The "Employment Tests" Myth

By Virden J. Thornton     

    In a comprehensive article on hiring myths, Ira S. Wolfe, the President of Poised For The Future Company, quotes The U.S. Department of Labor, which recommends a “whole person approach” to screening employment candidates. In his article, Wolfe asks the question, “Can a good test compensate for a lack of good interviewing skills?” His response was an emphatic, “No. No. No”.

    Having conducted hundreds of employment interviews over the last 39 years as a business owner, department head, and sales management consultant and coach, I must agree with Wolfe’s assessment of the value of testing. In my view, employment tests should be valued no more than 20 percent in the overall assessment of a sales or service industry professional. The whole person approach, as Wolfe suggests, “...encourages managers to factor in the results of a variety of accepted tests along with prior actual performance and interview results.”

    A combination of telephone screening, resume review, personal interviews, employment tests and reference checks are all needed to effectively identify just the right candidate for your sales or sales support positions. To learn more about the do's and the don'ts of hiring sales professionals, check out my new manual 101 Sales Management Myths at: http://TheSellingEdge.com/myths4.htm

VIRDEN THORNTON is the founder and President of The $elling Edge^®, Inc. a firm specializing in sales, customer relations, and management training and development. Clients have included Sears Optical, Eastman Kodak, IBM, Deloitte & Touché, Bank One, Jefferson Pilot, and WalHMart to name a few. Virden is the author of Prospecting: The Key To Sales Success and the best selling Building & Closing the Sale, Fifty-Minute series books and Close That Sale, a video/audio tape series published by Crisp Publications, Inc. Menlo Park, California. He has also authored a Self-Directed Learning series of sales, coaching & team development, telemarketing, and personal productivity training guides. To obtain a substantial discount on two of Virden's new manuals, 101 Sales Myths and Organizing For Sales Success, just click on either of the titles above.

Note: You can contact Virden at virden@TheSellingEdge.com. You can also see an expan- ded biography at http://www.TheSellingEdge.com/bio.htm.

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