Using software assessments to select the best candidates

ClickDimensions is growing by leaps and bounds, and one of our biggest challenges is ensuring that we hire the best employees for our team. Our recruiting and interviewing process is in-depth, including phone screens, in-person interviews and reference checking. But one of the tools that we value most when evaluating candidates is our software assessment.

Not only do these assessments indicate whether a potential employee has the technical skills necessary to perform the job, often soft skills such as problem solving, resourcefulness and creativity can be evaluated through the process. We don’t require that all applicants take the assessment; typically the top 3-4 candidates for a position will be selected for the software assessment phase.

When being considered for a position at ClickDimensions, selected candidates are asked to:

1. Take a tour of ClickDimensions (via our website, video and blog).
2. Sign up for a free 30-day trial of Microsoft CRM Online.
3. Register to receive a unique copy of the ClickDimensions solution.
4. Install the ClickDimensions solution.
5. Explore the ClickDimensions solution.

Then, the applicants are asked to complete a series of exercises within ClickDimensions. For example, when we were evaluating prospects for the Marketing Director position, we distributed the following assessment to the top four candidates:

1. Using ClickDimensions, create an email template and send it to a marketing list (staff email addresses were provided).
2. Create a ClickDimensions web form and embed the web form in a ClickDimensions landing page.
3. Place a link in the email that links to the landing page so a recipient of the email can go to the landing page and complete the form.
4. Setup an auto-responder email on the form so that once it has been filled in, the person who filled it in will receive a short confirmation email.
5. Once the email has been sent from ClickDimensions, follow-up to confirm that it was received.

Three of the four marketing candidates successfully completed the assessment, and the results helped us immensely when we were making our hiring decision. While the tasks described above are specific to ClickDimensions, similar assessments involving “real world” scenarios could be applied at your organization – give it a try!

An email created by one of the marketing candidates invited recipients to sponsor a (fictional) race:

The email linked to a landing page with a ClickDimensions web form embedded:

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