseminated across ALL recruitment processes, a standardized test that is non-discriminatory is well-suited in promoting equal opportunity to all applicants.

• Hire A Professional

It’s said that many psychometric tests are ‘leveled’ and each level has its own corresponding level of authority or test user qualification levels in accordance with the American Psychological Association (APA)’s guidelines.

In the same vein, recruiters who use psychological tests in the context of hiring must not only have the right qualifications but also an in-depth understanding of the work of administering the test and analyzing the results. This is because psychological assessments (in this case aptitude tests) are only supplemental to the overall ability of the test taker. 

In a simpler explanation, without having a basic understanding of the job position, a test administrator may fail to make a valid assessment and evaluation of the person’s ability to perform in the job for different jobs require different aptitudes. Tests can only objectively measure aptitudes and not exactly how well an aspiring job applicant plays out in relevance to the work itself.

That’s why, professionals, aka licensed psychometricians and psychologists, must overtake the test administration and no one else. Aside from compliance with APA guidelines, this is to ensure that the entire hiring process is fair and just to all applicants. In the meantime, take a look at this post to know how you can leverage test professionals in training new recruits. 

• Identify What You’re Looking For

Before jumpstarting the hiring process, identify first ALL the things that you’re looking for. Whether it’s a certain personality type, aptitude, emotional quotient, and the list goes on. As mentioned, each job has its own basic requirement of these psychological factors; hence, as a talent acquisition expert, you must set the line before anything else.

It doesn’t need to be a stringent list of specific personality types that you must make. A simple idea of what kind of person you think will fit the job closely is enough to make a wise decision in shortlisting a candidate. 

For instance, if you’re hiring for a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), you’d probably want a person who has a propensity for logical reasoning and someone who is rational and doesn’t break down easily. Knowing how demanding the job position is, you should vet for someone who will most likely display grit and resiliency instead of backing down when things go south.

Bottomline

Beyond all the things listed above, the best way to objectively use and understand aptitude tests is to not rely on them too much. 

As mentioned, aptitude tests are only supplemental, thereby solely referring to them isn’t only unfair but also falls short in the concept of EOP. And with these, any good recruiter would know that no matter how good a test is, human agency is something that’ll nev