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There are seemingly countless pre-employment testing software solutions available, so figuring out which is best for you is tough. You want to evaluate abilities, personality traits, and work-related behaviors in order to make informed hiring decisions—but now need to figure out which tool is the best fit. In this post, I make things simple, leveraging my experience as an HR specialist using dozens of different pre-employment testing tools to bring you this shortlist of the best pre-employment testing software overall.

What is Pre-Employment Testing Software?

Pre-employment testing software is a tool used by employers to evaluate job candidates. It tests skills, knowledge, personality, and work behavior. This software helps in identifying the best fit for a job, ensuring candidates meet job requirements.

Key features of pre-employment testing software include skill assessments for specific job roles, personality and behavioral evaluations, cognitive ability tests, and job-specific knowledge quizzes. It often provides customizable test options, automated scoring and reporting for efficiency, and integration capabilities with HR systems.

Overviews Of The 10 Best Pre-Employment Testing Software

Here’s a brief description of each pre-employment testing software to showcase each tool’s best use case. Keep reading to find additional bonus picks at the bottom of the list.

Best for its candidate interview portals and ease of interview submission

  • 15-day free trial
  • From $75/month
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Rating: 4.8/5

Willo is a user-friendly and flexible video interview software that enables businesses to conduct pre-employment testing and evaluate potential staff remotely. Recruiting teams can remotely capture candidate interviews, share their video responses, and collaborate with other departments and stakeholders to assess genuine responses from interested participants through engagements and asynchronous video communications.

Businesses and recruitment agencies can leverage the software for finding and remotely meeting candidates at scale, as well as for hiring top graduate talent. They can also use the software for training new hires, online learning, user-generated video content creation, as well as for employee and customer communications.

Willo enables you to take advantage of video interviews to discover potential talent and evaluate candidates faster and more conveniently. Candidates can answer interview questions through a link that is provided by the interviewer, which will take them to the interview landing page. Candidates can participate in video interviews through their web browser, without the need to install plug-ins or additional applications.

The software is equipped with a variety of collaboration features, including tools for editing and sharing video interviews and messages. It also supports the editing and sharing of user-generated video content and training videos, all from a centralized dashboard. Additionally, the video interview solution implements enterprise-grade data encryption, GDPR-compliant security protocols, and multi-factor authentication to ensure the protection of all sensitive data.

Customizable skill assessment software with role-specific simulation testing capabilities

  • Free trial and free demo available
  • From $109 USD/month
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Rating: 4.6/5

Vervoe’s system comes pre-loaded with 300 pre-employment assessment test templates designed by leading industrial and organizational (I/O) psychologists. These can be used as is, or easily customized with your own questions, or additional items from their bank of 300,000 questions. For technical positions, their platform includes challenges in 8 common coding languages. They also boast strong assessment capabilities for other industries such as marketing and advertising, customer service, retail, healthcare, and call-center recruiting. To ensure candidates are the right fit, hiring teams can use their Customer Service Simulator to develop simulations of what each role is actually like, to see how applicants cope.

System admins have the ability to customize the candidate experience through Vervoe by including a video introduction that welcomes candidates, introduces their company and provides instructions prior to the actual skill testing. As skill tests are completed, Vervoe uses AI to score and rank candidate results in real-time. Top performers are automatically moved to the top of the results dashboard and identified with trophies and badges highlighting their top skills. Hiring managers can use the platform to compare top applicants side-by-side to support decision-making. Once users mark a candidate as ‘hired’ this further enhances the machine learning algorithm for assessing future candidates.

Vervoe integrates with other popular recruiting and workflow tools such as Greenhouse, PageUp, SmartRecruiters, Zapier, and others. Their API also allows for additional integrations customizations.

Pricing for Vervoe starts at $109 USD/month. A free demo and free trial can also be requested through their website.

Comprehensive, AI-powered skills assessment software with digital proctoring capabilities

  • Free trial and free demo
  • Pricing upon request
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Rating: 4.4/5

With over 2,500 skill tests in their library, iMocha is a comprehensive pre-employment testing option for a wide range of industries with technical needs. Beyond all the classic programming languages, users can also initiate tests for other programs like the full Adobe suite, Amazon-specific portals, cybersecurity risk management, specific enterprise-level software systems (like SAP, Salesforce and the full Microsoft suite) and many other applications.

To ensure diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) among candidates, their bias-free assessment report focuses exclusively on skill-based analyses, while anonymizing other candidate details for more objective comparisons. Their AI-powered system also proctors assessments through real-time images, audio, and video, ensuring that answers are 100% authentic. This type of digital automation makes it a natural fit for virtual campus hiring drives or assessing other remote candidates. To further support university recruitment, iMocha also assesses the job-readiness of graduates with tips for skill gaps they need to address.

iMocha integrates with popular ATS software including Greenhouse, Jobvite, iCIMS, SmartRecruiters, Level, and Taleo.

Pricing details for iMocha are only available upon request, but a free trial and free demo can be requested through their website.

Well-rounded online assessment tool with advanced security and digital proctoring features

  • Request a free demo
  • Pricing upon request
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Rating: 4.5/5

Talview’s online assessment platform covers four main styles of testing: an essay test, typing test, online coding tests, and advanced STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) tests. Their programming/coding assessments are available in 52 programming languages including Java, Ruby, Python and many others. They’re a useful tool for pre-screening large volumes of technical applicants—such as university students—ensuring you only spend time interviewing the top talent in the group.

Their security features are noteworthy, and stand out against other testing providers in this list. Tests are completed within their Talview Secure Browser which locks down access to other system resources like applications, other web tabs, or offline information when an assessment is underway. Remote cognitive proctoring automatically monitors for fraudulent activity via video, flags any suspicious activities, and warns or blocks candidates who appear to be cheating. They also have a 360° Test Environment Check feature that prompts candidates to visually verify elements of their exam room before initiating the test, including their table/desk, ceiling, floor, and the absence of earphones, plus a 360 degree video capture of the entire room.

Talview integrates with several other software providers including Blackboard, Canvas, Moodle, and TalentLMS.

Pricing details for Talview are only available upon request, though you can request a free demo through their website.

AI-powered online programming assessment test for recruiters hiring for technical positions

  • 10 tests free
  • From $99/month
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Rating: 4.3/5

Wild Noodle is an online platform that enables employers to assess candidates before hiring them. It offers a suite of tests to help employers make data-driven decisions regarding staffing their teams. It has an extensive assessment library with various assessments, including soft skills such as communication and problem-solving and hard skills such as coding and web design.

Employers can select whichever assessments are most relevant to their situation to get a comprehensive picture of each candidate's abilities and aptitudes before deciding whether they should be hired. This level of insight helps reduce turnover rates by ensuring employees are better suited to their position before they even begin work. Wild Noodle makes test administration straightforward with its user-friendly dashboard interface. Its reporting feature also enables employers to compare candidates against each other and make informed decisions about which candidate is best suited for a given position.

Wild Noodle helps employers create custom tests tailored to their needs. This makes it easier to evaluate potential hires based on the skills they need most. Additionally, the software provides automated scoring and reporting options so employers can quickly compare applicants’ test results without having to do it manually. Wild Noodle saves time by automating many tasks associated with evaluating prospective employees. Users no longer have to score individual tests or compare multiple applicants manually. This allows recruiters to focus more on other aspects of the hiring process, such as interviews or background checks.

Wild Noodle helps ensure that all job candidates receive consistent evaluations regardless of who is doing the assessment. This increases fairness during the hiring process since everyone is evaluated according to the same criteria and standards an organization sets. This software eliminates human bias since it uses objective data rather than subjective opinions when deciding which applicants should move forward in the hiring process.

User-friendly pre-employment testing software with 2D job simulations to maximize candidate engagement

  • 14-day free trial
  • From $45 USD/candidate

HR Avatar’s employee testing software has a library of 200+ tests to choose from, including skills and knowledge assessments, personality and emotional intelligence tests, cognitive abilities, past behaviors, workplace competencies, and a job-specific all-in-one assessment. Or, you can also use their Custom Test Builder to create your own blended evaluations. Their easy-to-use platform goes beyond pre-employment tests and includes other features like live or recorded video interviews, remote test proctoring, automated reference checks and advanced reporting, all rolled into the same per-candidate price.

As their name suggests, HR Avatar specializes in job simulations using 2D character animation to maximize candidate engagement during the testing process. Upon receiving their testing link, candidates are greeted by an HR Avatar who walks them through the testing process and asks them to perform job-related tasks. Upon completion, system admins receive a detailed report by email or text that includes scores for each individually measured competency, as well as a match rating for the specific job role. Built upon decades of job research, their reports also include expert interview questions tailored to each candidate’s results to help you conduct an effective follow-up interview.

Pricing for HR Avatar starts at $45 USD/candidate, and is available in additional candidate ‘packs’ at scale. You can also request a free demo or a 14-day free trial through their website.

Well-rounded psychometric testing platform including game-based assessments

  • 21 days free trial (max. 20 tests)
  • Pricing upon request

Criteria’s well-rounded testing platform is scalable, making it suitable for small & medium-sized businesses all the way up to enterprise-level clients. Their skill assessments are focused on softer psychometric skills like cognitive aptitude, personality, emotional intelligence, risk, and job readiness through basic computer skill tests.

One standout feature in their assessment roster is their game-based assessments, developed by their in-house team of industrial and organizational (I/O) psychologists. While still rigorous and data-rich, game-based assessments provide candidates with a fun and immersive experience where they are more engaged in the material than with traditional assessments. This improves the candidate experience, making them more likely to pursue their application further.

Criteria integrates with common ATS or HRIS platforms, including BambooHR, Greenhouse, iCIMS, Jobvite, Lever, Talent Hub, Oracle Taleo, PageUp, SAP SuccessFactors, SmartRecruiters, and many others.

Pricing details for Criteria are only available upon request, but a 21-day free trial (max. 20 tests) can be requested through their website.

Sophisticated engineering assessment platform focused on architecture, systems design, and debugging

  • Request a free demo and free trial
  • From $2,900 USD/hire

Woven’s sophisticated technical assessment platform serves a niche market: computer software engineers. However, it aims to assess candidates beyond their baseline coding ability and therefore focuses on more advanced software engineering aspects such as architecture, systems design, and debugging. It’s well-suited for senior engineering positions, such as engineering managers, or fullstack, SRE/DevOps, frontend, backend, generalist, or data engineers.

Their platform is unique in that it combines a blend of automations with oversight and scoring by real human engineers. To start the process, the system automatically recommends work simulations based on your job criteria. Candidates can then complete the technical assessments on their own time, within a 30, 60 or 90-minute time limit. Once the assessment is complete, it is blind scored by two engineers who use a structured score rubric to determine reliable candidate ratings. If there are any disagreements between rubric items, then the item is escalated to a third engineer to resolve.

Woven integrates natively with applicant tracking systems, job boards, and productivity tools like Slack, though other specific software applications are not noted on their website.

Pricing for Woven starts at $2,900 USD per hire. However, that includes a 60-day money-back guarantee on annual plans, plus a 120-day guarantee on all hires made through their system. You can also request a free demo and free trial through their website.

Advanced talent and coding assessment platform with hackathon hosting feature, well-suited for campus recruiting

  • Request a free demo or free trial
  • Pricing upon request

Mercer Mettl’s cloud-based assessment platform offers talent assessment solutions as well as coding assessment tools and other unique hiring solutions. Within their talent assessment module users can choose from psychometric tests, behavioral tests, aptitude tests, coding tests, domain tests, and spoken English tests. Their system includes robust digital proctoring features that ensure candidates cannot cheat, as well as 24x7 instant customer support and mobile friendly access. Their tests are currently used in 80 countries and administered in 26 languages.

Their coding platform for technical assessments is extensive, including 100,000+ questions and advanced role-based simulations for front end + back end + full stack development, plus database development, devops, quality assurance and data science. Another really neat feature is their Mettl Xathon module which is an end-to-end hackathon solution that organizes the whole process in 4 easy steps. Hackathons are a useful campus hiring tool as they can generate innovation and enthusiasm for your company amongst new talent, while also screening potential candidates for future roles.

Mettl integrates with many applicant tracking systems including Darwinbox, Freshteam, Greenhouse, Naukri RMS, NoPaperForms, Optevus, Peoplise, Skillate, TurboHire and Zoho Recruit. As well, they also integrate with Canvas and D2L—two popular learning management systems.

Pricing details for Mettl are only available upon request, though you can request a free demo or free trial through their website.

Affordable testing software with deep test library, including language proficiency tests

  • Free trial + free demo available
  • From $25/month

TestGorilla allows hiring teams to create high-quality assessments with tight turnaround times. Based on the name of each job role you’re looking to assess, TestGorilla automatically suggests the best pre-loaded testing template to use for each position (and you can add your own questions if you want too). They also allow users to combine multiple types of assessments into one packaged test for your candidates. This is helpful as it provides a better candidate experience rather than sending out multiple testing links for skill tests and behavioral assessments, for example. Their system also includes the ability to collect video interview responses to further assess candidate personalities too.

Their testing library is deep and includes tests for both hard skills (Python, JavaScript, PHP, etc.), software skills (PowerPoint, Hubspot, Zendesk, AutoCAD, etc.), and soft skills (communication, business ethics, negotiation, time management, etc.). As well, their system also supports role-based assessments for positions like accounts payable, social media management, technical SEO, B2B sales and many others. TestGorilla is also a great choice for businesses with international or multilingual workforces as they can test the language proficiency of candidates in many languages and levels, including: English, French, Dutch, German, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, and Swedish.

TestGorilla integrates with major applicant tracking systems such as Greenhouse, JazzHR, Lever, SmartRecruiters and others. Their mobile app also supports assessments on Android or iOS devices too.

Pricing for TestGorilla starts at $25 USD/month, though they do have a free forever plan with limited features that would work for focused recruiting (unlimited candidates, but only 5 tests). A free demo can also be requested through their website.

The 10 Best Pre-Employment Testing Software Summary

Tools Price
Willo From $75/month
Vervoe From $109 USD/month
iMocha Pricing upon request
Talview Pricing upon request
Wild Noodle From $99/month
HR Avatar From $45 USD/candidate
Criteria Pricing upon request
Woven From $2,900 USD/hire
Mercer Mettl Assessments Pricing upon request
TestGorilla From $25/month
Preview Image - <h2 class="c-block__title b-summary-table__title c-listicle__title h3" > Compare Software Specs Side by Side</h2>

Compare Software Specs Side by Side

Use our comparison chart to review and evaluate software specs side-by-side.

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Other Options

Using my extensive experience as an HR expert, I reviewed and evaluated the top pre-employment testing software to shortlist the best tools to assess job candidates’ skills, knowledge, and suitability for a role.

  1. Resource Associates

    Straightforward pre-employment testing provider with a comprehensive test library and “on demand” pricing

  2. eSkill

    Flexible pre-employment testing software with video interviews and skill gap assessments

  3. The Hire Talent

    Easy-to-use pre-employment testing tool with detailed candidate performance reports

  4. Qualified

    Technical coding assessment platform with revealing code playback feature for deeper programmer insights

  5. Zoho Recruit

    Best with customizable assessment questionnaires for candidates

  6. Unnanu Hire

    Best for creating custom tests

  7. EYardstick

    Coding and database simulation testing software with 150+ pre-built technical assessments or the ability to design your own - available as a 14-day free trial.

  8. HireVue

    Enterprise-level candidate management software with coding assessments, game-based assessments, and other useful interviewing and hiring tools.

  9. Coderbyte

    Advanced coding assessment platform suitable for screening new graduates up to senior engineers, including a module to compensate applicants for the time spent on their assessment - also available as a free trial.

  10. pymetrics

    Modern skills assessment platform including 12 gamified tests that measure cognitive and emotional attributes within a unique and engaging testing experience.

Comparison Criteria

Wondering what I look for when selecting the best pre-employment testing software for this list? Here’s a summary of my evaluation criteria: 

  1. User Interface (UI): I look for software with a clean, colourful, and uncluttered interface that candidates would enjoy using. 
  2. Usability: I prioritize software that’s easy to set up and share with candidates, with results and data clearly organized and digestible to support quick decision-making. 
  3. Integrations: I prefer pre-employment testing software that integrates with other recruiting software such as applicant tracking systems or candidate sourcing software. 
  4. Value for $: I appreciate software with transparent pricing structures such as per-test or per-candidate options, or the ability to order tests in scalable packages. 

Pre-Employment Testing Software: Key Features

Here’s a summary of the main features you can expect to find in the best pre-employment testing software: 

  1. A library of testing templates: A selection of ready-to-go templates designed for specific job roles or industries. 
  2. A range of testing types: Common sub-types of pre-employment testing include technical or coding assessments, software skills, psychometric tests, cognitive aptitude measures, behavioral assessments, personality tests, measures of emotional intelligence, computer or office skills tests, job-specific skill assessments, and assessments for other soft skills. 
  3. Role-based simulations: These are engineered scenarios that reflect real-world job tasks. They allow human resources teams to assess how applicants would excel in a specific role. 
  4. Automated candidate ranking: A time-saving feature that automatically sorts candidates based on their test scores and overall job fit status. 
  5. Bias-reducing features: Candidate ranking that focuses solely on skill-based scoring, plus advanced features like blind reviews where the personal details of candidates are anonymized.
  6. Digital proctoring: Software features that prevent candidates from cheating, such as locked down browsers or other system features, video-based candidate ID verification features, visual environmental checks, and tools to identify plagiarized code. 

What Are The Benefits Of Pre-Employment Testing? 

Pre-employment testing can improve the quality of your recruitment process and the candidates you hire in many ways. Here are some of the main benefits you can expect to gain from using pre-employment testing software:

  1. You’ll accelerate your hiring process by:
    • spending less time sorting and screening applicants. 
    • only focusing on the top-scoring candidates.
  2. You’ll gain a realistic understanding of each applicant’s skill level for particular tasks.
  3. You’ll gain deeper insights into your candidates prior to interviewing them, allowing you to ask more effective follow-up questions when you finally do meet. 
  4. You’ll be able to assess applicants’ personality traits to predict future job performance. 
  5. You’ll be able to assess whether a candidate is a good culture fit for your team. 
  6. You’ll ensure hiring decisions are based on data rather than unconscious bias. 
  7. You’ll improve your candidate experience by offering them more opportunities to engage with your company, as well as post-test feedback for future opportunities. 
  8. You’ll gain valuable data that can be translated into onboarding and orientation training for candidates who are hired despite some skill gaps. 

How Important Is Pre-Employment Testing? 

With all of the benefits noted above, it’s hard to imagine not using some form of pre-employment testing. This is especially true for technical positions that require advanced skills. When you consider that the cost of a bad hire can reach as high as 30% of the employee’s annual salary, it makes sense to invest a little more in finding the best candidate for the position up-front. 

In fact, recent research indicates that the global market for pre-employment testing software is on the rise. It’s expected to grow at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 11% between 2022 and 2028, with an estimated value of $292.4 million USD by 2028. 

Related Read: HR Software: What It Costs And How To Decide What’s Best For Your Company

What Do You Think About This List?

I hope this article gave you a better understanding of pre-employment testing and how it can add value to your recruiting process. 

If you still need more help with candidate selection, take a look at our list of the best candidate sourcing software to help you find the best talent. 

You may also appreciate some other tips on how to maintain the candidate experience, especially if your company is going through a period of rapid growth. 

We also have a free leadership assessment tool that measures 7 key skill areas, which is another great way to assess existing employees too. 

Last but not least, I encourage you to subscribe to our People Managing People newsletter to stay on top of the latest trends in HR, leadership, and organizational development.

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By Kim Behnke

Kim Behnke is an HR Tool Expert & Writer for People Managing People. She draws on her 9 years of human resources experience and her keen eye for systematic processes to support her analyses of the top HR tools on the market. She is passionate about maximizing efficiencies and streamlining workflows to ensure internal systems run smoothly. Kim's HR experience includes recruitment, onboarding, performance management, training and development, policy development and enforcement, and HR analytics. She also has degrees in psychology, writing, publishing, and technical communication, and recently completed a Certified Digital HR Specialist program through the Academy to Innovate HR. When away from her desk, she can usually be found outside tending to her ever-expanding garden.