How to Assess Technical Skills Of Candidates in A Pre-Employment Assessment?

Technical hiring needs to show what a candidate can do with the technology available, so we know they can actually do the job right. A pre-employment technical assessment can enable an employer to objectively examine a candidate against objective criteria before any hiring decisions are made.

The article will explain what you need to know about technical skills assessments, the key competencies to assess, and how to leverage OnlineExamMaker for this purpose.

• What Is A Technical Skills Assessment?
• 5 Essential Technical Skills for Employees in The Workplace
• How to Make Technical Skills Using OnlineExamMaker?
• How to Develop Technical Skills of Staffs?

What Is A Technical Skills Assessment?

A technical skills assessment generally means a test aimed at enabling the employer to understand the ability of a candidate to perform certain tasks on the job. It measures the critical capacity and proficiency of candidates in practical areas of work, like programming, data analysis, software usage, solving problems, and so on. These assessments go beyond theoretical input and ensure the hands-on skills of the candidate to perform at work.

These can range from multiple-choice questions to coding challenges, simulations, and even project-based assessments. This would give you an indication of the level at which candidates apply their skills in real-world situations.

5 Essential Technical Skills for Employees in The Workplace

The technical skills required for a particular job will vary depending on the job itself. However, there are a handful of technical skills that are in demand regardless of industry.

Computer skills
Knowledge of office tools, such as Microsoft Office or Google Workspace, and specific software required for the job, like CRM or design programs.

Coding and programming
Technical job vacancies in software development require a candidate to be good at programming languages, such as Python, Java, and JavaScript.

Data analysis
Ability to interpret and analyze data in Excel, Tableau, or other major analytics platforms like Google Analytics.

Problem-Solving skills
The shortlisted candidate must possess the ability to troubleshoot any complex technical problem in the most efficient possible way.

Technical support
This role within IT requires an understanding of system administration, networking, and cybersecurity to maintain business operations.

How to Make Technical Skills Using OnlineExamMaker?

OnlineExamMaker, with its all-in-one solutions, facilitates smooth and effective assessment of the skills of online employees by letting you create customized tests for any role. Here is a step-by-step process to assess technical and soft skills.

Step 1: Identify skills to be evaluated

Before you develop your assessment, determine what specific competencies you want to assess. Be it technical knowledge, analytical ability, problem-solving skills, or interpersonal skills, having an idea of the exact skill set can be a great help in creating the appropriate assessment. Knowing what you want to assess helps you to make your questions relevant and right for the job.

Step 2: Create proper questions

Different question formats are needed for different skills. Multiple-choice or true/false questions would work wonderfully for a quick and objective assessment of technical knowledge, while open-ended or scenario-based questions work best for assessing somebody’s critical thinking or creativity. OnlineExamMaker provides you with the option to use one of several different types of questions, customizing them to increase your ability to test for various skills in the most effective way possible.

With OnlineExamMaker, you can generate skills assessment using our AI Question Generator to save you time. Just launch our AI tool, inpute the topics, then you can get the questions automatically.

Step 3: Setup an assessment

Create a new exam, then edit the exam information. Imposing a time limit can simulate real-world pressure and give insight into how candidates perform under deadlines. It’s especially useful when evaluating decision-making speed and efficiency, key elements in fast-paced work environments.

Step 4: Include situation-based questions

Also, add some practical workplace-related scenarios for which you get to see how the candidates would respond when challenged with a real-life situation. This way, it tests not only their problem-solving abilities but also how they would make decisions, communicate in real life, and adapt to different situations.

Step 5: Balance hard and soft skills

While technical skills are crucial, soft skills related to communication, teamwork, and leadership must not be given a blind eye. With OnlineExamMaker, one is able to create assessments for the evaluation of both hard and soft skills in order to provide a 360-degree view of the candidate’s fit for the position.

Step 6: Publish and assign it to candidates

You can preview the assessment on your own computer before you release it. Once the assessment is published, you can assign it to candidates via a direct link or a QR code.

Step 7: Review responses carefully

Once the candidates have taken the assessment, review their answers holistically-that is, not just looking at what answers they get correct, but at how they approach the problem and reason. This may prove valuable in determining overall capabilities and potential fit for your team.

How to Develop Technical Skills of Staffs?

While assessing technical skills is important, encouraging the development of skills within your team is equally significant. Here’s how you can help employees grow their technical abilities:

Training
Companies can provide online courses or workshops focused on the learning of tools or technologies.

Hands-on experience
HR managers can also provide employees with real project work to build experience.

Mentoring
Team up employees with senior mentors who can facilitate employees in developing their technical capabilities.

Assessing technical skills during the hiring process is a critical aspect of finding the perfect candidate fit for a position. In this regard, OnlineExamMaker can be used to perform an efficient and customized assessment for informed decisions on hiring. Further, investment in skill development programs ensures the team stays capable and current in handling recent technologies. Let OnlineExamMaker take care of the smoothness of the hiring process to build a skilled workforce.