What is a work simulation?

Traditionally, you review resumes, perform screening calls and hold interviews to help you choose a candidate. Work simulations offer an additional way to assess candidates’ skills by putting them in situations similar to what they’ll experience on the job. They perform real duties and handle responsibilities they might encounter on a daily basis if they get a job offer. A job simulation typically focuses on the key skills necessary to perform that position well.

Reasons to use work simulations

Incorporating this type of assessment into your hiring process takes more time and adds another step. However, it can offer some valuable benefits. Potential perks you get from using job simulations can include:

• Realistic assessment: You get a chance to see each person’s skills in action. Anyone can say they’re great at dealing with disgruntled customers, but seeing them handle a mock situation with someone who’s upset about the service they’ve received can let them prove it.
• Job preview for the candidate: Simulations can also benefit the applicants. While the simulation isn’t an exact replica of a work day, it gives the candidates an idea of what they’ll do if they get the job. They might realize it’s not the job for them.
• Less bias: Without realizing it, you could be introducing bias into the interview process. You might make assumptions about a person based on where they went to college or how they look. Having all candidates go through the same simulation can level the playing field and give you an unbiased way to assess their qualifications.
• Additional insight: The simulation might be designed to test a job-specific skill, but it can also test things like preparation, responses to stressful situations and how well they’ll mesh with the team.
• Efficiency: You can collect a lot of insight about a candidate in a short period with simulations. They can often take the place of several interview questions.
• Guidance for training: Getting a taste of your new hire’s job skills in the interview process can give you an idea of where they are and what type of training they need. It can also help you personalize the onboarding process based on their current skill level.

Types of simulations

While all job simulations aim to assess skills, there are a few different general types you might consider. Common options include:

• Role-playing: This type puts the candidate in an actual work situation and asks them to work through it as they would on the job.
• In-basket: With this type, the person completes certain tasks in a set time. It lets you evaluate their processes and see how they approach the different duties of the position.
• Situational judgment tests: In this type of simulation, the candidate is asked to imagine a particular situation, usually with some type of conflict or obstacle. They must then come up with a solution for the scenario. This can work well for positions that frequently interact with the public or have managerial responsibilities.
• Work sample: This option asks the candidate to produce a sample of the work they might perform in their role, such as a design concept from a graphic designer or pitches for story topics from a writer.
• Take-home assessment: While many simulations take place during the interview process, some tasks are ones the candidates can complete at home. This can give them more time to work on the project and produce a quality piece. It can also help you see how well they follow through and meet deadlines.

Job simulation examples

A work simulation is a flexible candidate screening option that puts each applicant’s skills to the test. You can use them for nearly any position to look at the skills most important to you. Here are some job simulation examples to give you an idea of how the process works:

• An administrative assistant candidate taking meeting minutes
• A call center representative applicant handling a practice call
• A social media manager candidate composing Tweets for the company
• A corporate training applicant teaching a short lesson
• An editor proofreading and editing a short passage
• A copywriter creating a small piece of copy
• An electrician wiring an outlet
• A sales position candidate creating and presenting a sales pitch
• A software tester identifying a bug in a program

How to incorporate a work simulation into the hiring process

It takes a little time to set up your simulation procedures for them to be effective. These steps can make it easier.

1. Choose the timing

You can use job simulations at any stage in the recruiting and hiring process. Two popular times are when you’re screening applicants and during the final assessment. Using it to screen applicants can help you choose the people who best match your requirements. These people can move on to the interview round.

You can also have your final candidates go through a job simulation. You might choose a more in-depth task that takes longer to complete if you decide on this timing. It can give you something in addition to the interview questions to use as an evaluation of the candidates. However, be mindful of candidates’ time.

2. Decide on the skills you want to assess

You can’t assess every single skill or duty necessary for the role. That means you need to decide what’s the most important factor for choosing a final candidate. You might look at the essential duties of the job for inspiration. Perhaps the previous employee in that role lacked a certain skill or didn’t handle certain situations well and it affected the overall workplace productivity. You might also meet with other team members to see what they think needs to be assessed.

3. Identify realistic scenarios

Consider the typical scenarios the person in that role would face. This can help you create ideas for situational judgment simulations or role-playing situations. It can also assist in clarifying the skills you want to assess.

4. Develop specific simulations

Combine those details into the specific simulations you want to do. You can choose a type of simulation, such as a work sample or in-basket simulation, based on what would work for what you want to evaluate. You can get specific with how you set up the simulation and what you expect the candidates to do.

5. Create a measurement system

This can help you evaluate each candidate’s performance with as little bias as possible. For tasks with a right or wrong answer, such as identifying a specific bug in a software program, you can create an answer key. For more subjective tasks, you can create a rubric with different things you want to evaluate. Define what qualifies for different scores and rankings.

Best practices for work simulations

Using some type of simulation can help you screen and assess candidates, but it’s important to use this tool carefully. The following best practices can make the simulation more effective:

• Be consistent. All candidates who make it to that stage should go through the same simulations to create a fair hiring process.
• Offer clear guidance. The candidates should understand what you expect of them and what they should do to be successful.
• Have a way to measure the outcome. This could be based on accuracy or the quality of the product. For instance, if you have administrative assistant candidates transcribe a call, you can calculate the accuracy of their transcripts. If you ask a writer to produce a short piece, you might use a rubric to evaluate it based on predetermined criteria.
• Ensure the hiring team understands the point. Everyone should know what skills the simulation is evaluating and the desired outcome. They should have access to the instructions the candidates received and the measurement tools you’re using.
• Get feedback. Ask the job candidates and the hiring team for feedback on the simulations you use. This can help you make improvements when you hire for future positions.
• Be respectful of candidates’ time. Avoid overly long or time-consuming work simulations for a more positive candidate experience .
• Measure long-term outcomes. Simulations are meant to help you improve your hiring decisions. Get feedback from the person’s supervisor and look at their employee reviews to evaluate how well they fit the role. You can also track the retention of employees who went through work simulations as part of their interviewing process.