Employment Screening Tests: Types, Uses, and Limits

Recruiters are using challenges, games and other types of tests to screen job candidates. If you are running an employee hiring process or are a job candidate yourself, here’s what you need to know about employment screening tests.

About Employment Screening Tests

Employment screening tests are used to measure job-relevant capabilities such as knowledge, reasoning, judgement, and specific skills. They can add useful signal, but only when the test is matched to the role and used alongside other evidence (for example, structured interviews and work-sample tasks).

A well-designed pre-employment screening test is the most efficient tool available to determine the capacity of candidates to meet specific job requirements.

Nikoletta Bika, HR Researcher

Note: Not all tests are equally predictive, and “well-designed” has a technical meaning in selection psychology. In practice, tests should be validated for the job, administered consistently, and interpreted appropriately. For a widely used professional standard on selection and test validation, see the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology’s Principles for the Validation and Use of Personnel Selection Procedures.

Screening tests are designed to help organisations evaluate the job-related abilities of prospective recruits. When used appropriately, they can improve hiring decisions by providing structured evidence beyond impressions formed in an interview.

Some tests are more accurate than others. Tests should be selected and managed to ensure they are effective for the role and used in a way that is fair and consistent. They should not be designed or applied in a manner that creates unnecessary barriers for protected groups or introduces avoidable bias.

As with any assessment method, results are not perfect. Well-chosen screening processes can shed light on suitability. Poorly chosen tests can skew results and increase the risk of hiring errors.

Below is a guide to common types of screening tests used in recruitment.

1. Job Knowledge Tests

A job knowledge test measures a candidate’s theoretical and technical expertise in a specific field. For example, an accountant might be asked questions related to accounts receivable principles.

These tests are best used when organisations need candidates with specific, job-ready knowledge. Use a knowledge test when every candidate should reasonably be expected to know certain facts before they start work.

2. Integrity Assessment

Integrity tests aim to identify attitudes and traits associated with reliability and honesty.

• An overt integrity test asks direct questions about ethics and behaviour.
• A covert approach infers integrity-related traits indirectly (for example, conscientiousness) through structured items or scenarios.

A well-constructed integrity assessment can be one useful indicator of future job performance. It should still be treated as one input among several, not a definitive pass/fail gate.

3. Cognitive Ability

Cognitive tests evaluate general mental capability such as numerical, verbal and logical reasoning. For recent graduates, they can be a useful supplementary indicator of learning potential, especially when job experience is limited.

Be careful with brand names and labels. What matters is whether the test has evidence of validity for the role and is administered consistently. Any single test should not be treated as a complete substitute for job-relevant evidence such as work samples or structured interviews.

4. Personality Tests

Personality and psychometric assessments can offer insight into behavioural tendencies that may matter for certain roles. For example, some sales roles may benefit from higher levels of assertiveness and sociability.

Scenario-based items and structured role exercises can sometimes provide more job-relevant information than self-report surveys alone. Self-report tests can be faked, while behaviour under structured situations can be harder to simulate consistently.

5. Emotional Intelligence (EI) Tests

An EI screening test aims to assess how well a candidate understands emotions in themselves and others. In some roles, this may relate to leadership, conflict management, and relationship-building.

EI tests are often used in roles requiring frequent interpersonal interaction and people leadership. They should be chosen carefully, because EI is defined and measured differently across tools.

6. Skills Assessment

Skills tests measure practical capability in a specific skill area rather than personality or broad knowledge. They can focus on hard skills, soft skills, or a combination.

When designed correctly, a skills assessment can quantify relevant capability directly. Examples include typing tests, coding or spreadsheet exercises, and writing or editing tasks.

What Roles Do Screening Tests Play in Recruitment?

Quizzes, challenges, games and other tests can provide additional information that improves recruitment outcomes when used appropriately.

• They can help filter out clearly unsuitable candidates early.
• They can identify mental, analytical and practical capabilities that are hard to judge from resumes alone.
• They can support objective comparison when you have a group of broadly qualified candidates.
• They can complement interviews by adding structured evidence, especially when interviewers vary in skill.

For candidates: treat screening tests as a normal part of modern hiring. Read instructions carefully, practice the relevant format (numerical reasoning, situational judgement, work samples), and prioritise accuracy over rushing. If a test feels unrelated to the job, that can be a signal about the employer’s selection process as well.

When several candidates meet the basic criteria, a well-chosen assessment can help inform a final decision. For the process to be meaningful, use tests that fit the role, can be administered consistently, and produce results you can interpret responsibly.