With the low unemployment rate, it’s a job seeker’s world. To keep up and make great hires, recruiters and employers need to identify and evaluate skilled candidates quickly.
However, many recruiters still have to spend hours looking through hundreds of resumes each day, selecting only a handful of candidates to advance to the next round of the hiring process. Not only is this time-consuming, but most resumes don’t convey the full breadth of a candidate’s skills — which comes as no surprise since 41% of job-seekers say their education doesn’t directly relate to the field they’re working or searching in.
At Indeed, we believe candidates should be chosen based on the fullest understanding of their skills and abilities, and we know that recruiters and employers share this belief. This is why in 2018, we launched Indeed Assessments, a completely free tool that allows employers to add skills tests to job postings so they can screen candidates based on their abilities, personality and aptitude for particular roles — leading to faster, more informed hiring decisions. Recently, Indeed Assessments hit a remarkable milestone, with over 70 million skills tests completed by job seekers globally and more than 600,000 employers using this valuable resource.
These numbers show that employers and job seekers alike find skills tests to be valuable — but we wanted to learn more about how they are being used and why they should be a part of today’s candidate evaluation process. Therefore, we surveyed over 500 employers and 500 job seekers to gain more insights into how it can help you during your next hiring experience. Here’s what we found.
Both recruiters and job seekers want skills tests
Many of the recruiters we surveyed want to better understand a candidate’s skills before advancing them to the next stage of the hiring process. In fact, over half of respondents responsible for recruitment or hiring in their organization (55%) think resumes are insufficient for evaluating candidates. What’s more, 58% are more likely to advance a candidate who is able to demonstrate the skills required.
Of recruiters who use skills tests when hiring, 78% say these help them quickly verify a candidate’s ability to do the job; for 71%, skills tests make it easier to identify relevant candidates.
Candidates also want the chance to demonstrate their abilities and increase their odds of getting a job. Nearly three-quarters (72%) of job-seeker respondents want to prove they have the necessary skills for a given role, and over half (55%) would feel more confident applying for a job if they could prove they have what it takes.
Skills tests can even widen the pool of candidates, preventing recruiters from rejecting people based solely on their resumés. Like we mentioned above, 41% of job-seekers say their education doesn’t directly relate to the field they’re working or searching in, so companies could be missing out on large pools of talent.
How can employers leverage skills tests on Indeed?
Clearly, both recruiters and job seekers stand to benefit from a tool that integrates testing into the application process. Indeed Assessments solves problems for both recruiters and job seekers by providing a simple way for candidates to show off their skills, making it easier for both parties to quickly identify if an opportunity is a right fit.
Not only does this tool help recruiters hire faster — reducing time-to-hire by an average of 27% — it also boosts a candidate’s chance of getting hired. Recruiters can add pre-built skills tests to job postings or manually send them to candidates who have already applied. And while they aren’t required to take them, Indeed finds that job seekers who complete employer-requested Indeed Assessments are 30% more likely to get a positive response.
What’s more, U.S. job seekers with an Indeed account can proactively complete skills tests, adding the results to their Indeed Resume. Those without an account can quickly create one for free, either by uploading a resume or creating one from scratch on the Indeed platform. U.S. employers who use Indeed Resume to search for candidates with specific skills and experience can filter for candidates who have demonstrated they have the skills that match their hiring needs.
There are over 100 skills tests candidates can take, most of which can be completed in five to 10 minutes. Some popular skills tests among employers include personality tests, such as “Reliability” and “Customer Service Fit,” and skills tests, such as “Customer Focus and Orientation” and “Attention to Detail.”
Now add multiple skills tests to your job postings
This year, we’re excited to introduce a new feature of Indeed Assessments: skills test bundling. This feature is currently being rolled out to U.S. employers, and will allow employers to send multiple skills tests to applicants. Employers who post a job on Indeed can now choose to select up to two skills tests they would like to have sent automatically to candidates applying to their job.
For example, if an employer is adding a job posting for a Marketing Manager position on Indeed, the employer will now be able to add skill tests such as “Social Media Skills” and “Search Engine Optimization Skills” to the job posting. These skills tests will then be automatically sent to applicants once they have applied.
Like Indeed Assessments, skills tests bundling is also free to use, making this tool an obvious choice for recruiters.
Ready to get started? Browse our assessment offerings by visiting skills tests offerings by visiting the Indeed Assessments module library, or post a job with a skills test today.
