Adaptability

Adaptability skills are important to assess during the pre-employment stages of hiring. Use this test to assess a candidate's adaptability abilities.

  • What is an adaptability test?

    In a fast-paced business environment, one of the most important soft skills a new employee can have is the ability to adapt to changing situations.

    Adaptability tests are simple to administer assessments that use scenario-based questions to gauge how well a prospective employee reacts and adapts to different situations.

    Each question provides a realistic work-based scenario and asks the candidate to choose the most appropriate course of action to solve a problem.

    This test is designed to provide recruiters with results that can be used to choose candidates who are adaptable and can work effectively in an innovative and rapidly changing and developing business.

    Armed with this quantifiable data, the recruitment team can reduce the risk of a bad hire by only putting forward the candidates that are most adaptable to change.

Jump to a section on this page:

  1. What is an adaptability test?
  2. Why is an adaptability test so important when hiring?
  3. How to assess adaptability skills using our test
  4. Adaptability FAQs

Identify the best candidates and hire faster

Our pre-employment tests let you drill down to the best candidates at the click of a button.

  • Find those candidates who will excel in the role.

    Select the assessments that match the skills or behaviours for the position. You can test for software or coding competency, soft skills like teamwork, or personality traits, to be sure those who pass have high potential.

  • Reduce costs and time.

    No more laborious sifting of resumes or cover letters. Pick your ideal assessment mix, invite your applicants to take them, see the results in your dashboard. Get to the interview stage fast.

  • Eliminate bias.

    All your candidates take the assessments on a level playing field. Only their results determine whether they get shortlisted.

  • Why is an adaptability test so important when hiring?

    Adaptability is one of the most important soft skills that a candidate can have in a modern company, and deciding whether an applicant that you are assessing has the right level of adaptability for the role is not simple using 'traditional' methods.

    Recruiters might look at the resume of an applicant to see what soft skills they have - but it is almost impossible to assess what level of skill they possess using a paper sift.

    Some interviewers might ask questions in the interview relating to how a candidate has dealt with a fast-changing situation in the past; but for positions where a large number of candidates have applied, this is a time-consuming, expensive, and unreliable way of getting a feel for the soft skills of possible employees.

    The adaptability test asks the same questions of every applicant, and it can be delivered to a large number of candidates at the same time - which is useful for popular roles where there can be an unwieldy number of applicants.

    The test is designed to assess candidates based on their adaptability in dealing with work-related scenarios, and each candidate has the same opportunity to demonstrate their abilities.

    For a recruitment team, the quantifiable data from the results of the assessment can be used to put forward the candidates who have demonstrated the adaptability capabilities that are needed to be successful in the future.

    The adaptability test is suitable for use when recruiting for roles that need a candidate to be able to work in ever-changing situations and keep up with fast-paced environments, such as:

    • Sales managers
    • Account executives
    • Team Leaders
    • Executive-level appointments

More Soft Skills Tests

Sample Adaptability question

During your Monday check-in, your manager has asked you to write a report by the end of the week. The topic you’ve been given is something you have never done before, but you are eager to try. Whilst attempting to write the report, you realise you do not know anything about the topic area you are writing about. What do you do?

  • Ask your manager for a guide of what they want in the report as this may help you narrow the topic down.

  • Tell your manager that you can’t do the report as you don’t know anything about the topic.

  • Research the topic area in order to gain a better understanding for your report.

  • Ask a co-worker for help as you are unable to do the report on your own with your lack of knowledge.

How to assess adaptability skills using our test

Our adaptability skills test asks a variety of questions that vary in difficulty level. Candidates who have strong adaptability skills should be able to answer most of the questions correctly.

The adaptability skills test provides valuable data insight into a candidate's level of adaptability. The test is structured using multiple-choice questions: a familiar format for most test-takers, that allows for instant and objective scoring.

As well as the correct answer, there are typically 2–3 distractors, representing common misconceptions and mistakes. This helps make the test more challenging, so a candidate's ability can be measured more accurately.

Test scores are provided to the user and can be compared to other test-takers in your talent pool, to see how they perform relative to each other.

Each test has been thoroughly reviewed to ensure accuracy and validity in line with industry standards. It has been written, examined and edited by I/O psychologists and psychometric professionals. It has also been reviewed by a diverse sample of job seekers to check for any issues including sensitivity, face validity, fairness and accessibility.

This test is continually monitored so our team can optimize performance and regularly assess fairness issues.

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Picked provides evidence-based recommendations for tests to use for over 750 jobs. Our recommendation engine leverages data from the Occupational Information Network (O*NET) developed by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA).

  • Assessments

    A full suite of assessments

    Our platform comes with 12 tests across both foundation and advanced levels so they’re suitable for everyone. Including aptitude, behavioural and personality tests, you’ll have a full range of tests to help you find the candidates you’re seeking.

  • Analytics

    An array of candidate metrics

    For each of your candidates, you’ll be given a comprehensive report. Included will be all the metrics you need to build a detailed picture of each candidate and ensure you’re making the right hiring decisions.

“The platform is so simple to use. I had used competitor providers for over six years and will never go back. Fast, efficient and friendly!”
Greg Chambers, HR Business Partner, Littlefish Ltd
Greg Chambers, HR Business Partner, Littlefish Ltd

Adaptability FAQs

How can you test for adaptability skills?

Adaptability can be partially assessed through interviews, but the most reliable way of measuring a candidate's ability to work effectively in a fast-paced environment is by using a standardised and reliable pre-employment screening test.

Are adaptability tests difficult?

Adaptability tests are not difficult in terms of content, but they can be challenging for people who do not have the right level of ability in this soft skill. The format of the assessment as a pre-employment test can make it challenging as candidates have to take it in exam conditions and under pressure.

Who should be given an adaptability test?

An adaptability test should be used when recruiting any candidate for a role in a fast-paced business, but it is most useful for managers, team leaders, and executive-level candidates.

Is adaptability an important skill?

Adaptability might be one of the most important skills in modern businesses, especially where there is a lot of innovation and technological developments. Adaptable candidates are more likely to be successful in entrepreneurial or start-up environments.

“An unbeatable service, impressive platform and fantastic value for money.”
Laurence Fishman, Partner, NLPCA
Laurence Fishman, Partner, NLPCA

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