If you Google “top IT skills,” you’ll get a healthy return of articles, opinions, and lists about the most in-demand technology skills needed to succeed in today’s ever-evolving market. For example, according to LinkedIn, IT skills dominate its “most needed hard skills” list, including cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and UX design. Global Knowledge adds cybersecurity, virtualization, and networking and wireless, among others. And, TNW adds effective communication, flexibility, and data science.
According to the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics, computer and information technology employment is projected to grow 12 percent from 2018 to 2020, reflecting a much faster growth path than other industries. With demand growing for IT experts, employers can find top-rated talent through the implementation of pre-employment skills tests.
Whether you’re looking for candidates with cloud computing, web development, or artificial intelligence skills, pre-employment technology skills tests can help you make better and faster IT hiring decisions.
In 2018, Indeed conducted a study focusing on the fastest-growing terms used by tech job seekers. More specifically, the search terms that Indeed focused on included those that directly led to job postings with one of 381 technology job titles. Where some tech job search terms fell out of favor, others skyrocketed to the top of search engine activity, giving further insight into which IT skills are most needed today.
For example, Indeed’s research found that cloud computing and e-commerce tech skill searches grew rapidly. Searches for Kubernetes, an open-source cloud computing tool, rose 173 percent from the previous year. Searches for Magento, an open-source e-commerce platform, surged just behind Kubernetes, showing a 116 percent growth in searches.
According to Tech Republic, cybersecurity, software development, and data science skills still dominate the industry. With security continuing to be a growing concern among companies and consumers, security engineer skills will continue to grow as well. Further, as we surround ourselves more with the Internet of Things (IoT), the security of connected devices will become more imperative, enforcing and creating IT skills.
As technology expands, new IT skills emerge. For example, the programming language Python is a “newer” kid on the block. With the continuing implementation and use of artificial intelligence and web applications, there will be an increased demand for Python developers.
As technology continues to influence both non-tech companies and traditional IT jobs, top-notch job candidates with current tech skills will continue to be in high demand. To be sure that you hire the best-qualified tech professionals, allowing you to remain competitive in today’s market, you need to verify their skills beyond the resume or interview. Let’s look at some top IT skills assessment tests that you can implement into your recruitment program.
If you hire an employee who doesn’t have the knowledge, skills, experience, or personality to do a job, then productivity and team morale can suffer. However, by implementing pre-employment skills tests into your IT recruitment, you could reduce your cost of hiring, by not only reducing the time to hire but also by hiring a qualified candidate better fitting the position. By garnering as much information as possible about a job candidate, employers can be more confident in their hiring decisions, making sure the candidate has what it takes to be successful.
For example, you can implement off-the-shelf tests, helping you assess skills such as PHP, Python, JavaScript, and Drupal. You could also dive into skills analysis based on subject-matter, such as Microsoft Office® or web development. Alternatively, you could design a company-specific or multi-subject test by combining questions on hardware, software, business intelligence, or logical thinking, to name a few.
Further, you can create IT skills assessment testing simulations that recreate your typical working environment. Through simulations, you can analyze objective data that shows how quickly and accurately candidates respond to IT job demands.
Whether through off-the-shelf tests or fully customizable assessments, you can better identify job candidates having the skills needed to work and excel within the IT industry by testing application-oriented, development, or operation skills.
The right person in the proper role can make or break your company’s performance. With eSkill’s integrated approach for pre-employment assessment, you can get to know the IT candidate before you hire them. By implementing pre-employment assessments, you can test skills cognition and aptitudes accurately and completely, ensuring a candidate’s successful fit within your organization.
At eSkill, we offer the most extensive assessment catalog plus video interviewing on the market. For example, we offer:
With our quality predictive content and a perfect compliance record, eSkill can help you identify and evaluate candidates who have the right knowledge and experience to do the job, speeding your hiring decisions and getting you, and your candidate to “yes.”
Request a demo to see how eSkill can help you verify candidates’ skills before you hire them.