Should recruiters evaluate candidates on MS Office skills?

Many recruiters consider online skills testing as fundamental to a successful recruitment process. Assessing candidates allows recruiters to filter suitable applicants and providean evidence-backed list of candidates to the hiring company. Skills testing software suppliers offer numerous tests that can be used to evaluate a job seeker’s knowledge and abilities. As one of the most popular tests, Microsoft Office skills assessment is widely used by recruitment agencies.

MS Office consists of business productivity tools such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. These are used extensively in everyday work. Employees who hold administrative positions are expected to be well versed in using these key tools as it concerns their jobs.

So how does skills testing determine a candidate’s knowledge about these tools?

First of all, the MS Office skills tests range from Basic to Intermediate to Advanced. Recruiters can decide which level is appropriate to test their candidates and then send the selected test level.

In the Basic level, candidates will be tested on the general understanding and the basic skills they have pertaining to the level and job role. The Intermediate level is for those candidates who are required to use these tools more often. These candidates will be tested on more than simple typing skills, or formatting and creating Excel sheets. Employers presume the applicants comprehend the various formulae and functions, document referencing, etc. The Advanced MS Office skills tests are for candidates who will be working closely with Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook. They need to be comfortable with advanced and specialist tasks. The skills testing software will test their knowledge meticulously so hiring companies can be confident about the candidates.

Is it easy to skills test candidates?

Online skills testing is quite popular and is beginning to establish a customary place for itself in recruitment. This facility enables recruiters to increasingly utilise skills tests on candidates to enhance their recruiting methods. Online skills testing offers many advantages. Recruiters do not have to worry about logistics or invest time in organising the tests. They can simply choose the relevant test link and send it immediately to as many candidates as they want.

The tests are easily accessible. Candidates only need a computer and an internet/broadband connections. They can choose to, before taking the assessment, sample the test questions to understand the structure of the assessment. Each MS Office skills test can last up to 20 minutes, depending on the software supplier.

And how do hiring companies benefit from online skills assessments?

All the skills assessments are arranged and conducted by recruitment agencies. Hiring companies can be assured that the shortlisted candidates they will interview are some of the best in the market. Results from skills tests display a candidate’s knowledge and abilities. Quality skills testing software suppliers have dynamic reporting facilities. It shows an individual’s test results as well as how they have fared overall in a group setting. This provides a comprehensive look at the job seeker’s skills. Hiring companies can use this data to complement the knowledge they have of a candidate after looking at the CV and interviewing them.