As you have undoubtedly experienced first-hand, the electrical engineering profession faces a worrisome talent shortage. Unfortunately, the impact of this shortage will likely be exacerbated as the demand for electrical engineers continues to grow. According to BLS data, there will be a yearly need for over 20,000 additional electrical and electronics engineers by 2030.
While there is little you can do to end the shortage yourself, you can ensure that your organization has a shot at acquiring the most talented electrical engineers. To accomplish this, you must break away from traditional screening practices and incorporate engineering skills tests into your pre-hire assessment protocol.
What Is an Engineering Skills Test?
An engineering skills test is a screening tool that includes multiple questions of various types. Several different engineering skills tests are available, each covering a specific sub-field of the profession.
The Electrical Engineering Skills skills test is designed to screen electrical engineers. This assessment includes 40 questions in multiple-choice, select-all-that-apply, and true/false formats. It covers Fundamentals of Electricity, Electronic Circuits, Power Systems, and Signal Processing.
The skills test for electrical engineers, like other skills tests, is administered online via a testing dashboard. Your HR staff can assign this skills test to applicants during the screening process.
Each applicant will receive a unique login, which they will use to access their assigned skills test. After they complete and submit the assessment, HR personnel can review the results via the testing dashboard.
HR staff can view the results page’s cumulative score and subject-by-subject performance. This detailed reporting method allows HR personnel to identify if candidates struggle in any specific area or possess a well-rounded skill set.
In addition to the Electrical Engineering Skills exam, several other skills tests may be administered to electrical engineering applicants. Examples of other skills tests include Attention to Detail, Mechanical Aptitude, and Business Communication.
If you do not want to assign multiple skills tests, you can create a custom exam using our online testing library. You or your HR team can select pre-formatted questions from our testing pool to build a skills test that suits your organization’s unique needs.
How to Incorporate Electrical Engineering Skills Tests into Hiring Practices
Technically, you can incorporate skills tests into any phase of the pre-hire screening process. However, skills tests are most effective when administered early in the applicant assessment process.
We recommend assigning skills tests after receiving resumes but before scheduling any interviews. This approach allows your hiring team to narrow down the size of the applicant pool, which reduces the number of interviews that they must conduct.
Since electrical engineering skills tests are administered online, making this one of your first steps in your hiring process is effortless. In addition, skills tests are very cost-effective, which means that your HR team can screen all candidates without negatively impacting your organization’s profitability.
If you want to gain more detailed insights into an applicant’s suitability for a vacant position, you can incorporate behavioral assessments into your pre-hire screening process.
Whereas skills tests measure an applicant’s knowledge and aptitudes, behavioral assessments reveal how they respond to specific situations by identifying core personality traits. Behavioral assessments allow your team to learn what motivates an applicant. This understanding is essential to assessing job fit.
Your HR team can capture a complete picture of every applicant by combining hard skills tests, soft skills tests, and behavioral assessments. This deep insight will allow them to identify the best candidates quickly and proceed to interviews and job offers faster than your competition.
Benefits of Electrical Engineering Skills Tests
Skills tests are becoming a staple of modern hiring practices because they are one of the most efficient screening methods. Online skills tests provide quantifiable data on an applicant’s knowledge and aptitudes so that HR staff can make informed hiring decisions.
This approach takes the guesswork out of the screening and decreases an organization’s civil liability, as skills testing results justify every hiring decision.
Another huge benefit of online skills tests is that hiring electrical engineers costs less. Your HR team can screen candidates faster, conduct fewer interviews, and increase their chances of selecting the top applicant. This streamlining will translate into fewer bad hires, reduced turnover, and better staff morale.
Your organization can stop relying on antiquated pre-hire screening practices by transitioning to online skills tests. You will no longer have to deal with in-person testing or large-scale interviewing sessions. Instead, you can administer skills tests remotely, eliminating the need to purchase testing materials, proctor exams, or engage in other wasteful screening practices.
Engineering Skills Tests from eSkill
Are you ready to add engineering skills tests to your hiring process? Request a demo to see how skills assessments can help you quickly identify and hire top candidates.