Pre-employment screening software is invaluable for all hiring managers. It removes the bias from recruitment by objectively measuring candidates’ qualities and skills, far beyond what their resume shows.
With pre-employment screening tools, you can understand a candidate’s personality, abilities, capabilities, and skill set without any subjective distractions.
But with so many pre-employment screening tools on the market, how do you pick the best one for you? In this article, we compare two of the most popular: TestGorilla and HR Avatar.
TestGorilla streamlines the recruitment process, making it easy to find the perfect candidate for every role.
The top-rated software offers more than 300 pre-employment tests that cover everything from motivation, culture fit, and personality types, to coding skills and people management.
TestGorilla offers valuable insights into your candidates’ abilities and skills thanks to features like one-way video interviews, customizable questions, live coding assessments, and situational judgment tests.
With TestGorilla, you can easily compare candidates’ responses and overall rankings with helpful summary reports and analytics.
TestGorilla’s collaborative tools make it easy for your team to work together to find the right candidate. You can add notes to each candidate’s profile and export reports in PDF, Excel, and CSV formats to share with others.
With TestGorilla, you can quickly find the perfect candidate for your open position. Get started today with our free plan.
HR Avatar is a pre-employment assessment platform that helps companies evaluate job applicants for various roles, including entry-level, customer service, managerial, and technical positions.
HR Avatar offers a catalog of job-based pre-employment screening tests to predict a candidate’s performance in a specific role. For example, if you’re hiring an accounting manager, HR Avatar can recommend an assessment package tailored to that role.
HR Avatar’s assessments are highly interactive and customizable, using features like animations, simulations, and interactive scenarios to assess candidates’ skills.
Both TestGorilla and HR Avatar offer a diverse library of tests to choose from. These cover areas such as language skills, situational judgment, and job-specific questions to help you make better hiring decisions.
TestGorilla’s test library comprises more than 300 pre-employment screening tests. These include:
An Enneagram personality test
Customer-service skills tests
Advanced coding quizzes
Situational judgment tests
Language tests
In addition, you can customize questions to your company and role, add your own questions, or even create your own tests. You can also choose how you’d like candidates to answer, with formats such as:
Video answers
File uploads
Complete coding exercises
Multiple-choice quizzes
Open-ended and essay questions
TestGorilla’s assessments are perfect for international recruitment campaigns with localized websites in 11 languages, including French, German, Japanese, and Arabic.
HR Avatar offers cognitive ability tests, situational judgment tests, and job-specific tests, plus employers can create their own. There’s also a wide range of personality and culture tests to help determine whether a candidate would be a good fit.
However, some of the drawbacks of HR Avatar are that the platform doesn’t offer programming tests and you cannot add custom questions to ready-made assessments. This is particularly limiting when you’re hiring software developers or engineers, as you won’t get a full picture of their skill set.
HR Avatar offers pre-employment testing in 13 different languages, including Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and Russian.
TestGorilla | HR Avatar | |
Cognitive ability tests | Yes | Yes |
Situational judgment tests | Yes | Yes |
Job-specific tests | Yes | Yes |
Software tests | Yes | Yes |
Programming tests (including coding challenges) | Yes | No |
Language tests | Yes | Yes |
Personality tests | Yes | Yes |
Culture-add test | Yes | No |
Motivation test | Yes | No |
Your own custom tests | Yes | Yes |
Custom questions per assessment | Yes | No |
Test recommendations for each job role | Yes | Yes |
Multiple tests per assessment | Yes | No |
Software developers and engineers are more in demand than ever before. With such a diverse range of skills within the industry, you need to make sure you’re hiring the right people.
Look out for pre-employment screening platforms that test for job-specific, technical skills including program debugging, algorithmic-thinking challenges, and cloud-computing tests.
TestGorilla’s wide variety of tests include:
Programming and debugging tests
Custom coding challenges
Tests on web- and mobile-development frameworks
Debugging challenges
Algorithmic-thinking challenges
TestGorilla also offers tests for frameworks like Flutter, as well as programming languages such as Python, SQLite, C, C++, and many more!
You can record candidates’ answers to coding tests and follow their process step-by-step.
You can easily customize tests to fit your company’s specific needs, ensuring the successful candidate is well-equipped to handle your development team’s workload.
HR Avatar does not offer any tools or functionalities to support hiring developers.
TestGorilla | HR Avatar | |
Coding languages | JavaScript, Java, Python, PHP, C, C#, C++, SQL, Kotlin, Ruby, TypeScript, Go, R, Scala, and Swift | None |
Web-development frameworks | Yes | No |
Mobile-development frameworks | Yes | No |
Algorithmic-thinking challenges | Yes | No |
Debugging challenges | Yes | No |
Language-specific concept challenges | Yes | No |
Your own custom coding challenges | Yes | No |
Code-playback function | Yes | No |
Automated scoring | Yes | No |
Live peer coding | No | No |
Video interviews are a great way to connect with candidates and get a feel for their personality styles and thought processes.
Many pre-employment test platforms offer features including one-way interviews, live two-way interviews, and the option to record video answers to questions. This is a great way to speed up hiring and also optimize international recruitment as you don’t need to take into consideration time-zone differences.
With TestGorilla, you can customize every aspect of the video interview, including:
Questions
Response style
Response time
Number of recording attempts
The length of candidates’ video answers can be limited to as little as 60 seconds, making it easier to assess results in batches.
In addition, TestGorilla saves these videos so you can review them at your convenience on any device. You can also add notes and comments on the videos for yourself or your team.
HR Avatar offers one-way video interviews that you can record and play back on any device. This is a good option for remote or hybrid recruitment teams.
However, HR Avatar doesn’t allow you to customize video questions, rate answers, or set a maximum time for the recordings. This may be problematic when hiring at scale.
TestGorilla | HR Avatar | |
One-way video interviews | Yes | Yes |
Custom video questions | Yes | No |
Recording of candidates’ attempts | Yes | No |
Restrict maximum answer length | Yes | No |
Record and play back on any device | Yes | Yes |
Rate and comment on video answers | Yes | No |
Creating a positive recruitment experience for candidates is key to attracting the best talent. One way to achieve this is by applying consistent professional branding across all pre-employment tests and assessments.
Of course, factors such as test length, candidate support, and mobile responsiveness are also important. These elements all contribute to a memorable experience for test-takers.
TestGorilla places great importance on candidates’ experience. Assessments are:
Quick and easy to complete
Accessible and convenient (no need to create an account or log in)
Mobile-friendly
If you decide to do so, with TestGorilla you can keep candidates up-to-date throughout the assessment and recruitment process by sending them regular notifications.
What’s more, company-branding features help your business stand out. With TestGorilla, you can:
Add your company’s logo and brand colors to assessments for a professional look
Include an intro and outro video for a personalized touch
Choose a URL to redirect candidates to after the assessment for a seamless experience
HR Avatar’s platform is mobile-friendly, which can enhance candidates’ experience. However, there are no customization options to further optimize the user experience.
TestGorilla | HR Avatar | |
Your company’s intro or outro video | Yes | No |
Assessments branded with your company logo and color | Yes | No |
Customizable invitation and rejection emails | Yes | No |
No account or login required for candidates | Yes | No |
Mobile-friendly tests | Yes | Yes |
Help and support for candidates | Yes | No |
Typical assessment length | 10-50 minutes | No data |
Qualifying questions prior to assessment | Yes | No |
Redirecting candidates to a URL of your choice after finishing an assessment | Yes | No |
All businesses, from startups to large enterprises, have distinct hiring requirements.
It’s important to choose a platform that can accommodate your recruitment needs as your business grows. Look for a pre-employment testing platform that integrates with ATS systems, offers API access, and is GDPR-compliant, as a minimum.
This will enable you to easily track your ideal candidate from resume submission to the final hiring stage, ensuring a seamless and legally compliant recruitment process.
TestGorilla’s assessments are suitable for businesses of all sizes, from small startups to large enterprises. The software is scalable, user-friendly, and cost-effective.
For enterprises seeking to streamline recruitment processes by using bulk actions, TestGorilla is an ideal solution. Our platform is GDPR-compliant and offers a range of helpful features, including ATS integrations, API access, role-based rights management, and more.
TestGorilla is also an excellent option for startups looking to grow their team. Affordable plans (including a free forever plan) and company-branding features can help your business stand out and attract top talent.
While HR Avatar’s platform is suitable for small and large businesses alike, there are no specific tools to support business growth.
TestGorilla | HR Avatar | |
ATS integration | Yes | No |
Multiple users and role-based rights management | Yes | No |
GDPR-compliant | Yes | No |
Multiple candidate invitation options | Yes | No |
Public link to invite candidates | Yes | No |
Public links for each candidate source | Yes | No |
Invite candidates in bulk (CSV/XLSX upload) | Yes | No |
Track candidate stages from invited to hired | Yes | No |
API access | Yes | No |
Bulk actions to manage candidates | Yes | No |
Quality control is crucial in pre-employment testing as it ensures the test results are accurate and fair. This means you can rely on them to make informed, intelligent hiring decisions.
Quality-control measures like replacing questions frequently, soliciting and implementing feedback from test-takers and employers, and conducting extensive quality checks before tests go live can all increase the validity and reliability of the tests.
TestGorilla implements a rigorous 28-step quality-control process. All tests and questions are created by psychometricians and subject-matter experts and undergo a thorough review and testing before they’re published.
To maintain the validity and reliability of assessments, TestGorilla limits the number of times a question appears in a test. This helps prevent questions leaking online.
We strongly believe that continuous improvement is key, so we also gather feedback from candidates and customers to identify areas for improvement.
HR Avatar does not offer any quality-control features to support the validity of its pre-employment tests.
TestGorilla | HR Avatar | |
Proprietary algorithms that continuously improve the quality of each test | Yes | No |
Extensive quality checks before tests go live | Yes | No |
Questions replaced after reaching an exposure limit | Yes | No |
Customer feedback used to improve tests | Yes | No |
Test-taker feedback used to improve tests | Yes | No |
Cheating gives candidates an unfair advantage in pre-employment screening tests, which can result in mis-hires.
Anti-cheating measures ensure that test results accurately reflect a candidate’s true capabilities, skills, and personality. These measures can include:
Setting time limits
Drawing from a large pool of questions
Randomizing the order of questions
Full-screen mode detection
IP-address tracking
By using anti-cheating measures, pre-employment assessments create a level playing field for all candidates and help you identify the best candidate for your role.
TestGorilla offers extensive options to prevent cheating. You can:
Disable copy-paste
Randomize questions
Set time limits
Track IP addresses
TestGorilla also regularly rotates questions and removes them from the pool once overexposed.
Plus, TestGorilla enables you to take webcam snapshots of candidates during an assessment (with their consent), ensuring that they are taking the test alone.
Lastly, our IP-address monitor flags any attempts to access a test link using multiple IP addresses, ensuring the candidate is taking the test by themselves.
HR Avatar does not offer any anti-cheating measures.
TestGorilla | HR Avatar | |
IP address tracking (to prevent multiple attempts by the same candidate) | Yes | No |
Tracking candidate location | Yes | No |
Webcam snapshots (with the option to turn on/off) | Yes | No |
Full-screen mode detection (to prevent research during the test) | Yes | No |
Randomized questions | Yes | No |
Large question pool for each test | Yes (100+) | No |
Questions and answers not visible to employers to protect test integrity | Yes | No |
Time limit on tests | Yes (typically 10 minutes) | No |
Copy-paste disabled | Yes | No |
Reporting and analytics help you understand your applicants’ test results. This data allows you to easily compare candidates and identify those most qualified for the job.
Additionally, test data can assist with managing and motivating your future or current employees by giving you a better understanding of their personality traits and motivations.
With TestGorilla, you can easily understand each candidate’s test results with detailed yet straightforward reports. Share these easily with your team or ATS tracking system in PDF, XLSX, and CSV formats.
Compare candidates’ results using TestGorilla’s scoring benchmarks and filter candidates by score and qualification, among others. You can also add custom notes and your own ratings.
HR Avatar offers a comprehensive overview of all current and past candidates, as well as a scorning benchmark for you to compare applicants.
However, HR Avatar does not have the option to export reports, and you can’t add your own notes or rankings to reports.
TestGorilla | HR Avatar | |
PDF reports of assessments and individual candidates | Yes | No |
Excel and CSV reports of assessments and individual candidates | Yes | No |
Comprehensive overview for all current and past candidates | Yes | Yes |
Scoring benchmarks for candidates (including percentile rank scoring) | Yes | Yes |
The possibility to add your ratings and notes to reports | Yes | No |
Employing a new pre-employment testing software can be daunting, especially if you’re a small business or new to these tools. That’s why it’s essential to have reliable customer support to help you navigate any issues.
Support options may include phone, email, and live chat. However, some products go the extra mile by providing live training sessions and personalized onboarding tours to help you and your team get up to speed quickly.
TestGorilla offers a personalized training and onboarding tour to all new customers, to help you feel confident you’re using the product to its full potential.
The dedicated customer support team is available via email and chat to answer any questions you may have. If you need additional guidance, the FAQ and help center contains frequently asked questions and extensive guides that cover everything from picking the right tests to understanding results.
You can contact HR Avatar via a lengthy contact form on its website or call up. However, the platform doesn’t seem to be offering any additional customer-support options.
TestGorilla | HR Avatar | |
Live chat | Yes | No |
Help center | Yes | No |
Email support | Yes | Yes (via a contact form) |
Training and onboarding tour | Yes | No |
Phone assistance | No | Yes |
Most pre-employment testing software uses a per-user-per-month pricing structure. However, certain platforms charge annually or offer pay-as-you-go plans, with rates that depend on the size of your organization.
Additionally, if you’re working with a tight budget, some platforms provide a complimentary plan to help you get started.
TestGorilla offers three pricing plans with no hidden costs to suit businesses of all sizes.
Free forever at $0: Full access to 10 free tests, including all personality tests.
Depending on the size of your company, paid plans begin with:
Starter from $75 USD per month ($900 per year paid upfront) - start with skills-based hiring for all roles. There is also the option to pay monthly, starting from $85 USD per month.
Pro from $115 USD per month ($1,380 per year paid upfront) - maximize your hiring with advanced features. There is also the option to pay monthly, starting from $130 USD per month.
HR Avatar uses a candidate-credit system. Each candidate credit covers everything you need to screen one candidate, including unlimited tests, employer reference checks, and video interviews. Tests must be completed within 90 days.
Pricing of candidate credits is as follows:
1 candidate credit: $50
10 candidate credits: $350
25 candidate credits: $785
50 candidate credits: $1,430
100 candidate credits: $2,660
500 candidate credits: $12,300
TestGorilla | HR Avatar | ||
Plan | Price | Plan | Price |
Free | $0 | No free plan | |
Pay as you go | $26 monthly | 1 candidate credit | $50 |
Starter | From $75 USD per month ($900 per year paid upfront) The pay monthly plan starts from $85 USD per month | 10 candidate credits | $350 |
Pro | From $115 USD per month ($1,380 per year paid upfront) The pay monthly plan starts from $130 USD per month | 25 candidate credits | $785 |
50 candidate credits | $1,430 | ||
100 candidate credits | $2,660 | ||
500 candidate credits | $12,300 |
A user-friendly pre-employment assessment platform puts candidates at ease and makes your hiring team’s job easier when reviewing results.
Look for features such as a clear and intuitive layout, easy navigation, and simple, easy-to-follow instructions to ensure a smooth and convenient experience for candidates and employers alike.
TestGorilla’s interface is user-friendly and easy to navigate. The intuitive design helps you quickly get to grips with the platform and start creating your first assessment within minutes.
Result reports are also easy to read, with engaging visual elements and information arranged in a logical, hierarchical order.
We know your and candidates’ time is valuable, so individual tests are designed to be completed quickly – most within 10-15 minutes. Assessments consist of up to five tests, so the total assessment length will depend on the number of tests.
Additionally, TestGorilla offers you the option to keep candidates updated on their progress via email throughout the recruitment process to make sure everyone’s on the same page.
HR Avatar offers a simple, streamlined user interface, and tests can be completed on a mobile phone as well as on a desktop computer.
TestGorilla and HR Avatar both offer a range of assessment tools to help you select the best candidate for your role.
However, TestGorilla’s extra features give it an edge over HR Avatar. TestGorilla offers many more tests and far more customizations.
HR Avatar doesn’t offer any coding or development tests for hiring software engineers, which shouldn’t be overlooked: Even if you don’t need to hire developers today, you might need to do that in the future.
TestGorilla also offers a more comprehensive support package and more options for reporting and analytics. Its free plan is a game changer, enabling small businesses to access high-quality pre-employment tests for free and find their perfect candidates.
Pre-employment tests are invaluable in the recruitment process: they remove bias, save you time, and provide more reliable insights into a candidate’s skills, abilities, and personality.
TestGorilla’s wide variety of tests, easy-to-use features, comprehensive reporting, and exceptional customer support can all help you choose the right candidate, every time.
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