What is Testing in the Hiring process?

Municipalities may ask applicants to undergo testing as part of the application process. Carefully developed and administered employment tests can provide organizations with a way to decide systematically and accurately which people have the ability to perform well on the job. The local job service center may be able to provide certain skills testing such as typing and computer-based tests. The Montana Department of Labor and Industry has some good information on employer testing of job candidates on their website. Before a municipality utilizes testing in the application process, there are several areas to consider:
• Be certain that tests are directly related to the job.
• Have a current employee try the test before it is used with applicants to ensure the task is possible in the time allotted and relevant to the posted job.
• Only use tests that are valid and do not discriminate against any group of applicants. Validity testing can be quite complex. For this reason, home-grown testing is often discouraged. Instead, consider using a vendor who has performed validity testing.
• Administer the same tests under the same conditions to all applicants for the same position.
• Accommodate people with disabilities by modifying the test or testing conditions or eliminating the testing requirement for all the applicants.
• Do not rely solely on tests for making decisions about candidates; use them as one component of the overall selection procedure.
Montana Municipal Officials Handbook 70
• Any physical fitness testing required of applicants (besides police and fire) must be carefully analyzed by legal counsel to ensure it is both valid and reliable.