Six Things You Should Know About Pre-Employment Tests

Six Things You Should Know About Pre-Employment Tests By S arah E .

Executive candidates often are surprised when asked to take a test or other assessment for a job. They shouldn't be.

Pre-employment testing is on the rise. In the past five years, 60% of companies have increased their use of workplace-behavior assessments, according to a survey of more than 500 human-resources professionals at U.S. companies from Spherion Corp., a staffing firm based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Employers typically use assessments to confirm a candidate's cultural fit or skill competency, according to Doug Wolf, vice president of consulting services at Select International Inc., a Pittsburgh-based provider of career-assessment tools. Bear in mind that for questions about your work style or personality, he says, there are no right or wrong responses. "If you answer honestly and don't get the job, it means the position wasn't a good match for you in the first place," he says.

Candidates should take the assessments seriously, even if they feel they aren't necessary. A shoo-in for an executive job at Mindbridge Software Inc. torpedoed his candidacy when completing a personality assessment in 2004, even though the results met the employer's expectations, says Scott Testa, chief operating officer of the intranet-software company in Norristown, Pa. The proctor told him the candidate arrived late, wearing a t-shirt and shorts, which, he says, was disrespectful and showed a lack of seriousness. "The guy thought he had the position, and he did, but then he blew it," he says.

Here's what job candidates should know about pre-employment testing:

- Senior executives are not exempt. In fact, the higher you aspire to climb the corporate ladder, the more likely you are to be evaluated on how well you might fit in personality-wise, says Joel H. Wilensky, an executive recruiter in Sudbury, Mass. His clients require most candidates to undergo assessments, he says. "It's almost an absolute for jobs that pay salaries of $300,000 and up," he adds. According to Mr. Testa, Mindbridge administers personality assessments to all prospective hires to see if they'll fit into the company's culture. But he says the company most closely scrutinizes the results of assessments from senior-level candidates. "We have the most to lose if they are a bad hire," he says.

- Curb your antagonism. Many senior candidates scoff at having to take a test, says Deborah Sawyer, a partner in Atlanta at executive-search firm Morgan Howard Worldwide, whose clients require assessments for most candidates. "They see it as being unnecessary and don't put enough energy into it," she says. "Then they can't make it to the next round." You can derail your candidacy if you show your displeasure, says Mr. Wolf. "Complaining says a lot to an employer about your overall attitude, tolerance for stress and how open you will be to future opportunities," he says.

- Your candidacy can benefit. Erin Vadala, 40, took a personality assessment two years ago for her public-relations-manager job at Warner Communications in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Mass. "I was surprised at how accurate it was," she says, noting that the results indicated she's outgoing. "I'm constantly talking to people and telling stories," she says. "When you are a public-relations professional, you can't be a wallflower."

- Clear your schedule. Ask recruiters about how long a pre-employment assessment might take. You may need to devote anywhere from a few minutes to several hours of your time, says Bill Erickson, executive vice president of human-capital management at Kenexa Corp., a provider of pre-employment-testing technology in Wayne, Pa. Some assessments are oral and administered on site by an industrial psychologist, while others may be completed online from any location, he adds.

- If taking a test by phone, ensure there will be no interruptions or distractions, says Ernest Feiteira, regional manager at NAS Recruitment Communications LLC, a human-resources-communications provider in Woodbridge, N.J. Candidates for jobs at the firm who successfully complete first-round interviews are administered a brief personality assessment by phone, he says. Those who perform well must then complete an online assessment, which takes about an hour and must be done within 48 hours, he says.

- Exercise your brain. Familiarize yourself with pre-employment assessments by taking free ones on the Web, such as this personality quiz from eTest Inc., a pre-employment testing and assessment company in Atlanta. Practice tests can help you feel more comfortable for when it's your turn in the hot seat, says J. Larry Tyler, founder of Tyler & Co., a retained search firm headquartered in Atlanta. "You'll remove the fear out of taking a test," he says. Playing problem-solving games such as Suduko also can help sharpen your mind for test-taking, says Mr. Wolf.

- Weak results may not matter. Ms. Sawyer says in 2002, a candidate for an executive position at a client of hers was hired even though results from a behavioral assessment suggested he was a poor fit. "He did well in the interviews and they thought he had the innate competencies to do the job," she says. "They said, 'We're going to dismiss it and go on our gut.'"

What To Do (And Not Do) When Emailing Recruiters

What To Do (And Not Do) When Emailing Recruiters

With many job postings now requiring candidates to apply via email, first impressions are made not with a handshake but with words on a computer screen. How formal should your first email to a recruiter be?

Just as it's usually a good idea to dress your best for an interview, emails also should be professional and polished, say hiring managers. If you decide capital letters aren't worth your time, you might be in for a long job search.

Kristen O'Hara, a senior recruiter for Dallas-based Affiliated Computer Services Inc., an information-technology outsourcing company, says she has seen it all, including emails with funky fonts and distracting backgrounds.

"Honestly, there are some emails that have completely ruined a candidate's chances for me," she says.

To avoid sabotaging your job search, here are some tips to follow when sending cover letters by email:

1. Forget what Instant Messenger has taught you.

Job recruiters report that young professionals are the applicants most likely to send too-casual emails.

Liz Shupe, interim director of the career-development center at the University of Richmond, offers one explanation: "They're treating it like an IM."

When using Instant Messenger with friends and acquaintances, it's acceptable to use abbreviations and incomplete sentences and to forgo capital letters and punctuation. In business correspondence, however, stick to the rules your English teacher taught you.

"We tell our students that an email is the same exact thing as a cover letter, without the addresses on top," says Ms. Shupe.

2. Don't be cute.

Your adorable email background of puppies snuggling with kittens has got to go.

"I remember a particular email written in that 'comic' font," says Ms. O'Hara. "That's just not professional to be sending to a work contact." She recommends plain-vanilla fonts, such as Times New Roman and Arial, and black text on a white background.

Ms. O'Hara also warns against sending emails from quirky email addresses. Slackerboy@ or Sexgoddess@ might not get the chuckle you hope for. If you leave your cellphone number as a contact number, make sure your voicemail message is appropriate, and that means it shouldn't include music, she says.

3. Customize your cover letter to the job.

Wynne Billings, a corporate recruiter, says many of the emails she reads show a lack of effort on the part of the applicant.

"It's like they just cut and paste the same cover letter to everything they're doing," says Ms. Billings, who works for Apex Systems Inc., a technology-staffing firm based in Glen Allen, Va. "It's so not catered toward our job."

It's a big plus if applicants can show they know a lot about the position they're applying for, Ms. Billings says. She recommends job hunters use part of the job description they feel matches their skills or experience to explain why they'd be good for the position. "Nine out of 10 people don't do that," she says.

4. Don't ramble.

"Get to the point," says Hank Stringer, a former high-tech company recruiter in Austin, Texas. He doesn't like it when candidates use gimmicks to try to attract attention, citing as an example a missive from one applicant that blathered on about high gas prices. Messages should be straightforward and concise, he says.

Mr. Stringer, who founded Hire.com, a recruitment-management software and services firm, says recruiters often have only seconds to devote to each cover letter they receive, and many are looking for just three things: the titles of the positions you've held, the companies you've worked for and your educational background. Anything else, such as a long story about yourself, can get in the way, he says.

5. If attaching a cover letter, write a brief note in your email.

There's no rule about whether a formal cover letter should be attached to an email or whether the email itself can serve as a cover letter.

If you attach your cover letter, the text of your email can say: "I really want to work for your company, please see attached resume and cover letter," says Ms. Billings. "Even maybe just tell me briefly why you want to work for my company, just give me a sentence, then I'm going to open that cover letter and resume."

Mr. Stringer also warns against being too creative in the subject line of an email. He recommends: "Experienced candidate seeking position as [name of position]" or "Experienced candidate seeking position with [name of company]."

"Use one word to describe yourself, but do not go overboard," he says.