Many employers today include a pre-employment assessment as part of the hiring process. While this step may come as a surprise to some job seekers, these assessments are designed to support better hiring decisions by looking beyond resumes and interviews. Rather than testing knowledge, they focus on workplace traits and preferences, helping both employers and candidates determine whether a role is the right fit.
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Organizational psychologist and CEO of South Post Oak Recycling, Brandi Harleaux says these assessments are designed to help employers better understand how people function at work. With a background in industrial-organizational psychology, which she describes as the “intersection of psychology and business,” Harleaux emphasizes that assessments help identify individual traits, strengths, motivations, and work styles that may not surface in an interview alone.
What Are Pre-employment Assessments?
Pre-employment assessments are tools employers use to evaluate how a candidate may perform in a role. They focus on workplace behavior rather than right or wrong answers.
They can help identify:
- Individual strengths and characteristics
- Motivation and work preferences
- Ethics and integrity
- Overall job fit
Why Employers Use Them
Hiring is a costly and time-consuming process, and interviews alone can be subjective. Some candidates interview well but struggle in the role, while others may perform strongly on the job but not shine in conversation.
Harleaux explains that assessments add structure to the process by offering insight beyond interviews. “Adding the component of assessment tools allows employers and employees to have one more layer to say, let’s move a little bit of the subjectivity,” she says.
How Assessments Benefit Job Seekers
Assessments also help candidates find roles that align with what they enjoy and where they can succeed. They can reveal when someone is capable in a role but better suited for a different type of work.
This insight helps job seekers avoid positions that may look good on paper but don’t match their interests long term.
Are There Right or Wrong Answers?
Most pre-employment assessments do not have correct or incorrect answers. Their accuracy depends on honesty.
“It really is beneficial for both the candidate or the prospective employee and the employer, for people to answer accurately,” Harleaux says, noting that inaccurate responses can lead to a poor fit on both sides.
Tips for taking an assessment
- Answer questions honestly
- Be yourself
- Don’t try to guess what the employer wants
At Gulf Coast Workforce Solutions, we encourage job seekers to view pre-employment assessments as tools, not obstacles. When used correctly, they support better hiring decisions and help connect people with jobs where they can truly thrive.
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