Can you do without online skills testing when recruiting?

One look at the website of webrecruit (http://www.webrecruit.co.uk) should be enough to confirm to you that the online recruitment process can be a confusing one, especially if you are a new business start-up or small to medium sized enterprise that is only just discovering the best methods of sourcing candidates. One such method is the online skills test, which you might initially suspect to be a mere optional extra. 

However, far from that, an online skills test can be an instrumental part of the process of recruiting staff for your firm, not least at a time when you are likely to have more CVs than ever to sift through, and more potential channels to explore, such as social media platforms. That’s why you’re likely to appreciate a way of lessening the information overload by asking some questions that really narrows down the list of candidates, without wasting your time or money. 

With so many CVs gladly boasting of the most comprehensive skill sets, to recruit staff can feel like a very inexact science. However, the costs of just plumping for any old candidate can be great, with many wrongly hired employees causing damage to a department or entire organisation that considerably exceeds what online skills testing would have cost. From wasted salary, benefits and training costs to lost business opportunities, the price paid for ignoring online skills testing and subsequently choosing the wrong person can be a critical one. 

With the right online skills test, you have a great benchmark against which jobseekers can be objectively assessed. It avoids you having to waste time actually interviewing candidates that do not have the right skills for the job, which allows you to create the most targeted shortlist of would-be employees who actually have the right skill set. The time-to-hire process can be greatly reduced, meaning that you can have the right employee making a major contribution to your company all the sooner. 

The ultimate effectiveness of an online skills test in the staff recruitment process is, of course, dictated by the exact questions that are asked. Webrecruit offers you the choice of either a standard or bespoke test, with even the standard option allowing for the most targeted recruiting thanks to its extensive library of topics that ranges from social media marketing to .NET development. The bespoke option, however, allows for tests to be created that are an even more accurate match to your firm’s needs, being especially suitable for roles that require a sometimes complex combination of skills. 

Contact the recruitment experts at webrecruit (http://www.webrecruit.co.uk) for more advice on how online skills assessments can be combined with services such as CV databases and online video interviews to create the most robust candidate sourcing process – or try a taster test now. 

Editor’s Note: Webrecruit (http://www.webrecruit.co.uk) is represented by the search engine advertising and digital marketing specialists Jumping Spider Media. Please direct all press queries to Louise Byrne. Email: louise@jumpingspidermedia.co.uk or call: +44 (0)20 3070 1959 / +34 952 783 637.