Test Skills, Not Resumes

Recruiters today face a common challenge: how to separate real skills from resume claims. A SHRM study found that 78% of recruiters believe candidates exaggerate their skills. This leads to hiring bias, wasted time, and costly mis-hires.

That’s where skill assessment software comes in. By testing candidates on the actual skills required for the role, organizations can make hiring decisions based on proven ability—not just credentials. With Glider AI, hiring teams go beyond resumes to validate skills, build a reliable skills inventory, and create a more effective talent assessment process that improves quality of hire.

Definition

Purpose of Skill Assessment Software

• Identify job-ready candidates before they reach the interview stage.
• Reduce bias by focusing on skills, not background.
• Save recruiters time with automated, scalable screening.
• Give candidates a fair chance to showcase ability over pedigree.
• Provide data-driven insights for smarter workforce planning and skills tracking software initiatives.

How It Works

Skill assessment platforms follow a straightforward process that mirrors real-world hiring needs:

1. Define role requirements – Recruiters select or customize assessments tailored to the job.
2. Invite candidates – Candidates complete assessments online, often asynchronously.
3. Test real-world ability – From coding challenges to situational judgment tasks, assessments replicate actual work scenarios.
4. Ensure fairness with AI proctoring – Built-in monitoring tools maintain integrity without disrupting the candidate experience.
5. Review results and shortlist – Recruiters access detailed reports highlighting strengths, gaps, and overall job fit.

Types of Skill Assessments

Not all jobs require the same kind of evaluation. To get the best results, organizations use different types of skill assessments based on role requirements and candidate experience.

• Technical Skill Tests – Evaluate role-specific expertise such as programming, cybersecurity, data analysis, or finance.
• Job-Based Skill Tests – Measure practical capabilities tied to a specific function, like sales role-plays or customer service scenarios.
• Behavioral and Soft Skill Tests – Assess communication, leadership, adaptability, and teamwork—skills essential for collaboration and management.
• Coding Simulations & Live Coding Interviews – Replicate real-world environments where software engineers write, debug, and explain code.
• Language & Communication Assessments – Validate fluency and comprehension in multiple languages for global and client-facing roles.

Together, these form the foundation of a comprehensive talent assessment program.

Key Features of Skill Assessment Software

Benefits of Skill Assessment Software

Skill assessment platforms provide tangible benefits for both recruiters and candidates:

• Hire for competency over credentials – Find candidates who can actually do the job.
• Accelerate hiring cycles – Automated scoring reduces manual screening and time-to-hire.
• Increase fairness and diversity – Skills-focused hiring levels the playing field.
• Improve quality of hire – Select candidates who can contribute from day one.
• Enhance candidate experience – Transparent, role-relevant assessments build trust.
• Support skills tracking – Maintain a living skills inventory across your workforce to guide internal mobility and training programs.
• Strengthen talent assessment efforts – Connect skills validation with overall talent strategies, from hiring to workforce planning.

How to Choose the Right Skill Assessment Platform

With so many vendors in the market, choosing the right solution requires careful consideration. The best talent assessment tools balance recruiter efficiency with candidate fairness while providing the flexibility to scale.

When evaluating solutions, look for:

• Breadth of assessments: A strong library of technical, functional, and behavioral tests.
• Customization: Ability to tailor assessments to your unique roles and workflows.
• Scalability: Support for high-volume hiring across geographies.
• Fraud prevention: Built-in AI proctoring and ID verification to ensure integrity.
• Seamless integrations: Compatibility with your ATS and HRIS.
• Actionable insights: Dashboards and reports that support better hiring and workforce planning.

FAQs

Q1: What types of skills can be tested with Glider AI?

Technical, non-technical, and behavioral skills across 250+ technologies and hundreds of job roles. These assessments form a key part of a broader talent assessment process.

Q2: Does using assessments add extra time to hiring?

No. Automated grading and shortlisting reduce hiring time by up to 40%.

Q3: How do candidates feel about assessments?

Research shows that 67% of diverse candidates prefer skills-based assessments to traditional hiring because they feel fairer. This improves candidate trust in the overall talent assessment system.

Q4: Can assessments integrate with my ATS?

Yes. Glider AI integrates with leading ATS and HR platforms for seamless workflows.

Q5: Is skill assessment the same as talent assessment?

Not exactly. Skill assessments focus on specific abilities required for a role, while talent assessment takes a broader view—combining skills, behavior, and potential to ensure the right long-term fit. The two approaches complement each other.

Final Thoughts

Skill assessments are no longer a “nice-to-have.” They’re a core strategy for modern hiring—helping organizations reduce bias, improve efficiency, and focus on what matters most: proven skills. Whether you’re building a stronger skills inventory for workforce planning or investing in a modern talent assessment platform, skill assessment software gives you the foundation to hire and grow with confidence.