Measuring PPC Expertise: The Role of Skills Tests in Hiring

The hiring landscape in digital marketing, particularly PPC, has evolved into a highly competitive arena. Recruiters and hiring managers are crucial in identifying and securing the best talent in paid media.

As a digital recruiter, the importance and relevance of skills testing when hiring paid media experts was frequently questioned. The response was always the same: skills testing was vital.

Why?  

Too many hiring managers and recruiters have adopted a sink-or-swim mentality, basing their decisions on a “good interview”—someone who could talk. If the candidate didn’t work out, they would hire someone else.

The issue with this approach was that hiring candidates based merely on how they presented themselves in an interview is risky and could cause more problems than financial loss. A poor hire could disturb the team’s company culture and affect client accounts, resulting in a loss of overall business credibility.

The solution is skills testing—but not just any skills testing.

The Benefits of Skills Testing as Part of the Interview Process

Over 56% of companies globally have used some form of pre-employment testing, such as skills tests and surveys. ClickTrain surveyed PPC Agencies and found that 82% used a skills test in their recruitment process. A pre-employment testing strategy was just as crucial, if not more important, than having a degree or years of experience.

Unfortunately, having the best CV and being impressive in interviews no longer suffices. Most candidates felt the need to put their “best foot forward” in applications and interviews, which could lead to overstating their abilities and skills concerning the job requirements. Conversely, some candidates might also undersell their abilities and personality.

A skills test could determine whether a candidate is underqualified, overqualified, or suitable for the position.

• Providing a more objective and standardised way to evaluate candidates:
  Interviews generally involved a personal, biased opinion, whereas skills tests focused more on measurable outcomes and the candidate’s capabilities in the role. This fairness and objectivity in the evaluation process made candidates feel more respected and valued.
• CVs and interviews could be exaggerated and misleading:
  In a competitive environment, candidates might exaggerate their personas, which could be misleading in hiring. A thorough skills test helped identify these areas of concern.
• Cost-effectiveness and long-term risk reduction:
  Investing in skills tests proved to be cost-effective in the long run. By assessing candidates’ skills upfront, employers reduced the risk of making poor hiring decisions that could lead to staff turnover, training costs, and lost productivity. This provided a sense of security and relief from the pressure of making such decisions.
• For candidates showcasing abilities and standing out from the competition:
  Substantial grading and performance in a skills test could set candidates apart from their competitors and demonstrate their suitability for positions, thus increasing their chances of being hired.
• Ensuring a fair and relevant hiring process:
  When hiring metrics were based on accurately assessed candidates, they perceived the hiring process as fair and appropriate, ultimately leading to a positive candidate experience.

Tips For Creating And Running A Skills Assessment In The Interview Process

There is no one-size-fits-all solution to a business’s hiring needs. For example, when hiring a finance manager, asking them to create a mock Google Ads campaign would not show how capable they were in their respective field.

Creating a skills assessment should be a collaborative effort between the hiring manager and the respective department. Research from Deloitte suggested the following sample process for implementing skills testing questions:

• Define: Identify the human elements and skills required to perform the job and how these impacted valued business outcomes.
• Measure: Construct a series of predictive assessments to ask candidates and effectively measure their responses against the elements defined in step 1.
• Decide: Empower expert decision-makers to use the data generated from the hiring process to make hiring decisions.
• Evaluate: Collect and analyse the data to understand which candidates would best fulfil the role and the business impact if the candidate were hired.

Understanding the landscape of hiring a paid media expert was also essential. Many companies have siloed their paid media departments to focus on one set of skills instead of diversifying their overall skill set. For example, a paid media manager who concentrated solely on Display and YouTube or Search might not explore the technical setups of Google Analytics. Allowing paid media teams to explore and learn new tools outside their direct roles could help enhance their skills and provide a sense of job enrichment.

Having more than one skills test or a broader test would assist in assessing the proper skill set for the position. The assessments could also be used to identify training needs within individuals; for instance, a company could hire someone for training if they liked the candidate but noticed specific skillset gaps they could help develop.

When You Should Conduct A Skills Assessment 

Skills tests or assessments could form one stage of the interview process, but the employer decides when to include them.

It was recommended that it be added between the second and final interviews to further understand the candidate’s abilities before the panel interview and reference checks. This reduced the risk of discovering skills gaps too late and minimised the time wasted talking to the wrong candidate.

Are Reference Checks A Must, Or Can We Skip Based on The Skills Test Feedback?

It was recommended that at least two reference checks be completed before making an offer of employment. It was essential to always contact the candidate’s direct line of reporting (previous manager). There were several reasons why reference checks were necessary, but ultimately, they minimised the risk of hiring the wrong person.

A reference check was designed to verify whether the candidate’s statements were accurate and truthful throughout the interview and on their CV. Given the digital landscape, candidates tended to embellish their information and skills to position themselves ahead of their competition.

Lastly, a reference check could confirm potential red flags noted during the hiring process. Sometimes, this could explain why a candidate left a position abruptly or was never promoted.

The hiring process for any position in any company needs to be clearly defined and designed to make the best, most informed hiring decisions for the business, team, and clients.

For candidates going through an interview process, these processes were not designed to throw them off or push them out. Instead, employers aimed to understand where candidates might need further development and training and how their current skill set positioned them within the industry.