TestGorilla vs. Searchlight.ai

Hiring the right person for your business can be a challenge. You don’t want to miss out on great candidates, but you also don’t want to waste time and money interviewing applicants who aren’t a good fit for your open position.

Pre-employment screening software enables you to evaluate the skills and qualities a candidate will bring to your company. That way, you can hire the right person for every role as quickly as possible.

To get the most out of pre-employment screening, you need software that meets your recruitment needs. This guide compares TestGorilla and Searchlight.ai, two popular platforms for assessing job applicants.

How does TestGorilla work?

TestGorilla is a pre-employment testing software that helps you evaluate candidates’ technical and soft skills through customizable assessments.

The platform comes with more than 310 tests across categories such as:

• Cognitive ability

• Personality and culture

• Programming skills

• Software skills

• Language proficiency

• Job-specific skills

• Situational judgment

You can mix and match up to five tests to create a custom candidate assessment, plus you can add your own questions. TestGorilla also supports one-way video interviews, which enable you to learn more about an applicant before you invite them for an in-person interview.

TestGorilla is packed with features to prevent cheating and ensure you can trust your assessment results. It’s very easy for candidates to use and assessments typically take less than an hour.

Our platform supports all sizes of business, from startups to large enterprises. A free forever plan lets you start testing job applicants at no cost.

How does Searchlight.ai work?

Searchlight.ai is an HR management platform that helps organizations identify the key traits and qualities required for any job role.

It collects data from managers and employees about productivity, personality type, and more. An algorithm determines what factors contribute to employee success within a company.

Searchlight.ai’s main focus is enabling companies to increase employee productivity and retain talented team members. However, it can also help businesses hire job candidates who are likely to succeed in a role.

The main feature Searchlight.ai offers for this is an automated reference check system. The platform sends a digital survey to an applicant’s references, then crunches the received data to report on the candidate’s strengths and weaknesses.

This approach can reduce the time it takes to screen references and summarizes information about candidates.

TestGorilla vs. Searchlight.ai: Enterprise and startup friendliness

Businesses large and small need to hire the right employees to continue running smoothly. So, pre-employment screening software should cater to startups, enterprises, and every company in between.

TestGorilla’s enterprise and startup friendliness

TestGorilla offers multiple pricing options to suit businesses with different hiring needs.

Our free forever plan is ideal for small businesses making just a few hires each year. We also have three tiered plans to suit companies that hire more frequently. For large enterprises, TestGorilla offers a fully customizable plan.

TestGorilla integrates with popular ATS platforms like Greenhouse, SmartRecruiters, and JazzHR. If your business uses an in-house hiring system, you can integrate with TestGorilla using our API.

TestGorilla also enables you to use a unique invitation link for each job board you post a position to. This is useful for keeping track of how applicants are finding out about your open roles.

All TestGorilla tests are available in 11 languages, including German, French, and Spanish. So, you can hire talent from around the globe or fill roles in international offices.

Searchlight.ai’s enterprise and startup friendliness

Searchlight.ai offers a single plan for its automated reference checks, although the company has additional pricing options for internal employee analytics. The reference checks plan is recommended for companies with up to 250 employees.

Searchlight.ai integrates with 71 ATS and HR information system platforms. It also integrates with Slack, Gmail, and Outlook. However, there’s no API available, and the software is only available in English. 

Enterprise and startup friendliness: Comparison chart at a glance

TestGorilla vs. Searchlight.ai: Reporting and analytics

Reporting features are critical when helping you make hiring decisions based on pre-employment assessment results. Look for interactive and shareable reports that promote collaboration within your hiring team.

TestGorilla’s reporting and analytics features

TestGorilla’s reports focus on how candidates performed in role-specific and soft skills tests. You can see an applicant’s overall assessment score, as well as their score for each test in the assessment, and how they responded to questions.

TestGorilla enables you to view candidates side-by-side and rank them based on their performance. Reports can be annotated, making it easy to collaborate with your hiring team.

You can export reports in PDF, XLSX, or CSV formats or send them to your ATS.

Searchlight.ai’s reporting and analytics features

Searchlight.ai’s candidate reports focus on what their references had to say about them. Applicants are scored in areas like critical thinking, pragmatism, and proactiveness. Reports also display an applicant’s strengths and areas for growth. 

The reports use summary statistics and color coding to draw attention to top candidates. Searchlight.ai also ranks each candidate against your overall applicant pool using a percentile scale.

Although you can’t comment directly on reports, they can be shared or exported as PDFs.

Reporting and analytics: Comparison chart at a glance

TestGorilla vs. Searchlight.ai: Customer support

Hiring teams need to be confident they can get help with their pre-employment testing software when they require it. Look for multiple ways to get in touch and extended support hours.

TestGorilla’s customer support

TestGorilla offers customer support by live chat and email. In addition, we offer an online help center with tutorials that explain how to create assessments and evaluate candidates.

All new TestGorilla customers receive a free, 30-minute onboarding tour. This is a great opportunity to ask questions as you learn your way around the software.

Searchlight.ai’s customer support

All Searchlight.ai plans include customer support, but the platform doesn’t specify what communication methods are available. The Searchlight.ai website includes a blog but not a help center.

Customer support: Comparison chart at a glance

TestGorilla vs. Searchlight.ai: Pricing

Pre-employment screening software should offer scalable plans to meet the needs of a wide range of businesses. Some providers only offer monthly or annual contracts, while others offer pay-as-you-go plans that give your business more flexibility as your hiring needs change.

TestGorilla’s pricing

TestGorilla offers three pricing options (billed annually or monthly) with no hidden extra costs:

• 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.

Searchlight.ai’s pricing

Searchlight.ai offers one plan for reference checks (billed annually):

Reference Checks:

• $250 per month

• Includes automated reference checks

• ATS integrations

Searchlight.ai offers additional plans for businesses that want to determine what skills promote success for existing job roles. Pricing for these plans is by quote only.

Pricing: Comparison chart at a glance

Conclusion: TestGorilla vs. Searchlight.ai

TestGorilla and Searchlight.ai take very different approaches to pre-employment screening.

TestGorilla uses a library of more than 310 customizable tests to help you evaluate what skills and qualities a candidate will bring to your company. You can directly compare applicants based on their assessment performances.

Searchlight.ai offers digital surveys to collect information from an applicant’s references and deliver a summary report. You can compare candidates, but you’re relying on what their references say rather than any direct applicant testing.

For most companies, TestGorilla’s approach provides more information about each candidate. More importantly, it offers a way to quantify how well an applicant will perform in the job role you’re hiring for.

TestGorilla’s large test library and customization options ensure that it can help with recruiting any job role for any company. TestGorilla also offers a free plan for small businesses that want to try out pre-employment testing for the first time.

Overall, TestGorilla is the clear choice for streamlining your hiring process and making sure you choose the right candidate every time.

Streamline your hiring process with pre-employment testing

Pre-employment testing can help your business hire the best candidate for every open role. It removes unconscious bias from the recruitment process and promotes informed data-driven decisions. 

TestGorilla is the best pre-employment testing software for businesses of all sizes. Check out our plans to learn more and accelerate your hiring process today.