{"id":10028,"date":"2017-01-16T09:36:47","date_gmt":"2017-01-16T17:36:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/recruitloop.com\/blog\/?p=10028"},"modified":"2023-05-12T11:00:42","modified_gmt":"2023-05-12T18:00:42","slug":"software-skills-assessment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/software-skills-assessment\/","title":{"rendered":"Why it’s Essential to Assess Software Skills During the Hiring Process"},"content":{"rendered":"

Imagine it\u2019s your first day at a new job. You arrive at the office and are given a workstation. After logging in and getting oriented, you receive your first task. You are horrified to find out that your employer has given you something to do that was on your resume but that you do not really know how to do. You embellished a little in the interview and said you were proficient, but in reality, you had only been exposed slightly in a prior job. Now you need to scramble to figure out the software that you should have already known. You feel like you are fumbling your way through your first\u00a0project.\u00a0<\/span>
\nThis scenario should be horrifying to any Human Resources practitioner. How did the new hire not have the basic technology and software knowledge expected? They indicated the program in the interview or on their resume? How did that slip through? According to<\/span> Criteria Pre-Employment Testing<\/span>, up to 78% of resumes are misleading and up to 46% contain actual lies.<\/span><\/p>\n

What is important when it comes to skills assessment?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Companies invest time, money, and effort to find just the right applicant. However, these same companies can easily drop the ball if they have a poorly structured recruiting and hiring process. Even when everything goes perfectly with recruiting, hiring, and <\/span>onboarding<\/span><\/a>, basic technology knowledge can still be missing. With millennials<\/a> averaging four or more job changes in the first 10 years after leaving\u00a0college, <\/span>starting with a new company every year or two<\/span> is becoming more and more the new normal.<\/span>
\nSo, how do organizations that employ these job-hoppers determine what knowledge is important during the recruitment process?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Do software skills matter?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Are software skills and hardware knowledge transferable from one role or one company to the next? Absolutely! Even in jobs that are considered outside of the technology industry, software skills are necessary from restaurant ordering systems to small business inventory management.<\/span>
\nCristina Campanella discusses the importance of onboarding and job knowledge on <\/span>LinkedIn<\/span>, stating, \u201cNew employees learn what\u2019s expected, how to deliver, and how and when they will be evaluated. Upfront education prevents damaging mistakes down the road.\u201d In regards to software and technology education, what should a company look for during the recruitment process? What should a pre-hire skills assessment include? What education should you expect to provide and what should already be known by applicants?<\/span><\/p>\n

Pre-hire assessments<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Ensuring that your new hires have the basic technology knowledge and skills to do their job is no easy task. Before developing your pre-hire assessment, invest time in your pre-employment evaluation.<\/span><\/p>\n