Measuring Candidate Expertise with Microsoft Word Proficiency Test

Posted by Interview Mocha on May 21st, 2015

Skills’ testing is an important aspect of candidate assessment when trying to recruit new employees for your company. These tests help evaluate the capabilities and competence of your potential workers. They cover different topics and areas that help gauge their qualifications and determine suitability for their desired positions or the available vacancies. There are several types of skill tests, commonly included in basic employee assessment exams. Examples are typing and data entry tests, literacy and numeracy tests, and tests that evaluate the candidate's skills in using fundamental software tools like Microsoft Word, and other Office programs.

Skills tests are primarily designed to aid in pre-employment selection, but they are also useful for assessing the need for an employee development program. They ensure a proper process of selecting the best talents for your organization, while also keeping your manpower as strong and productive as possible.

Not all skills test are created equal and for good reason. A typical Microsoft Word proficiency test, for instance, tests and measures the candidate's knowledge and understanding of the program and its features. Some tests are as basic as typing and creating documents using fundamental commands and formatting while others include several levels of testing in which questions and tasks become more difficult as the assessment progresses. The extent of the applicant's knowledge of the program can be determined by these kinds of tests, helping employers discover whether they have enough potential to do the tasks that a particular position requires of them.

The difficulty level and the type of test must also be adapted to the needs of the organization, which is another reason that different kinds of proficiency tests exist. A non-profit organization may require an employee to have proper knowledge of a work that is specific in MS Word features. For example, mail merging and letter templates, while public relations agency may be more interested in a candidate with mad Word Art and Clip Art skills. Selecting a well-designed, valid, and properly adapted skills test is crucial, so you can make sure that it caters to the exact needs of your organization.

You can determine the quality of a proficiency test simply by analyzing the results that it yields. For instance, an applicant tested at two separate time points, using the same test, should be able to perform reasonably similarly. It is highly unlikely that someone with a good typing speed and program skills would no longer possess the same skills at a later time. A huge difference in performance results is an indicator of a poorly designed proficiency test.

About the Author:

Akshar Thakur is the Customer Success Manager of Interviewmocha.com that is a pre-employment testing solution for skills in Business, Finance, Marketing, Design, Development, IT and many more. They help companies Worldwide to objectively measure skills related to all facets of the hiring process - Technical Skills, Business Skills, Aptitude Skills, Communication Skills, Designing skills, Marketing skills, Sales skills etc. in a single test. They make the recruitment process easier & faster.