Effective applicant selection
Find the “right one” for you.
Online Assessment
Soft skills such as logical thinking, concentration, retentiveness or communicability are essential factors for success in working life, in addition to hard skills.
Determining soft skills can be quite a bit more challenging than assessing hard skills – very often HR staff simply rely on their feelings. However, with the self-explanatory tamperproof selection test from rexx Online Assessment, you can automatically and effectively assess social skills. This test can be carried out online at home, in the office or through any other Internet connection.
All test procedures originated from specialised partners from the area of aptitude testing and are scientifically reviewed on a periodic basis. We are happy to provide details on its psychometric quality upon request.
You define an individualised preference profile for the vacant position through the profile generator. The test results are then matched against this profile and compared with a norm group. This provides you with objective information on whether a candidate also meets the job requirements in the area of soft skills. Key competencies in the areas of interactive, operative, intellectual and emotional fields are measured – in addition to values and attitudes towards the professional world.
An example of the test result of an online assessment relating to the skill areas that are critical to success, and the behaviour that promotes or hinders it – including a guideline derived from it with questions and assessment scales for a structured interview.
Online assessment test: Results evaluation
Example of the test result of an online assessment regarding competencies critical to success and behaviors that promote and inhibit success – including a guideline derived from this with questions and assessment standards for a structured interview.
Online assessment center: Structured interview
rexx Recruiting can support online assessment by using a ranking system based on the job preference profile of hard skills (school-leaving qualifications, professional experience etc.). The final phase of the employment decision is generally a personal job interview. Under certain conditions, this can be very complicated; for example, if the candidate is applying from outside the country or if there are numerous eligible applicants.
rexx Recruiting delivers an interface for these situations to make it possible for video interviews to be carried out with the candidates.
What is an online assessment center?
Finding suitable new employees who are the best fit for an advertised position and the company is a challenge for employers. The assessment center is a good opportunity to test the personality and qualifications of top candidates. There are a variety of tasks and exercises available for which applicants should prepare well in advance.
In human resources, the term assessment center refers to a part of the personnel selection process as part of the application process.
In fact, companies and large corporations use the assessment center to determine the personal qualities and professional skills and abilities of applicants. The aim is to identify the candidate who best suits the position to be filled and the company.
This can be achieved with various tests and individual, partner or group exercises. An assessment center usually lasts one to three days and takes place at the company headquarters or a branch.
However, an online assessment is also possible, which the applicant can complete either on site or from home. Employers can also use the assessment center as part of personnel development to better assess the development potential of existing employees.
Historically, the assessment center goes back to the founding of the psychological research center in 1920. Its leader, Professor Rieffert, developed a psychological test procedure to improve the selection of officers.
At the beginning of the 1940s, the procedure was used in the British army and later in the USA to select agents. From the 1970s onwards, assessment center became increasingly widespread in the USA, Europe and the German economy.
How does an assessment center work?
Several applicants usually take part in an assessment center, usually eight to twelve people. They must demonstrate their skills and personal qualities in aptitude tests under sometimes difficult conditions. During the tasks and tests, so-called assessors observe the behavior of the applicants. These observers are often experienced HR managers, managers or employees from certain specialist areas. It is not uncommon for them to include trained psychologists.
The selection process itself can be divided into four phases:
- Self-presentation
- Tests and tasks
- Role plays, case studies or group exercises
- Feedback
The self-presentation is about applicants presenting their personal strengths and job-relevant skills and experiences. The aim is usually to answer the question of why they are best suited for the advertised position.
The common thread during the self-presentation can include important points in your CV and your own personality. Only then do various tests and tasks follow, such as intelligence tests, the mail basket exercise or individual interviews.
Applicants can demonstrate their skills here. This is followed by exercises with a partner or in a group, such as role plays, group discussions or case studies, in which candidates can apply their knowledge and skills in a staged, realistic context.
The conclusion is the feedback from the assessors, which can be given verbally in the form of a feedback discussion or in writing. Applicants can, if necessary, critically question their own behavior in various exercises or interpret situations in the tests themselves.
What is tested in an assessment center?
In an assessment center, employers check the personal characteristics and professional skills of candidates.
General knowledge, it is primarily the soft skills that are tested. These include, among others:
- Assertiveness
- Initiative
- Decision-making ability
- Flexibility
- Communication skills
- Ability to concentrate
- Creativity
- Organizational skills
- Problem-solving skills
- Self-consciousness
- Social behavior
- Stress resistance
- Teamwork skills
- Time management
What tasks, tests and exercises are available in the online assessment?
To examine and test these social, personal and methodological skills in detail, there are various tasks that employers can use as part of an assessment center.
Applicants complete these either alone, with a partner or in a group.
Typical tasks are:
- Self-presentation
- Application tests
- Mailbox exercise
- Individual interview
- Group discussion
- Case Study
- Role playing game
- Work in groups
In addition to self-presentation, application tests could be an integral part of an assessment center and carried out by the applicant alone, such as intelligence, personality or performance tests.
Logical thinking tasks, so-called brainteasers, which seem unsolvable at first glance, are becoming increasingly popular. They are used to testing applicants’ problem-solving skills and resistance to stress.
An exercise that also makes applicants sweat and tests their stress resistance, analytical and decision-making skills is the mail basket exercise. Here, 15 to 20 tasks from the E-Mail inbox must be prioritized and processed within a certain period of time. It’s less about completing the tasks completely and more about solving them in a sensible order.
Individual interviews, on the other hand, are more comparable to a job interview, in which candidates are asked about their strengths, weaknesses, professional failures or their personal value system.
A case study can also take place as an interactive question-and-answer interview or in written form. The applicant’s task is to solve one or more problems under time pressure and decide that makes sense for the company.
In group discussions and exercises, the focus is on social behavior and social skills. Applicants have to solve tasks together as a team or compete against each other. Assessors pay close attention to how applicants interact in the group, whether they moderate, push themselves to the fore or hold back.
Role-playing games, on the other hand, are suitable for testing basic communication behavior, argumentative skills, rhetoric and quick-wittedness. They are a typical sales task and simulate a realistic, job-related conflict situation, such as a difficult customer or employee conversation.
How can you prepare for an assessment center?
Tests, exercises and tasks in an assessment can vary depending on the company. Nevertheless, good preparation for the assessment center is necessary. Candidates often have similar or common questions. Here it can be helpful to find out more about the process of an assessment center. Many tasks, such as self-presentation or the mail basket exercise, can be easily prepared.
However, it is even more important to collect as comprehensive facts and information as possible about the potential employer in advance.
The first point of contact is the company website, but the social media presence and press articles can also be helpful to find out more about the company.
Finally, candidates should take a close look at the advertised position and think about what might await them in the new job.
The following tips can be helpful for all further tests and tasks:
- Stay authentic and don’t give a false self-image
- Structure tasks and set a schedule
- If necessary, record solution steps in writing
- In group exercises, a leading role emphasizes leadership skills
- Remain objective and confident when dealing with others
- Don’t push yourself too much into the foreground
- Active listening is better than just telling too much
- let other participants finish speaking
