Whether or Not You Realize it, You're Using Assessments
Assessment! What a concept! Imagine a world where job applicants are screened for their job skills…before being hired! Wow!
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Assessment = Judgment = Test = Interview = Application = Resume+ Z5 z8 i/ q" Z H$ Y1 \5 K8 w
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It's so simple, it's complicated.
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Folks, anyone who screens resumes or applications, conducts interviews, or reviews past work history to predict future job performance is already using assessments. Ads, postings, websites, and referrals may bring applicants to your doorstep, but assessments separate employees from wannabes. , s$ v# A, M9 C7 Q Y8 X
: z. i% H2 b, i9 ^% bSo wake up and smell the coffee. Assessments are not weird, foreign, or unusual. They are used every time someone places an ad in a trade newspaper, posts on a job board, conducts an interview, uses a "smart" Internet application, "sells a pencil," or gives a test. " A( I% _2 v. v( Z+ H2 Z; B+ [! W
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The sooner we realize our profession is up to its armpits in the assessment swamp, the sooner it can change our image from a "learn-as-you-earn" job to one where highly skilled professionals command respect. Can anyone escape the assessment swamp? Sure: advertise everywhere and hire anyone who applies.4 r; y; l7 f( W7 q0 Q8 j. r
7 T& ]$ R. n& [+ ~5 P/ rSourcing as Assessments, l5 @9 r, g7 x, l1 K
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When we post ads to a specific newspaper or website, or ask for personal referrals, we are using a source-related assessment. In other words, we expect these sources to minimize unqualified job seekers.
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For example, posting on an Internet board excludes people who are not computer-savvy enough to navigate the Internet and post to the site. Posting in the WSJ excludes people who are not business-savvy. Posting to a site catering to a specific ethnic group excludes everyone who is not a member of the group. ( Z7 W- j9 b& b0 y7 ^( {9 G8 S
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You get the idea. Sourcing choices are a subtle form of assessment because they act as not-so-subtle pre-qualification screens.
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5 s0 b+ Y, ]7 ]( g1 O* T/ vInterviews as Assessments
4 X; D8 ^8 P+ z, j0 fA recruiter or hiring manager might think, "Hmmm. Interviews are ways to get to know someone. If I get to know you, you should be able to do the job." Well, if our objective was to know someone at a surface level, then interviews would be appropriate. / i# M6 v8 X. F: y( z! i r8 W8 X9 I
% b8 ^' U( M; w/ D Y: \6 PHowever, anyone with a few years of career experience knows that interview skills and job skills are two entirely different things. As we all know, even the most likeable people can turn into incompetent employees.
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The problems with using interviews as assessments are well-known: the interviewer often has an unclear idea of the skills required; question techniques might be leading or unclear; the applicant may not be able to recall a good response; applicants fib; personal appearance may affect the decision; and so forth. 3 n( _ J7 l# z- u' Z
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In a desperate attempt to add credibility to the interview, people advocate wrong-headed questions like the "gotcha!" (e.g., when candidates are invited to say something negative about themselves); the "one-question-wonder" (e.g., when interviewers have a secret internal job-standard against which everyone is measured); or the "pseudo-shrink" (e.g., where the interviewer thinks he or she is a practicing psychologist and asks deep questions like, "If you were a tree, what color would you smell like?").
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* i' ^; I& a/ F" eYes, interviews are assessments. They have questions, answer guides, and pass/fail standards. Once you screen out bottom-feeders, they tend to be about the same as chance at predicting performance.
