How to Write An Assessment Script in Five Minutes

You're busy, right? You don't have too much time to spend on hiring.

But you need to hire someone great. You just want it done quickly, without much hassle.

Interviewing people face-to-face is way too time-consuming, and it's not very effective because it just helps you validate what someone did in the past. But it's kind of easy because you can just wing it. You can make the questions up as you go. That's what most people do.

Online assessment is a much better way to hire because it will help you predict how someone will perform in the future. But it forces you to be a bit more prepared. You need to know what you're going to ask in advance, and that can take a bit of time.

Knowing what to ask. Writing the questions. Figuring out what to look for in the answers.

What if there was a way to do it really quickly? Practice makes perfect. But don't worry, we've done the practice for you. We write assessment scripts all the time, so we're pretty good at it. So we want to share a few tips with you on how to do it. Quickly. Really quickly.

Tip #1 - Think of Someone You Respect

Picture someone you worked with who you really respect and enjoy working with. Think about why you work well together.

There are sophisticated ways to test for attributes like that. But there's also a less scientific way. Ask candidates to record a video and talk about something they're proud of and something they wish they did better. You'll know a lot after that.

Tip #2 - Choose Three Tasks

Think about three tasks your candidate will have to do on the job. There are many, but just choose the three most important ones.

Write one question for each one. Ask candidates to do the task itself or something as close as possible. Give candidates an opportunity to show what they can do and feel a sense of achievement after they do it.

Keep it short and sweet.

Tip #3 - Look for a Habit

Think of a habit that you feel is important. It might be arriving early, listening to podcasts or having a side project.

Ask a simple multiple choice or text question. There is no right answer, it's about getting a sense of what makes candidates tick.

Tip #4 - Check Motivation

Ask candidates what they would do if they're not offered the role, and why. This will give you insight into what motivates them. Will they keep looking for similar roles? Will they stay in their current job?

It's important to understand why people want to work for your company. you don't want them to join for the wrong reasons.

Tip #5 - Ask Candidates to Write

Gives candidates a short writing task. It can be an email to a client, a thank-you note, a few paragraphs about themselves or a Facebook post. It doesn't matter that much what the tasks is, and they don't have to be writing experts.

You're looking for two things here. Can they follow instructions? Are the diligent? You'll be surprised how many people simply don't do what was asked of them. Check for typos and grammar. A little effort goes a long way. It shows they take pride in their work.

Tip #6 - Ask about Teamwork

Ask candidates what they look for in a teammate. It's a good way to see what they value in the workplace and, by implication, how they might behave themselves.

Are they interested in collaboration? Do they prefer to be left alone? Do they want to have fun?

Wrapping Things Up

Don't worry about making it perfect. You don't have to test for every skill. Use your instincts and write your assessment script quickly. After candidates respond you'll know enough to decide who to invest time in. Then you can interview some of them in-person or progress them to a more rigorous assessment stage.

If you have some suggestions for how to make this process even quicker, drop a comment. We'd love to hear your ideas because we're always trying to make it easier to write assessment scripts.