After the Interview, How Else Can You "Test" Candidates?

Several Compliance Reminders on Employment Tests in U.S. Recruiting

In our previous article, we discussed which questions are not recommended when interviewing candidates in the United States.

In practice, however, many companies do not make hiring decisions based solely on interviews.

Sales positions may involve personality assessments, finance positions may involve Excel or professional skills tests, warehouse positions may involve physical ability tests, and some positions may also involve drug testing or medical examinations.

All of these fall broadly under Employment Tests.

The question is:

If all candidates take the same test, does that necessarily make the test fair and compliant?

Not necessarily.

1. The Test Should First Be Related to the Job

A hiring test is not necessarily more professional simply because it is more difficult.

For example, when hiring an accountant, asking a candidate to complete an Excel test or a simple accounting exercise can easily be explained as job-related.

But if the content of a test has little connection to the actual job, the company needs to answer:

Why should the results of this test affect the hiring decision?

A simple principle is:

The test should help the company determine whether the candidate has the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to perform the job.

2. A Higher Standard Is Not Always Better

For example, a warehouse position may indeed require a certain level of physical strength.

But if a company requires candidates to be able to lift 75 pounds, HR should continue asking:

• Does the actual job frequently require lifting that much weight?

• Is a forklift or other equipment normally available to assist with the work?

• Why is the standard 75 pounds rather than 40 or 50 pounds?

U.S. employment law looks not only at whether a test is related to the job, but also at:

Whether the passing standard is truly necessary.

If a test clearly results in a much lower pass rate for one group of candidates than for other groups, it may also create a risk of Disparate Impact.

Relevant regulations also emphasize that when a test has a clear disparate impact, there should be strong evidence supporting its validity, and the employer should consider whether less discriminatory alternatives are available.

3. Third-Party Assessments Should Not Be Left Entirely to the Vendor

Today, many companies purchase personality, ability, or other pre-employment assessment tools.

The vendor may tell you:

“This test has been validated.”

But the company should continue asking:

For what type of job was it validated?

A test that works for another company or another position does not necessarily mean that it is automatically suitable for your position.

Therefore, when using employment tests, the three most important questions are:

Why are we testing?
What are we testing?
Why should the result affect the hiring decision?

In our previous article, we discussed that interviews should focus on job-related factors rather than a candidate’s personal circumstances.

Employment tests follow the same principle:

Do not test simply to “learn more about the person.”
Test in order to “more accurately determine whether the person can perform the job.”

💡 Preview of the Next Article

Background Check

After interviews and testing are completed, many companies move to the next step: the background check.

Education, employment history, criminal records, credit records... What can employers check? When can they check? If the results reveal an issue, can the employer immediately withdraw the offer?

In our next article, we will continue discussing Background Checks in U.S. recruiting.

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Disclaimer

This article is for general informational, business management, and human resources practice purposes only. WholeVantage Advisory may provide practical recommendations and preliminary assessments based on a company’s specific circumstances regarding U.S. employment management, HR policies and processes, and basic compliance risks, but does not replace formal legal, tax, or other professional advice provided by U.S.-licensed attorneys, certified public accountants, or other licensed professionals.