The Importance of Basic Computer Skills and Why Businesses Should Use Computer Assessment Tests

by Tyler P. A Passionate Blogger - Entertainment

Computers have become an integral part of our lives. Projects, notes, day to day work at the office, and just about everything (including communication and games) are done using computers. Event smartphones act as our mobile computers.

Does that mean every person in the world knows how to use computers? No. Does that mean those who are qualified and apply for jobs invariably know how to use computers?

Experts say we cannot assume such a thing. It might come as a surprise that many candidates may not have enough, or the needed knowledge to use computers, much less try to troubleshoot if something goes wrong. For candidates with any type of administrative responsibility, computer skills are a must.

If your company wants to hire the best candidates, you need to include computer skills assessment test as part of your recruiting process. On any given day, conducting a pre-employment skills test is better than assuming that a candidate can work on the computer only to realize that the person needs to be extensively trained for it.

Now, even the basic entry-level jobs demand computer skills. Whether it is a receptionist, a cashier at a retail store, an office manager, or a desk clerk, they use computers to collect, store, and share information.

Types of Basic Computer Skills

The following are some of the basic computer skills required by most entry-level jobs irrespective of the industry.

Data Entry- Typing
Microsoft Office- MS Word, MS Excel, MS PowerPoint, MS Outlook, MS Access
G Suite including Google email
Internet Browsers - Chrome, Explorer, Firefox
Accounting software
Customer relationship management (CRM) software

Pre-Employment Assessments

So how do the most successful businesses conduct these assessments? While there are many ways to test the skills and knowledge of the candidates, online pre-employment assessments are the preferred option in today’s scenario. Instead of answering the tests on paper, candidates will use computers for the same.

It might seem strange to conduct computer skills test on a computer, but that’s where enterprises can get an accurate idea about how capable and efficient the candidates are. Pre-employment assessments are different from traditional tests. The test forms can be customized to include real-time scenarios so that instead of answering yes or no or choosing an option from multiple choices, the candidate will have to solve the problem within the given time frame.

For example, for sales or accounting jobs, managers might want to test the candidate for general computer skills as well as knowledge of a particular software platform or cloud application. Excel skills test for employment is one of the common tests conducted to shortlist candidates for such jobs. Depending on the job specifications, the skills can be further divided into the basic, intermediary, and advanced levels.

A cashier will need to have basic excel skills where he/ she will enter the details of sales generated every day into a neat and detailed table. An accountant will have to have intermediary and advanced level skills to sort, filter, and process the data. Using formulae, creating the balance sheet, formatting the data, and giving print commands are some essential skills.

Pre-employment assessments can be used to provide a spreadsheet to the candidates and ask them to use formulae to calculate or sort the data or create a pivot table. This will give enterprises a clear idea about the skills of the candidate. Enterprises can contact the pre employment test providers for more information.