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More and , giving candidates the opportunity to apply for jobs from anywhere in the country and across the world. In turn, this wider net has enabled HR professionals to bring in giant pools of qualified candidates – and of course, more great hires.

But with more job applications coming in, HR professionals know they need to work faster and more efficiently. And the right HR tools can help teams save time and standardize hiring across the board – especially when assessing candidates’ English skills or personality traits from afar.

Need help choosing the best HR software? We’ve got you covered. Here are 6 tools for busy HR professionals – including a number of HR tests for measuring sought-after soft skills:

1. Versant

How it helps you: Test candidates’ English language abilities with AI

Need a fair way to test candidates’ English skills? Versant is an HR test that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to score language assessments instantly. Made by ÃÛÌÒapp, the world’s leading education company, the tool tests candidates’ speaking, listening, reading and writing skills to help HR professionals evaluate how easily someone can handle different workplace tasks – like speaking with customers over the phone or writing clear emails to co-workers.

Versant also provides an Intelligibility Index score, which objectively measures how well someone pronounces words or expresses their thoughts – both things that are important for effective workplace communication, but easily overlooked.

The test is available 24/7, with no appointment required, in more than 100 countries around the world.

Learn more about how Versant works

2. Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal

How it helps you: Measure important critical thinking skills

The Watson-Glaser test is a popular critical thinking assessment. In fact, it’s been around for more than a century, helping organizations and institutions measure the decision-making and rational thinking skills of employees, job applicants, and students alike.

The Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal tool makes it easy to administer the test on a larger scale. The assessment is timed (it takes 30 minutes) and includes a large bank of questions to help make sure no one ends up writing the same test. The scores are also given as a percentile, based around the following three criteria: whether someone can recognize assumptions, evaluate arguments and draw conclusions.

Overall, it’s a great tool to use with current employees wanting to move up in the organization. But best of all? It can help HR professionals screen out candidates whose critical thinking skills aren’t up to par – and save time interviewing people who might be qualified on paper, but not necessarily in practice.

3. Golden Personality Profiler

How it helps you: Assess a candidate’s personality type and how it will affect their behavior at work.

is one of the most in-depth personality assessments on the market. It allows HR professionals to understand what makes an individual unique. In turn, this leads to greater self-acceptance among employees and the ability to value differences in others—key factors impacting team performance.

So, how does it work? Powered by Jung’s Theory of Type as well as the Five-Factor Model of personality, Golden identifies the most detailed aspects of an individual’s personality. The program presents findings in a clear and concise report to make it easy to understand.

Of course, this is all good information to have in mind. But how can personality tests be helpful for HR? Not only does this test help predict how well candidates will perform at work, but it also helps to quickly identify a team’s strengths and resources and its potential weaknesses and blind spots. Furthermore, this tool can help HR professionals hire people who will match, or help shape, the company culture.

4. Acsendo

How it helps you: Run assessments and improve employee performance

For many workplaces, it can be difficult to keep morale up. Many people have reported feeling overwhelmed, isolated and unproductive working from home. , on the other hand, can help HR professionals push employee engagement and measure how everyone’s performing.

Within the tool, HR teams can run company assessments to measure employee satisfaction and how they view their work environment, among other things.

It also enables HR to see if workers’ objectives align with company-wide goals, for example, and helps teams create development plans for employees. Even more, Acscendo advertises that their platform only takes a few days for teams to implement.

5. Odoo

How it helps you: Manage employees and recruit from one place

is a pretty popular HR platform; they say they have more than 5 million users worldwide. The tool lets users keep track of things like employee leaves, hours worked, expenses and evaluations all in one place – as well as recruit and manage new job applications, for example.

We also like that they’re open source and that more than 20,000 developers contribute to it globally.

6. Raven’s

How it helps you: Assess the skills needed for leadership positions and reduce bias

Raven’s is another HR test to assess an employee’s soft skills. But it takes into special account the unique skills needed for leadership or management positions. These skills include abstract reasoning, complex problem-solving, and observation skills, among others.

HR professionals get a report with the results. It shows how the candidate compares to others in the same role. The test isn’t influenced by language differences, and overall, it gives HR professionals a better understanding of who’s actually best for the job.

In an ever-changing jobs market, the skills we all need to use have developed beyond numeracy and literacy – and part of our jobs as teachers is to give students the skills they’ll need in their future careers.

Primary students preparing to go to secondary school (and then university) will need academic skills too. While there are lots of courses offering to teach these skills to older learners, we can give our younger learners a head start in the classroom.

A breakdown of academic skills

There are a number of important academic skills that can be carried into many different areas of students’ lives. These include:

• time management
• prioritization
• cooperative learning and delegation
• research
• analysis.

Each skill will help students manage their workloads and work effectively and efficiently, whether working in an office, studying for a degree, or being self-employed.

Activities to develop an awareness of academic skills

Here are a few ideas for use with students of all ages, to develop students’ awareness and understanding of these skills.

Time management

For much of the school day, children are told where to be and what to do. However, knowing how to tell the time is not the same as managing time.

Some students underestimate how long an activity will take and then feel cheated or ‘behind’ when their work takes longer (especially fast finishers). Others overestimate the time needed, feel overwhelmed, and want to give up before getting started.

Helping each student understand what each activity involves will help them to plan and manage their time. It will also encourage them to recognize everyone has differing abilities and works at a different pace.

Give each student sticky notes representing 10 minute blocks of time (6 pieces if your classes are in 1 hour segments).

Explain an activity:

• You will read a story, and they will need to listen for key information and make notes.
• After that, they will work in groups to make a Venn diagram.

Next, have the students think about how much time each part of the lesson will take using sticky notes. If they think making the diagram will take 20 minutes, they should put two sticky notes on top of each other.

Have students share what they think the time allocation should be, taking into account how long your lesson is. Did any ‘run out of time’ or have time ‘left over’?

After the activity, ask students how accurate their predictions were and if there was any time wasting.

Let students practice using this type of task analysis throughout the week for different activities, so they begin to see which activities they work quickly through and which they find more time-consuming. This will help students plan and manage their time better.

Also, involve the parents by sharing what has been done in class. Get students to manage the time allocation:

• from waking up to getting to school (getting washed and dressed, having breakfast, the journey to school),
• from arriving home to going to bed (homework, evening meal, any cores, time for watching TV or playing games, getting ready for bed).

How does their time management change at weekends/in the holidays?

Prioritization

Prioritization is another big part of time management. Task analysis helps students recognize what they must do and how they must do it in order to get a good grade. It also helps them understand the things they will most enjoy about an activity.

To teach prioritization, it should become a regular part of the class. At the start of each week list (approximately five) class objectives to be achieved:

• Ask each student to number these objectives - 1 being their top priority, 5 being their lowest. Make a note of which students prioritize the same tasks in the same order to help with grouping.
• Next, ask them if any of the objectives will need planning or preparation (for example; growing cress for a science experiment) – and if so, should that be started earlier in the week?
• At the end of each day, review how the students are doing in reaching the objectives and if they need to reprioritize.
• As the week progresses, add additional items that are not priorities. For example, clean out your school locker/sharpen all the pencils, as well as other new real priorities: revise for the quiz on Friday. This will give students an understanding of how priorities can change.

Collaborative learning and delegation

Delegation and collaborative working are both essential academic and life skills. Thankfully they are already quite familiar topics for students. Students often delegate roles and characters in their everyday play – ‘You be Spiderman, I’ll chase you’, etc.

It’s helpful to encourage this behavior in the classroom too. It can help students (of all ages) to recognize what they can achieve through cooperation and delegation because of their different skills.

Explain that a group project (e.g. a group play) will require students to share information and to work together. Make it clear there are rules to follow:

• Everyone must take part in the performance.
• The play must be at least one minute long.
• The group needs to write a script and create some props.
• As a team, all are accountable/responsible to each other (as well as to you).
• The activity will only be classed as a pass/success if everyone takes part.

There is a finite goal – the play will be performed at the end of next week to the Year 2 classes.

Suggest that the group meets and plans together (reading corner, at lunchtime, etc.). As they prepare, ask for updates on who is doing which tasks and why. Also encourage the group to determine whether something could be done differently/better by sharing the jobs.

Listen in to see how objections are handled (recognize some of this discussion may be in the students’ first language).

At the end of the project ask each student to list what they enjoyed the most and what they found most challenging. Ask them what skills they would like to develop for the next project.

Research and analysis

This can sound daunting for Primary students, but laying the foundations for academic research is easier than you might think.

Big questions are a gateway to developing research and analysis skills. Two examples are, 'Why are plants and animals important in our world?' Or 'What can you do to help people in need?'.

Providing students with a way to remember the important steps in any kind of research makes this type of activity less daunting.

'Hands On’ is a five point guide that can be demonstrated by drawing a hand with five fingers:

• Hypothesis
• Research
• Gather data
• Create a report
• Present evidence
• Research and analysis (written on the palm).

Following the five point guide students must:

• give their thoughts and ideas on possible answers (create a hypothesis)
• use books, the world around them and the internet to find information (research)
• learn how to recognize what is fact and what is opinion (gather data)
• review the data and summarize the main points (create a report)
• use examples from their research to support their argument (present evidence).

Any research needs to be methodical; using the five points above helps students build a clear structure that can become more detailed and complex as they advance through school.

Versant tests are popular automatically scored English assessments. They allow test takers to prove their English proficiency and demonstrate that they’re capable of using English at work.

If you’re applying for a job or trying to get into a school language program, you may be preparing to take a Versant test right now! But how do you make sure you succeed at it?

Here’s everything you need to know about preparing for your Versant test.

What types of Versant tests are there?

There are four different types of English tests in the Versant suite. Each is designed with the purpose of testing English language proficiency. However, they’re slightly different in structure and the skills they test. As a result, they are used by companies or educational institutions with different goals.

Here are the five types of Versant tests:

• Versant English Test: a short, 17-minute test that focuses on speaking skills. Companies that primarily use spoken English use this test to assess candidates’ ability to communicate in English. For example, it’s popular with call centers.
• Versant Writing Test: a 35-minute writing test. It’s the ideal test for companies that use English primarily in writing. It evaluates writing skills through practical exercises like taking notes and writing emails.
• Versant English Placement Test: a thorough, 50-minute test that evaluates all four skills (speaking, listening, reading, and writing). Academic institutions use this formative assessment to sort students into language programs.
• Versant 4 Skills Essential: a shorter, 30-minute test that evaluates all four language skills. Companies often use it to find candidates with well-rounded English skills because it helps them fill entry-level positions quickly.
• Versant Professional English Test: a comprehensive 60-minute test that evaluates all four skills. Companies use this test to baseline skills, measure progress and prove employees’ proficiency, oftentimes at the end of a business English training course.

Which Versant test should you take?

Which Versant test you take will depend on what your goals are. Have a look at these examples:

• Arnaldo wants to study abroad for a year in Australia. He will most likely take the Versant English Placement Test to get into the university program of his choice.
• Arjun is applying for a job at a call center. His future employers will request that he take the Versant English Test to demonstrate how he communicates in English.
• Sofia’s aiming to become an email customer support specialist at an international retail firm. She’ll be asked to take the Versant Writing Test to prove her writing skills.
• Farrah is applying for an internship at a fast-scaling startup. So, she’ll need to take the Versant 4 Skills Essential Test.
• Last but not least, Samira is currently a mid-level manager at an insurance company and is enrolled in a course to upskill her communication skills. She’ll be asked to prove her English proficiency by taking the Versant Professional English Test.
  

Tips for preparing for your Versant test

No matter which Versant test you’re taking, there are things you can do to prepare. Here are 6 ways to make sure you get the best results:

1. Work on your intelligibility

Intelligibility refers to your ability to speak in a way that’s easy to understand for others. Even if you don’t speak flawlessly or have a native-like accent, your speech can still have a high intelligibility level. That is if you are able to express what you mean.

The Versant English Test has an intelligibility score. The system calculates it based on various speech factors like speed, clarity, pronunciation, and fluency. So, it’s important that you work on your intelligibility before tackling a Versant test.

Here are two exercises you can do to improve your intelligibility:

• Record your speech. Recording yourself talking for a minute or so lets you play it back, analyze your speech and identify parts of it that are hard to understand. Maybe you’re mispronouncing some words, talking too fast, or pausing too often. Try to practice talking about the same topic until your speech becomes easier to understand.
• Practice shadowing. Shadowing is a technique that brings together listening and speaking. Find a video of a proficient public speaker giving a speech on YouTube. Try to say the same words as the speaker at about the same time. Do this for about 30 seconds at a time. This will help you mimic the speaker’s speech, improving your intonation, pronunciation, and fluency.
  

If you can, enlist the help of an English teacher to help you work on your weaknesses, or find a friend who is a native English speaker and set up regular video chats.

2. Practice typing on your computer

Unless you’re taking the Versant English Test, which is a speaking-only test, you’ll be asked to prove your English writing skills. Since Versant tests are most often taken off-site, it’s likely that you’ll be taking it on your own computer at home. That’s why it’s a good idea to practice typing on your computer before your Versant test.

While Versant will not factor your typing into your English proficiency scores, the Versant Writing Test and Versant English Placement Test do include a separate typing speed and accuracy score. They’re provided as supplemental information for 3 reasons:

1. Since typing is a familiar task to most candidates, it is a comfortable introduction to the test.
2. It allows candidates to familiarize themselves with the keyboard.
3. If typing speed is below 12 words per minute, and/or accuracy is below 90%, then it is likely that this candidate’s written English proficiency was not properly measured due to poor typing skills. The test administrator should take this into account when interpreting test scores.

Bear in mind that all the exercises you need to complete are timed. So, if you want to make sure that you have enough time to type your answers correctly, it’s good to get a little practice. This way, you’ll be able to focus wholeheartedly on the content and structure of your sentences, not your typing.

To give you an example, the Versant English Placement Test has a dictation task, where you have to type sentences exactly as you hear them. It also has a passage reconstruction task, where you read a text, put it aside, and type what you remember from it.

Then, there’s a summary and opinion task where you have to read a passage, summarize the author’s opinion, and give your own. These are all practical exercises that evaluate how well you’d perform in real-life situations at work. For example, taking notes at a meeting, writing emails, or putting together a presentation.

3. Listen to everyday spoken English

Another definitive characteristic of Versant is that it tests how well you can understand and use English in an everyday context. It does not test the technical or literary use of the language. So, to get into Versant, it’s a good idea to immerse yourself in some everyday spoken English.

For example, you can watch videos of someone on YouTube talking directly to their audience in a casual way. Or, you can listen to a podcast that features a laid-back conversation between two people. And, if you can, don’t just listen but also practice talking about everyday topics. Ask a friend or a family member to chat with you in English about simple things like how your day was or what you had for dinner.

Tips for taking your Versant test

Preparation is key. But it’s also important to make sure that you take the test the correct way. Since Versant is a flexible test that can be completed online or offline and administered remotely, there are a few tricks to making sure you get the best out of it:

1. Choose your testing environment well

Take the test in a quiet room, with no background noise or people talking around you. Make sure that the space doesn’t have an echo. And, turn off your notifications so you won’t be disturbed by incoming phone calls or messages.

2. Make good-quality recordings

The best way to do speaking tests is by using a headset with a built-in microphone. Keep the microphone 3-5 cm from your mouth. Try not to touch or move it while answering questions.

3. Speak in a natural way

Try to speak at a normal conversational speed and volume. Just the way you would speak if you were talking to another person. Don’t raise your voice or speak too softly. Try not to speak too slowly or rush your answers. And, do not repeat your answers again and again.