Assessment methods

What are assessment methods?

In recruitment, assessment methods are tools used to evaluate different candidates’ attributes to identify the best candidate for a job.

These methods range from more traditional face-to-face interviews to approaches like practical simulations. They are designed to help employers to evaluate a candidate’s current skills, qualifications, potential for future growth, and how well they work within the company.

What do they achieve?

Recruitment assessment methods are used to provide a deeper insight into each candidate’s capabilities and how they relate to the skills required for the job. Assessment methods should support recruiters to make well-informed and strategic hiring decisions that align with the organisation’s specific needs and goals. Ultimately, this aims to improve the recruitment process, ensuring the best candidates are selected for the available roles.

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Barriers in recruitment assessment methods

Recruitment assessment methods provide employers with valuable insights into candidates’ skills, qualifications, potential for growth, and alignment with the company values. However, barriers to accessibility and inclusion during this process often cause companies to overlook potential candidates who could be valuable additions to their teams.

Key barriers in recruitment assessment methods

Standardised testing and screening tools

• Inflexibility: Common screening methods like psychometric tests often fail to accommodate diverse ways of thinking and processing information, disadvantaging those who do not fit the ‘neurotypical’ profile.
• Bias in assessing: Tests may inadvertently favour cognitive processing styles characteristic of neurotypical individuals, such as quick decision-making or linear thinking, which can pose challenges for neurodivergent applicants.

Lack of understanding

• Perceived differences: In the projects national survey employers agreed that the main barriers were their assumptions that neurodivergent employees would be harder to manage, more difficult for the team, more costly to train, and less productive. All of these are just assumptions and with training and personal experience, employers would know that every individual is different and has unique strengths and weaknesses.

Traditional interviews

• Social interaction norms: Traditional interview settings typically value eye contact, body language, and spontaneous thinking—areas where neurodivergent individuals present differently. Autistic individuals, for example, may not value maintaining eye contact or have difficult reading subtle social cues, leading to potential misinterpretation of their behaviours as disinterest or being rude.
• Emotional regulation: Many individuals find a formal interview process intimidating and anxiety-provoking. When anxious interviewees are more likely to have disordered thinking and therefore not be able to understand or answer the questions well. This means your business could miss out on finding the best applicant.

Communication and expectations

• Job adverts language: In the national survey of employees the job ad itself was a barrier. For example, if it lists desired skills they do not have or qualifications they do not have then they will not even apply. If it uses jargon language that may also give them a reason not to apply.
• Repetitive expectations: In traditional recruitment pathways the application often requires a repetition of steps such as attach your resume and then answer these questions online about your resume and then submit a video about yourself. This process may appear to time consuming and make a neurodivergent applicant not apply.
• Literal interpretations: Neurodivergent individuals who think more literally may be confused by figurative language or vague job descriptions and questions. This can make it challenging for them to respond in an expected manner during interviews or written assessments.

Environmental sensitivities

• Workplace settings: Many recruitment assessment environments are not designed with sensory sensitivities in mind. Interview spaces with bright lighting, strong smells, or distracting background noise can overwhelm neurodivergent individuals, preventing their ability to perform to their full potential.

Lack of accommodations

• Adaptations in process: When adjustments are made, they may not be sufficiently individualised. Giving extra time for a task might assist some candidates, but others may benefit more from having questions presented in written form or being allowed to respond in writing.

To facilitate a fair assessment process for neurodivergent jobseekers, recruiters should carefully consider how candidates are assessed. Inclusive approaches can help ensure that the unique strengths and abilities of neurodivergent individuals are accurately evaluated and appreciated.

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Assessment methods

Recruitment assessment methods are tools that can help organisations evaluate the suitability of candidates for specific roles.

These methods vary widely, from structured interviews and skills assessments to practical demonstrations and portfolio reviews.

The recruitment assessment method used should vary depending on what employers are looking to evaluate. Methods used should help to uncover a candidate’s capabilities, ensuring a holistic approach to talent acquisition.

1. Interviews

Interviews are tools for assessing a candidate’s communication skills, thought processes, and alignment with company values. This category utilises various settings to comprehensively evaluate the candidate’s interpersonal skills and professional demeanour. Individuals’ stress responses variate depending on the method you choose.

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2. Skills assessment

Skills assessments are designed to objectively measure a candidate’s specific competencies and cognitive abilities, for the role they are applying for.

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3. Skills demonstration

Skills demonstration methods provide candidates with the opportunity to showcase their practical abilities through real or simulated tasks relevant to the job.

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4. Samples of work

This category evaluates candidates based on tangible evidence of their past work, offering insights into their technical skills and creativity.

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5. Combination of methods

Assessment events use a combination of recruitment methods to evaluate candidates in a thorough and well-rounded way.

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Each of these categories and methods can play a vital role in helping organisations find the right candidate for the role. By carefully selecting the best recruitment assessment method for the role to be filled, employers can make well-informed hiring decisions that contribute to successful and productive workplace environments.

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Which recruitment assessment method to use

Selecting the best-fit recruitment assessment method can significantly enhance the process of identifying the right candidate for a role. The following matrix outlines a range of attributes aligned to specific roles and responsibilities, along with well-suited recruitment assessment methods for evaluating candidates.

It includes diverse profiles, catering to traditional, independent, and remote work scenarios. By using this guide, organisations can refine their recruitment process to ensure that assessment tools are specifically matched to the skills and attributes required for the role. This approach not only improves the accuracy of candidate evaluations but also promotes neuro-inclusion by avoiding the inadvertent assessment of skills that are not essential to the position.

Attributes	Roles and Responsibilities	Assessment Methods
Highly motivated, independent, and disciplined	Perform tasks autonomously with minimal supervision, meet deadlines, and deliver results remotely.	Virtual Interviews, Digitally Recorded Interviews, Simulated Work Tasks, Take-Home Assignments
Excellent communicator, proactive, and organised	Coordinate with remote teams, ensure smooth communication, and manage projects.	Virtual Interviews, Phone Interviews, Test Interviews, Assessment Events
Detail-oriented, analytical, and critical thinker	Analyse data, solve problems, and provide insights for strategic decisions.	Puzzles & Game Tests, Portfolios, Work Samples, Take-Home Assignments
Empathetic, solution-focused, and adaptable	Provide customer support, resolve issues, and ensure customer satisfaction remotely.	Phone Interviews, Chat Interviews, Role Play Scenarios, Simulated Work Tasks
Collaborative, strong communicator, and creative	Develop marketing campaigns, design strategies, and collaborate with diverse teams.	Digitally Recorded Interviews, Portfolios, Work Samples, Virtual Interviews