Cognitive aptitude is also known as general intelligence and is a single most predictor of job performance. The employment aptitude tests are critical to all mid and higher level jobs and tests the candidates on problem solving skills, critical thinking, attention to detail, their ability to learn, digest and apply to new information etc. Assessment of the aptitude of an individual is performed to determine the cognitive ability and personality of the candidate. These are particularly performed for students and before employment in organizations.
Benefits of performing aptitude tests:
These tests are used to assess the likelihood of the candidate to be successful in his job role and to eliminate any bias in employment by the administration. These tests are used in the selection process of a myriad of job sectors and are used to scrutinize the individuals for specific job requirements as well. There are cognitive and aptitude assessment tests available to test different job roles of different complexities within the hierarchy of the organization. These tests are available both for lateral hiring and for hiring employees from the campus as well.
These aptitude assessments are designed specifically to cater to the level of aptitude of fresher and entry level candidates for an organization. They can also be used as an online screening tool for candidates. The various skills that are tested in this assessment test are abstract reasoning, communication skills, problem solving skills and critical thinking ability.
The cognitive tests for job roles of different complexities across the organizational hierarchy is available. These tests are made specific to roles and the required proficiency levels and the different levels of assessment are curated at varying levels of skills and difficulty levels. These assessment tests can be equated for professionals at administrative roles, for executive roles, for functional and supervisory roles, for managerial and business head roles and for leadership and strategic roles as well.
Need to conduct aptitude tests for candidates:
It is required to create a competent workforce in an organization. Assessment of aptitude or a competent workforcehelps with the task. Creating a cognitive framework for each of the job types that exists is not possible at the practical front. Cognitive intelligence tests are thus crafted for job groups that demand the same cognitive abilities and have the same competency framework.It has been revealed that the correlation between the work performance of the candidate and their predicted cognitive intelligence is between 51% and 84%.
Higher intelligence is an indication of success in a job and is measured based on performance evaluation, on how well they encounter a task on the job, ratings of performance by supervisors, and the position of the candidate on the job hierarchy. There are several aptitude assessment tools available online for organizations to make use of by simply registering.
The online assessment tools integrate applicant management, online assessment, and structured online interviews into a single data-backed platform to ease the entire process of candidate recruitment. The structured and smart hiring philosophy relies on two core principles namely a structured recruitment process and precise talent measurements. Thus, this entire recruitment lifecycle that is based on the intelligent hiring platforms helps to save cost and time along with scrutinizing the best talents for the organization.
The smart, intelligent, and the automated hiring system by conducting aptitude tests is gaining tremendous importance in the modern-day hiring strategy. It helps to embrace automation in the entire hiring strategy and helps in cutting down manual efforts in all steps of hiring
Types of aptitude tests:
- Abstract reasoning: This is the ability of an individual to think laterally and to examine problems in an unusual and unique way to make logical connections between the two concepts. Candidates who are strong in abstract reasoning will be creative and have strong problem solving skills.
- Spatial reasoning: Spatial reasoning is the ability of the candidate to visualize and also manipulate two and three dimensional shapes or patterns or designs. People who are strong in this skill are able to work on complex set ups in designs and also with spatial elements in tough jobs.
- Visual reasoning: This is the ability of the person to visualize patterns and shapes with different levels of complexities so as to achieve the desired outcome.
- Problem solving: The Assessment on problem solving helps in curating whether the candidate has proper reasoning skills and if they are able to contemplate between positive and negative solutions to a problem etc.
- Decision making and judgement: strong and effective judgement and decision making skills are important to solve problems that arise on a day to day basis in a work environment.
- Language and comprehension: The ability of the candidate to comprehend different expressions and thoughts with the help of proper words and sentences along with the grasp of good English grammar is assessed.
- Logical and critical reasoning: Logical reasoning is the ability to analyze and perceive the given information from a different perspective by breaking it down into manageable components and structuring the information in a logical order.
Verdict:
It is required to create a competent workforce in an organization. Assessment through aptitude tests helps with the task. Creating a cognitive framework for each of the job types that exists is not possible at the practical front. Cognitive intelligence tests are thus crafted for job groups that demand the same cognitive abilities and have the same competency framework.
For instance, the job roles of receptionist, customer service executive and the sales executives all demand the basic skills and communication and are required to perform the same task day after day. Any job involves carrying out a defined task, the level and the type of cognitive competencies that are required to complete the task depends solely on the nature of the task.
In order to make a cognitive assessment effective in choosing the right talents for a job, it is mandatory for it to identify the right candidates from the talent pool. After creating cognitive assessments for a particular job role, its effectiveness in selecting the right talent for a job role and for an organization needs to be tested.
