NINE ASSESSMENT TYPES:

Practical Tips for Selecting the Types that are Right for You

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multi-publisher catalog of 500+ talent assessments.
 NINE
ASSESSMENT
TYPES

NINE ASSESSMENT TYPES

COGNITIVE SKILLS AND

ABILITY KNOWLEDGE

PERSONALITY INTEGRITY

VALUES BIODATA

360-DEGREE STRUCTURED
FEEDBACK INTERVIEWS

SITUATIONAL
JUDGMENT
 NINE
ASSESSMENT
TYPES

COGNITIVE USE CASES FOR COGNITIVE ABILITY TESTS

ABILITY DEDUCTIVE REASONING

GOAL
Assess abilities involved in
thinking critically (e.g., reasoning,
perception, memory, verbal and
mathematical ability, and problem
solving

EXAMPLE
Which of the following words is an
antonym to the word theory?
A. calculation
B. guess
C. ideology

SPATIAL/VISUAL APTITUDE
ADVANTAGES
Easy to use off-the-shelf; strong
predictor of job performance for a
wide variety of jobs

DISADVANTAGES
Applicants might feel that some
tests have low face validity and
job-relatedness; can often produce
racial/ethnic differences
 NINE
ASSESSMENT
TYPES

USE CASES FOR SKILLS AND

SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE TESTS
KNOWLEDGE MEDICAL ROLES

GOAL
Evaluate what a person knows at
the time of taking the test

EXAMPLE
What does the acronym PAN mean?
A. Performance Assessment Network
B. Performing Assessments Nationwide
C. Performance and Networking

ADVANTAGES
Knowledge areas tested are
designed to be very representative
of the knowledge areas and skills
required to perform the job, which ACCOUNTING
means they should be predictive of
high performance

DISADVANTAGES
Can inform employers what an
applicant currently knows, but
not whether the individual can be
relied on to master new material
in a timely manner; may require
frequent updates to ensure the test
is current
 NINE
ASSESSMENT
TYPES

USE CASES FOR

PERSONALITY ASSESSMENTS
PERSONALITY
SALES ROLES

GOAL
Designed to systematically elicit
information about a persons
motivations, preferences, interests,
emotional make-up, and style
of interacting with people and
situations

EXAMPLE
I find it easy to influence others
(Agree to Disagree Likert-rating
scale)

ADVANTAGES
Good for when you need applicants SERVICE ROLES
who possess strong interpersonal
skills or other job-related specific
personality traits; more difficult to
fake because theres no wrong
type of personality

DISADVANTAGES
Can be time intensive to complete;
candidates may engage in creating
a profile that is socially desirable
 NINE
ASSESSMENT
TYPES

USE CASES FOR INTEGRITY TESTS

INTEGRITY
WORKPLACE SAFETY & COMPLIANCE

GOAL
A specific type of personality test
designed to assess an applicants
tendency to be honest, trustworthy,
and dependable

EXAMPLE
How justifiable is the following
situation? Avoiding paying the fare
on public transit

ADVANTAGES
Limit counterproductive workplace
behaviors; inform candidates
that integrity is an important HONESTY & CONFIDENTIALITY
organizational value

DISADVANTAGES
May seem unnecessary and
invasive; some items are highly
transparent, making it easy to fake
 NINE
ASSESSMENT
TYPES

USE CASES FOR

VALUES ASSESSMENTS
VALUES
CULTURE FIT

GOAL
Compare applicant personality,
interest, value, or organizational
culture preference information to
the characteristics of the job or
organization

EXAMPLE
In my spare time I like to go to
museums or attend orchestra
concerts (Agree to Disagree Likert-
rating scale)

ADVANTAGES
Good for selecting individuals who LEADERSHIP
will fit well in the organizations (i.e.
decreasing voluntary turnover);
taps into what someone wants to
do rather than what they may do

DISADVANTAGES
Lower predictive validity than other
assessment tools
 NINE
ASSESSMENT
TYPES

USE CASES FOR BIODATA

BIODATA UNDERSTAND SOMEONES INTEREST
IN DIFFERENT INDUSTRIES

GOAL
Inquires about past events and
behaviors that reflect personality
attributes, attitudes, experiences,
interests, skills, and abilities

EXAMPLE
In the past, how often have you
needed to communicate complex
information to people unfamiliar
with technical details?
Frequently
Usually
Occasionally
Rarely
MITIGATE ADVERSE IMPACT
Never

ADVANTAGES
Have been shown to be effective
predictors of job success in
numerous settings and for a wide
range of criterion types

DISADVANTAGES
Makes the assumption that past
behavior is the best predictor of
future behavior; can be transparent
and easy to fake
 NINE
ASSESSMENT
TYPES

USE CASES FOR

360-DEGREE 360-DEGREE FEEDBACK
FEEDBACK DEVELOPMENT

GOAL
Evaluations gathered about a target
participant from two or more rating
sources, including self, supervisor,
peers, direct reports, internal
customers, external customers, and
vendors or suppliers

EXAMPLE
This person shares information
widely and does not withhold
information from others (Agree to
Disagree Likert-rating scale)

ADVANTAGES ADMINISTRATIVE DECISIONS

Multiple viewpoints can increase
reliability and validity; gives a
fuller picture of performance;
calls attention to performance
dimensions that would otherwise
be neglected

DISADVANTAGES
Can be costly in terms of monetary
resources as well as employee time;
organizations sometimes fail to
explain purpose of 360 feedback or
to adequately debrief employees on
their ratings
 NINE
ASSESSMENT
TYPES

USE CASES FOR

STRUCTURED STRUCTURED INTERVIEWS
INTERVIEWS COMMUNICATION-RELATED ROLES

GOAL
Interviews that employ structured
rules for eliciting, observing, and
evaluating responses, thus limiting
the amount of discretion the
interviewer is allowed

EXAMPLE
Tell me about a time when you
tried to encourage someone to
take action and had to change your
communication style to effectively
meet that persons needs

ADVANTAGES DETAILED INFORMATION IS DESIRED

Helps to ensure candidates have
equal opportunities to provide
information and are assessed
accurately and consistently; can
evaluate competencies that are
difficult to measure using other
assessment methods

DISADVANTAGES
Even though it is a standardized
process, were only human, so its
still possible for bias to creep in;
can be time-consuming
 NINE
ASSESSMENT
TYPES

USE CASES FOR

SITUATIONAL SITUATIONAL JUDGMENT TESTS
JUDGMENT LEADERSHIP POSITIONS

GOAL
Present applicants with a
description of a work problem or
critical situation related to the job
they are applying for and ask them
to identify how they would handle it

EXAMPLE
You have been assigned to
work with members of another
department. You normally
complete your work alone, but the
project demands that you work as a
team. Rate the effectiveness of the
following actions.
CUSTOMER SERVICE ROLES

ADVANTAGES
Perceived as very fair (high face
validity); tasks and activities are
very representative of the tasks and
activities found on the job (high
content validity)

DISADVANTAGES
Can be costly to custom build;
heterogeneity such that a single
item can measure many constructs
and competencies
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