Pre-employment Screening: Your Comprehensive Guide [For 2024]
The crucial information gained through pre-employment screening is indispensable for better hiring decisions. You can develop a more satisfied, productive workforce by finding the most qualified candidates who align with your organizational culture and values.
This article explains how to incorporate pre-employment screening into your hiring strategy, including the essential components and some techniques for preventing mismatched or adverse hires.
Contents
What is pre-employment screening?
Elements of a pre-employment screening program
Choosing the right pre-employment screening tests
Pre-employment screening tools
Pre-employment screening questions
Pre-employment screening checklist
Legal considerations
What is pre-employment screening?
The pre-employment screening meaning simplified is “a process for reviewing applicants’ qualifications to identify the best-suited ones for the role.” With background checks and various tools and assessments, you can weed out candidates who pose liabilities and recognize those with the skills and personality traits it takes to perform the job well.
The insight gained from pre-employment screening checks paints a more complete picture of an applicant than what a CV or resume alone can provide.
According to a TestGorilla survey, 56.9% of respondents said they couldn’t tell from candidates’ resumes whether they actually had the desired skills for a position. Furthermore, a Checkster survey of 400 applicants revealed that 78% misrepresent themselves on their resumes.
Elements of a pre-employment screening program
A thorough process for filtering through applicants will use different types of assessments. Here’s an overview of the various elements of a pre-employment screening program:
Types of pre-employment screening tests
Candidate selection must involve steps beyond applications and resumes or CVs. The following types of pre-employment screening tests verify a candidate’s experience and help you learn more about them:
- Background checks: A search of criminal and driving records, credit reports, sex offender registries, and other databases can reveal important aspects of an applicant’s background that require further scrutiny.
- Skills tests: Measuring which hard and soft skills an applicant already has indicates how equipped they are to handle the responsibilities of a position. For example, applicants for an administrative assistant job could be tested on their proficiency in various software programs and their ability to prioritize multiple tasks.
- Reference checks: Verifying previous employment and responsibilities with other companies shows whether a candidate is consistent with what they claim on their application materials. Speaking to personal references gives you more insight into a candidate’s personality and how they relate to others.
- Simulation exercises: Putting a candidate in a simulated real-life scenario lets them experience what the job is really like and shows their judgment and ability to perform in this type of situation. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. implemented a simulation to predict the best candidates for its call center agent positions and reduced turnover by 57%.
Types of pre-employment screening assessments
Other assessment techniques play an important role in the pre-employment screening process by providing additional insight and data about candidates. This information can help identify suitability for the role and predict job performance. Standardizing your methods for evaluating candidates also makes recruitment more objective to reduce bias in hiring.
Types of assessments that can be used in the pre-employment screening process include the following:
1. Personality assessments
Discovering whether a person’s traits fit the position can narrow down the candidate pool to those more likely to thrive in the role and work environment.
Commonly used personality assessments include:
- Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
- DISC Personality Assessment
- Big Five
- SHL Occupational Personality Questionnaire
2. Behavioral assessments
Similar to a personality assessment, a behavioral assessment analyzes a candidate’s characteristics and temperament. However, it goes one step further to predict their behavior and evaluate whether they’re the right fit for a particular role.
Because personality predicts behavior, many personality assessments can also be used as behavioral assessments. SelectiveHiring offers customized test sections for numerous specific behaviors, such as leadership, rules compliance, and stress management.
3. Emotional intelligence (EQ) tests
Emotional intelligence is the awareness a person has for emotions. A person with high emotional intelligence can understand and harness their own and others’ emotions to form beneficial relationships that inspire a productive workplace.
Emotional intelligence tests measure how well a person perceives emotions and builds relationships. This social competence is crucial for roles that necessitate a considerable amount of interaction with people. EQ tests often focus on teamwork, empathy, commitment, and adaptability. Here are a few examples:
4. Cultural fit assessments
In addition to possessing the appropriate skills and qualifications, the best new hire will also enhance and thrive in your company culture. A cultural fit assessment will uncover whether a candidate’s values, behaviors, and communication style align with your organization. Employees that are a good cultural fit will often be committed to and satisfied in their jobs, making them more likely to remain with the company.
To find candidates that align with your company culture, you must first be able to define it. A service such as StaffGeek uses data to assess your culture and then formulate a survey that identifies candidates that match up with the attributes your culture reflects.
5. Job knowledge assessments
Finding out if a candidate can handle the job is crucial, especially for positions that require specialized knowledge or technical expertise. Job knowledge assessments analyze a person’s current level of understanding to see if they truly meet the position requirements. Computer programmers, accountants, financial advisors, and legal professionals are some examples of the types of jobs that require knowledge assessments.
Choosing the right pre-employment screening tests
The pre-employment screening methods organizations should use depend on the industry and role. While every hiring process has unique aspects, you must start by identifying your needs and goals. Establish which skills and competencies are crucial to your business and whether you want to prioritize cultural fit during recruitment.
From there, you can align the screening test or combination of tests with each position’s requirements. For example:
Role Skills Behavioral Personality EQ Job Knowledge Customer service ✔ Technical/analytical ✔ ✔ Entry-level ✔ ✔ Management ✔ ✔ ✔ Sales ✔ ✔
Pre-employment screening tools
Pre-employment screening takes much time and effort, but tools and services can help you standardize and streamline the procedures. Following is a list of some to consider:
- Background check services do the work or provide software for researching a candidate’s various records to verify information and uncover any issues that pose a risk or disqualify them for employment. Examples: Checkr and GoodHire
- Reference check services contact candidates’ references on behalf of employers with customized questions and then compile the results. Examples: AmericanChecked and Alliance Background
- Assessment platforms offer pre-employment testing and analysis for an objective assessment and comparison of candidates. Examples: Canditech and Vervoe
- Social media can help you with both finding and screening job candidates. LinkedIn’s features allow you to add screening questions to your job posts that will narrow down the best qualified of those who are interested. There are also platforms, such as Good Egg, that explore applicants’ social media presence for characteristics or behaviors that indicate their personality may pose a threat or not be the right fit for your organization.
Pre-employment screening questions
The pre-employment screening interview allows you to interact with candidates and see how they present themselves. An interview will also reveal whether a candidate meets enough of the job criteria to move forward in the process.
An interview’s success depends on asking the right type of questions. We’ve compiled some sample pre-employment screening questions targeting different categories as follows:
Background check questions
- Let’s go over your employment history. Briefly explain where you have worked and what your roles were.
- Did you take any breaks from work since you started your career? If so, tell me about them.
- What sort of education, training, or professional certifications do you have?
- Why did you leave your last position, and what led you to pursue this job?
Behavioral questions
- Describe a situation where you took the initiative to further your career.
- Tell me about a time when you were given a responsibility you didn’t feel equipped to handle. How did you approach it?
- Can you recall a work situation when you made a mistake or failed to meet a deadline? How did you resolve it?
- Describe your communication style and how you build relationships at work.
Culture fit questions
- Describe your ideal work environment.
- What management style or type of support do you need to perform at your best?
- Tell me about a situation when you felt unproductive or unmotivated to put forth effort.
- Would you rather work alone or in a team environment? What role do you typically play on a team of colleagues?
Questions to ask a candidate’s references
- Please confirm (candidate’s) job title and employment start and end dates.
- What core strengths did (the candidate) demonstrate in their work?
- Describe how (the candidate) responds to feedback.
- Can you explain the circumstances of (candidate’s) departure from the job? Would you rehire or want to work with them again?
Pre-employment screening checklist
A structured method for conducting pre-employment screening ensures a comprehensive and consistent process that mitigates risk and identifies the strongest candidates.
Following is a checklist of essential practices for conducting pre-employment screening:
Step 1: Develop screening criteria
Determine which skills and qualifications are required for the open position. Review the job description and get input from the hiring manager or other stakeholders to clarify what the core competencies are. Then you can make these the priority as you assess different candidates and chart how they compare to each other.
Step 2: Review applications and resumes
Screen resumes for more than just the desired experience and qualifications. Also look for inconsistencies or discrepancies in work history, as well as unsubstantiated accomplishments, vague experience, or exaggerated job titles that don’t align with qualifications.
Step 3: Set up and conduct screening interviews
Prepare for each screening interview by getting familiar with the candidate’s resume. This will help you spot any inconsistencies between the experience they refer to while answering your questions and what they’ve provided on their resume. Take good notes and state any contradictions you observe, but allow them the opportunity to explain.
Step 4: Administer relevant pre-employment assessments and tests
At this stage, applicants who are serious about the job will be willing to undergo testing. Have each one complete the same pre-determined assessments and tests. You’ll be able to see how they compare to each other, and you may discover that some of their skills aren’t as strong as their resume reflects or how they present themselves.
Step 5: Conduct background checks
Bringing in new employees can pose certain security risks to any organization. Verifying a candidate’s qualifications and investigating their past can protect an employer from people who have misrepresented themselves and may be untrustworthy.
The background checks you may want to conduct include:
- Employment history
- Academic/certification credentials
- Criminal records
- Credit history (if applicable)
Step 6: Maintain accurate documentation of the screening process
As with all HR practices, it’s important to keep accurate, detailed records of all pre-employment screening checks. Forms and notes for each stage help you stay organized. In addition, using a standardized interview format and questions ensures uniformity in the experience for all candidates. Consistent strategies and thorough documentation also provide evidence of fair procedures if your pre-screening process ever gets called into question.
Step 7: Evaluate for final decision
Done correctly, pre-employment screening should allow you to filter out all but the strongest candidates to make the hiring decision clearer.
These principles will get you there:
- Know what you’re looking for. (Hiring criteria should align with the job and your organizational culture.)
- Use objective screening methods.
- Follow systematic documentation procedures and take detailed notes.
Step 8: Conduct reference checks
Contacting a candidate’s references is an effective technique for learning whether they are who you think they are and will be the right fit for the role.
Here are some tips for conducting reference checks:
- Don’t catch references off guard. Have the candidate notify them that they will be contacted.
- Assure the reference that their input will remain confidential.
- Pose questions that address the candidate’s employment history, job experience, and work performance. Avoid inquiries about the candidate’s personal life.
- Note any of the candidate’s soft skills mentioned by the reference.
- Be on the lookout for false references who seem to have been planted or coached by the candidate. Scrutinize any responses from references that contradict each other.
Legal considerations
The legal aspects of pre-employment screening must be taken into consideration and will vary depending on your location. For example, U.S. employers are required to follow Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) guidelines to prevent discrimination, and European employers must adhere to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) to safeguard applicants’ personal data.
A professional legal review of your pre-employment screening program is essential for ensuring that you are following all applicable regulations.
In addition, there are some best practices to keep in mind, such as:
- Avoid non-compliance by knowing whether particular background checks for any of your organization’s positions are mandated by law. For example, employees who work with children or vulnerable adults.
- Inform candidates of and explain the pre-screening process.
- Maintain consistency of pre-screening policies and procedures for all candidates.
- Consult legal counsel on issues revealed during pre-screening checks that may preclude you from hiring a candidate.
Key takeaways
- Pre-employment screening meaning: Using assessments, tools, and various checks to evaluate job candidates and narrow down the strongest contenders for the role.
- Pre-employment screening elements: Background checks, skills tests, personality and behavioral assessments, screening interviews, and reference checks are some of the ways to evaluate a candidate’s suitability for a position.
- Pre-employment screening support: There are many software products and services that assist with or administer testing and background and reference checking.
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