6 Common Types of Tests to Consider for Job Applicants

By and large, there are around a hundred of tests available to help hiring managers and employers determine the most suitable candidate for a certain job. These tests will most likely weed out a huge percentage of applicants and help organizations gain perspective of a candidate's future job performance. Read on below for a rundown of the most common types of tests utilized by a majority of organizations and businesses.

1. Aptitude Tests - On a whole, aptitude tests measure an individual's general level of intelligence -- from mathematical aptitude to space visualization to verbal conceptualization. An excellent example of an aptitude exam is the manual dexterity measurement test where one is asked to manipulate the parts of a test board. In a nutshell, an aptitude test is fundamentally designed to measure a candidate's potential to do the job.

2. Achievement Tests - Achievement tests aim to measure what a candidate already knows-- the complete opposite of aptitude tests. Typing and clerical tests are outstanding examples of achievement tests. Common tasks that the job require are highly recommended to be utilized for this type of tests.

3. Personality Tests - Personality tests are often focused in appraising and evaluating an applicant's level of maturity, objectivity and other traits related to work -- from interpersonal interaction to emotional stability to stress tolerance. Personality test results may not completely reveal the character of applicants because the answers can be easily fabricated. One good example of personality tests is the Myers-Briggs test.

4. Physical Ability and Agility Exams - Physical ability and agility tests are completely different from pre-employment medical exams. The former actually focuses on appraising an applicant's strength, endurance and overall physical fitness. The tests themselves do not measure the extent of one's physical and mental impairment. A physical ability test simply determines a candidate's ability to do the task. An excellent example of a physical ability test is to instruct applicants to run for half a mile and measure how long it took them to cover such distance.

5. Background Check Tests - A background check test could be done after a hiring manager has weed out a huge number of applicants and narrowed down his or her options. Excellent examples of this type of test are checking for criminal records, credit history and driving records. The applicant must be notified of such test if the organization hires a third party firm to do the checking. However, they could do such test anonymously if the organization aims to do it by themselves.

6. Drug Testing - Some companies require applicants to undergo this test because drug abusing employees will cost a lot of time and resources to organizations. This type of test often involves requiring the potential candidate to visit a testing center for his or her urine and/or blood to be drawn. The samples will then be tested for the presence of illicit drugs. There are different types of drug tests and it all depends on the organization whether they are willing to pay for the most extensive ones which detect the drug use as far as 6 months to a year.

Altogether, the aforementioned tests are just the most common types that job seekers may encounter before bagging a job they've always wanted. Other types may be given, depending on the specific tasks that the employer is looking for.

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