Top 11 pre-employment assessment tools you can use to hire the best talent

Employee recruitment is challenging because human resource professionals must go through countless applications. This process is time-consuming and often leads to costly hiring mistakes.

The overwhelming volume of applications makes it difficult to identify top talent efficiently. As a result, you can overlook qualified candidates or make unconscious, biased decisions.

Pre-employment assessment tools like talent assessments can streamline recruitment, helping you identify the best candidates quickly and effectively.

In this article, we review the 11 best hiring assessment tools to help you accelerate your recruitment process, reduce costs, and eliminate unconscious biases.

Best pre-employment assessment tools: The summary

What is a pre-employment assessment tool?

A pre-employment assessment tool is assessment software designed to evaluate job candidates’ skills, knowledge, abilities, and personality traits before hiring. 

These tools help HR professionals and recruiters make informed decisions by providing objective data on applicants’ potential fit for a role. The goal is to streamline recruitment while creating a more efficient and bias-free candidate selection process.

Hiring assessment tools can predict a candidate’s job performance and cultural add. This contributes to reduced turnover rates and a more productive work environment.

Considering that 67% of recruiters think a lack of qualified candidates is the number one challenge in recruiting, these tests can help you recognize top talent.

The most common types of assessment tools for recruitment and selection include:

• Cognitive ability assessments

• Skills tests

• Personality questionnaires

• Situational judgment tests

• Emotional intelligence assessments

11 best recruitment assessment tools for hiring top talent

The market is filled with online assessment tools for recruitment designed to help you find the right candidates. However, not all of them are equally effective.

Let’s take a more detailed look at the 11 best pre-employment assessment tools your business can use to identify the best candidates accurately:

1. TestGorilla

Best for: Comprehensive candidate assessments that measure job-specific skills, company culture add, and soft skills

TestGorilla is a comprehensive pre-employment assessment platform that empowers HR professionals to make data-driven hiring decisions. It uses a science-backed approach to make the recruitment process more efficient.

We have more than 400 (and growing) different tests, including job-specific skills assessments, cognitive ability tests, and personality questionnaires. These talent assessments provide necessary insights into candidates’ abilities, role alignment, and potential job performance.

Tests are combined into tailored assessments that identify the full range of skills required for each role. All assessments are mobile-friendly, which is vital considering that 67% of candidates fill out their job applications online.

The platform features a user-friendly interface and detailed analytics to help streamline the hiring process. TestGorilla simplifies results with easily shareable reports, enabling seamless collaboration across your hiring team. 

It’s one of the few recruitment assessment tools available in Italian. TestGorilla also offers localized websites in 12 languages, making it easy to hire talent internationally. 

You can even perform recruitment assessments in Japanese if you’re looking to expand into that market.

Features:

• A user-friendly interface makes creating and assigning assessments easy

• Robust anti-cheating measures ensure test results are trustworthy

• Applicant tracking to see at a glance where candidates are in the hiring pipeline 

• Detailed and easily shareable reports benchmark candidates on a range of skills

Rating: 4.5 out of five (G2), 1043 reviews

Pricing: TestGorilla has a free forever plan that includes five free tests and five custom questions. We also offer Starter, and Pro plans that begin at $400 per month.

Improve your recruitment efforts with TestGorilla

If you’re interested in how TestGorilla can help improve your recruitment efforts, sign up for a free forever plan today to identify the best candidates with our talent assessments.

Sign up for your free forever plan today!

If you’re interested in how TestGorilla can help improve your recruitment efforts, sign up for a free forever plan today to identify the best candidates with our talent assessments.

2. Criteria 

Best for: Tailoring test difficulty levels for each candidate

Criteria is a comprehensive talent recruitment platform with behavioral and cognitive assessments. 

These assessments encourage objective decision-making, data-driven insights, and global accessibility. That makes them suitable for various industries like technology or healthcare.

A great thing about some of their tests is that they include mini-games, which boost engagement and improve the candidate experience. 

Assessments can also include job-specific skills tests, aptitude tests, and personality tests. However, Criteria’s anti-cheating measures are less strict compared with other recruiting assessment tools on this list. 

Features:

• User-friendly interface

• One-way video interviews

• Applicant tracking

• Job profiling tools

Rating: 4.4 out of five (G2), 69 ratings

Pricing: Contact Criteria for details

3. Wonderlic 

Best for: Tests focused on cognitive skills, motivation, and personality

Wondering how to assess cognitive ability? Wonderlic is a pioneer of cognitive ability assessment, with its first tests originating in the 1930s. The idea was to test math, vocabulary, and reasoning skills to hire better employees.

Today, Wonderlic hiring assessment tools measure candidates’ cognitive skills, motivation, and personalities. Tests use a combination of industrial-organizational psychology, AI, and machine learning. 

Wonderlic is known for its Wonderlic Personnel Test (WPT), which is a quick assessment usually consisting of 50 questions that candidates have to complete in 12 minutes. This time constraint is intentional, aiming to assess the ability to think and work under pressure.

The WPT, in particular, was researched and validated as a reliable measure of cognitive ability.

In addition, the algorithm evaluates each candidate’s profile and gives them a unique score based on their skills, personality, and motivation. This multi-measure assessment enables a quick and more efficient candidate selection process.

Features:

• User-friendly hiring platform

• Its 12-minute format ensures fast and efficient evaluation

• Motivation and personality tests

• Detailed reports that provide in-depth insights into candidates’ capabilities

Rating: 4.3 out of five (G2), 124 reviews

Pricing: Contact Wonderlic for details

4. HR Avatar

Best for: Job-specific simulations

HR Avatar is a comprehensive pre-employment testing tool designed to assess a candidate’s job suitability through various simulations, skills tests, and personality assessments.

Job-specific simulations mimic real-world challenges, helping employers to see how candidates perform in situations similar to those they encounter on the job. 

This approach helps evaluate a candidate’s practical skills, decision-making capabilities, and behavioral traits in a work-like context. In addition, it offers a more dynamic and interactive assessment experience compared with traditional recruiting assessment tools.

HR Avatar helps companies evaluate candidates across a range of job positions, from entry-level to managerial roles. 

A catalog of ready-made assessments predicts a candidate’s performance in a specific role. For example, if you’re hiring for a customer service representative, HR Avatar can provide an assessment package designed for that role. 

You can customize which tests are included in assessments but can’t add custom questions. 

Features:

• Job-specific simulations

• Candidate score report with benchmarked results

• Automatically messages test access keys to candidates

• Animated “day in the life” simulations test common scenarios

Rating: 4.5 out of five (G2), 90 reviews

Pricing: Starts from $50 per candidate; a 14-day free trial with two free candidate assessments is available

5. McQuaig

Best for: UK and Europe-based companies

McQuaig has been in business for more than 30 years and has always focused on psychometric testing. Its pre-employment assessment tools help recruiters and hiring managers understand candidates’ personalities, cognitive abilities, and core behavioral traits.

McQuaig’s tests help you predict how individuals behave in different work scenarios, how they fit within a team, and how they can grow and respond to various management styles. 

This psychometric approach is grounded in the belief that understanding these intrinsic attributes is key to making successful hiring and development decisions.

McQuaig’s tests are not customizable, so tailored questions can’t be added. But it’s one of the few recruitment assessment tools available in Spanish.

Features:

• Detailed personality assessments offer a nuanced view of candidates’ behavioral traits

• Candidate score reports with benchmarked results

• Mental agility test measuring a candidate’s speed of thought

• Job profile benchmarking tools to evaluate your current employees

Rating: 4.3 out of five (G2), two reviews

Pricing: McQuaig offers four paid membership tiers starting at $250 per assessment or $2,000 for 10 assessments.

6. Adaface

Best for: Companies looking for a modern, AI-supported hiring process

Adaface is a modern pre-employment assessment platform designed to evaluate job-specific skills through an engaging AI interface. 

Unlike traditional assessment tools that rely on multiple-choice questions, Adaface offers a more interactive experience. The goal is to make the evaluation process less intimidating and more reflective of real-world tasks.

For example, when assessing the skills of a software engineer, Adaface’s AI can administer coding tests, debugging tasks, and problem-solving exercises to measure their technical expertise and problem-solving.

Adaface covers a wide range of skill sets, from programming and technical capabilities to soft skills and cognitive abilities. That makes it suitable for a variety of industries and job roles.

Features:

• Conversational AI provides a more engaging evaluation

• Tests can be customized to match the specific requirements of a job role

• The platform provides comprehensive reports that offer deep insights into candidates strengths and weaknesses

• Great integration with various HR, onboarding, and recruitment software

Rating: 4.6 out of five (G2), 43 reviews

Pricing: Adaface uses credit-based pricing that starts at $180 for 12 credits. Using a ready-made test costs five credits, creating a custom one is 10 credits, and inviting a candidate costs one credit.

7. Vervoe

Best for: Customizable task-based assessments

Vervoe is designed to assess applicants’ skills and abilities in action, providing a more accurate predictor of job performance than resumes or conventional interviews. 

Unlike traditional online assessment tools for recruitment, Vervoe focuses on performance-based hiring by providing task-based evaluations. This helps employers to assess candidates based on how they perform specific job-related tasks.

Pre-employment assessment tests are tailored to specific job roles, examining the technical or soft skills required for each position. 

Unlike HR Avatar, you can customize questions for each Vervoe assessment. The platform also uses AI to grade applicants’ responses, which contributes to a fair and efficient evaluation process. 

The results show how potential employees solve problems, complete tasks, and handle work scenarios they may encounter in the actual job.

Features:

• Simulating real job tasks provides a performance-based evaluation

• You can customize assessments to match the specific requirements of the job

• The AI grading reduces hiring biases and speeds up recruitment

• An automated grading system helps employers assess more candidates in less time

Rating: 4.6 out of five (G2), 64 reviews

Pricing: Vervoe offers three paid plans, with the lowest tier starting at $228 per year.

8. HireVue

Best for: Large corporations that quickly need to evaluate many candidates

HireVue is a comprehensive digital interviewing and assessment platform that uses video technology and artificial intelligence to support the hiring process. 

It helps employers conduct video interviews and provide candidates with online assessments that evaluate various competencies, including technical skills, cognitive abilities, and cultural fit.

For software development and engineering roles, HireVue provides coding challenges and technical questions that assess candidates' problem-solving abilities and technical expertise.

The platform also offers innovative game-based assessments, which evaluate cognitive abilities, decision-making skills, and personality traits through interactive, game-like scenarios.

Check out our top eight HireVue alternatives to find out how this platform compares to other tools.

Features:

• Flexible and candidate-friendly interviewing process

• AI helps identify the best candidates for the role

• Effective testing software for high-volume recruitment campaigns

• Integrations with many applicant tracking systems and other HR tools

Rating: 4.1 out of five (G2), 231 reviews

Pricing: HireVue offers three paid plans starting at $35,000. 

9. Pymetrics

Best for: Game-based testing

Pymetrics is a cutting-edge talent acquisition tool that employs neuroscience-based games and artificial intelligence to reinvent how companies attract, select, and retain talent. 

Including games in the assessment process can significantly boost engagement, which is why 75% of talent recruiters would use them for pre-employment screening and candidate selection.

Although Criteria uses mini-games, this platform provides a significantly different assessment approach, where games are the main way to measure cognitive and emotional traits. Pymetrics currently offers three types of games:

• Cognitive games: Assess problem-solving ability, attention, memory, and other cognitive functions, providing insights into how a candidate processes information and makes decisions

• Emotional intelligence games: Evaluate emotional and social attributes, such as risk tolerance, emotion recognition, and altruism, offering a perspective on a candidate’s interpersonal skills and resilience

• Ethical decision-making games: Gauge a candidate’s values and ethical decision-making, aligning with organizational culture and ethical standards

The use of AI helps to deliver a more objective and inclusive approach to talent acquisition and management. 

Features:

• A unique approach reduces unconscious bias in hiring

• Gamified assessments make the evaluation process more enjoyable and less stressful for candidates

• AI provides deeper insights into applicants’ strengths and weaknesses

• You can create custom job profiles that identify the traits of high-performers

Rating: 3.5 out of five (G2), five reviews

Pricing: Available upon request

10. Harver

Best for: Hiring remote workers

Harver is a cloud-based pre-employment assessment tool that integrates skills assessments, situational judgment tests, and realistic job simulations into a single, user-friendly platform.

The platform is tailored for high-volume hiring environments, such as retail, customer service, and hospitality, where it’s crucial to efficiently process large numbers of applicants while still ensuring a high quality of hire.

Harver offers a range of hiring assessment tools, including:

• Traditional behavioral tests

• Gamified behavioral assessments

• Cognitive abilities tests

• Job knowledge skills tests

• Realistic job previews

• Work-from-home capability assessments

Automating various stages of the recruitment process and providing a range of assessments helps companies identify the best candidates quickly and effectively. This reduces time-to-hire and improves the candidate experience.

Features:

• A comprehensive range of tests suited for various industries and roles

• Engaging and interactive assessments provide a positive candidate experience

• Comprehensive analytics and reporting

• Designed for high-volume hiring

Rating: 4.6 out of five (G2), 171 reviews

Pricing: Available upon request

11. iMocha

Best for: Companies looking for a range of different tests

iMocha (formerly Interview Mocha) is a comprehensive online skill assessment platform with more than 2,500 available tests. These tests cater to various industries and job roles, helping employers streamline hiring.

Skills tests evaluate candidates on role specific skills, technical abilities like coding, language proficiency, and soft skills like communication. The platform uses AI to offer a detailed analysis of candidates’ strengths and weaknesses. These insights enable better hiring decisions. 

iMocha also supports customization, which ensures that candidate evaluations focus on the most important skills for each role and industry.

Features:

• AI-powered cheating prevention measures 

• The most comprehensive skills test library

• Integrations with applicant tracking systems and other HR software

• Live coding and job simulations

Rating: 4.4 out of five (G2), 242 reviews

Pricing: Available upon request

Identify the best candidates with hiring assessment tools

Pre-employment assessment tools offer unique features and benefits to streamline the hiring process and improve decision-making. They help you measure technical skills, cognitive abilities, cultural add, and role-specific skills. 

From TestGorilla’s extensive test library and user-friendly interface to iMocha’s AI-powered cheating prevention, these 11 platforms cater to diverse hiring needs across industries.

Take a product tour to learn more about the specific benefits of our platform. 

You can also book a live demo to explore how to discover whether our test assessments are right for your recruitment needs.

Experience the true power of skills-based hiring

The best way to fully experience the true power of skills-based hiring is to get TestGorilla and start making more informed hiring decisions today.

Sign up for your free forever plan today!

But the best way to fully experience the true power of skills-based hiring is to sign up for a free forever plan and start making more informed hiring decisions today.

Pre-employment assessment tools FAQs

Still have questions about pre employment assessment tools? Find your answers below.

What is the most popular pre-employment test?

The most popular pre-employment test is the cognitive ability assessment, widely recognized for its effectiveness in predicting job performance across various roles. This type of test evaluates a person’s problem-solving skills, critical thinking, and ability to learn and apply new information. These skills are applicable in many roles, which makes these pre employment assessment tools a go-to choice for employers.

What are the most common types of selection assessment tools?

The most common types of assessment tools for recruitment and selection include cognitive ability tests, personality questionnaires, skills assessments, and situational judgment tests. Cognitive assessments evaluate problem-solving and critical thinking, while personality questionnaires measure behavioral traits and cultural alignment. Skills assessment tools are tailored to specific job requirements, and situational judgment tests present hypothetical scenarios to gauge decision-making.

What are the benefits of using pre-employment assessment tools?

Using paid or free pre-employment assessment tools has many benefits, including:

• Better hiring efficacy: Streamlines the recruitment process by quickly identifying the most qualified candidates

• Improved hiring accuracy: Helps you find the right candidates, with 88% of employers believing that skills-based hiring reduces mis-hires

• Improved objectivity: Minimizes unconscious bias by focusing on data and metrics

• Positive candidate experience: Improves perceptions of the hiring process

• Reduced turnover: Using these tools prevents employee attrition and improves retention

When should you use an assessment tool?

Around 82% of companies use pre-employment tests. You should use an assessment tool in key stages of the hiring process:

• Initial screening: Filter through a large pool of applicants with screening tools and identify those with the essential skills

• Pre-interview: Gain deeper insights to tailor interview questions and conversation focus areas

• Post-interview: Validate impressions and information gathered during interviews

• Final decision-making: Support more informed and confident hiring decisions

How do I choose an assessment tool?

Choosing the best recruitment assessment tools requires evaluating your hiring needs and the necessary features to ensure alignment. Consider the roles you’re hiring for and identify the skills, abilities, and personality traits critical for success in those positions. Look for a tool that offers relevant, validated assessments for those skills. In addition, evaluate pricing, integration with other HR systems, scalability, and user interface.

What is the most effective selection tool?

Among many pre-employment assessment tools, TestGorilla stands out as one of the best recruitment assessment tools. It offers a comprehensive selection of talent assessments, including job-specific skills tests, cognitive ability evaluations, and personality tests. Each TestGorilla talent assessment helps improve the objectivity of the hiring process, reduce biases, and predict job performance accurately. That makes them a valuable asset for companies looking to streamline recruitment and secure top talent efficiently.