Negotiation

Negotiation skills tests serve as a critical tool for identifying individuals who excel in the art of effective communication and conflict resolution, essential qualities for success in both business and personal interactions.

  • What is a negotiation test?

    A negotiation skills test stands as a specialized assessment meticulously designed to evaluate an individual's competency in critical negotiation skills. These encompass strategic acumen, expertise in conflict resolution, persuasive communication capabilities, and the ability to accomplish specific goals through negotiation.

    To excel in this assessment, candidates must not only exhibit a sound theoretical understanding of negotiation principles but also showcase their practical aptitude in crafting effective solutions.

    In today's competitive business landscape, adept negotiation skills are pivotal in driving successful interactions. Understanding the art of negotiation and effectively applying it in the business realm is key to setting your organization up for accomplishment and innovation.

Jump to a section on this page:

  1. What is a negotiation test?
  2. Why is a management test so important when hiring?
  3. How to assess negotiation skills using our test
  4. Negotiation FAQs

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  • 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 a management test so important when hiring?

    Evaluating negotiation skills can pose significant challenges when relying solely on traditional hiring methods like resume screening and interviews, especially when dealing with a large volume of applications for positions that demand negotiation expertise.

    Simply seeing "negotiation experience" on a resume doesn't guarantee that a candidate possesses the necessary level of negotiation proficiency, persuasive communication abilities, or the capacity to consistently secure favorable outcomes.

    The negotiation skills test provides an efficient solution for assessing a diverse pool of candidates. It ensures that all candidates undergo the same standardized assessment, ensuring fairness and eliminating potential biases in the selection process. The quantifiable results generated by the test equip recruiters with objective data to pinpoint top-performing negotiators.

    As a result, the process of selecting candidates who either meet or exceed your negotiation standards becomes more straightforward, often leading to more efficient interviews and reduced overall hiring expenses.

    The Negotiation Skills Test proves to be an invaluable tool when recruiting candidates for a wide range of roles, particularly positions such as:

    • Arbitrators, Mediators, and Conciliators
    • Labor Relations Specialists
    • Lawyers
    • Agents and Business Managers of Artists, Performers, and Athletes
    • Purchasing Agents and Managers
    • Sales Representatives
    • Wholesale and Retail Buyers

Sample Negotiation question

You are a manager in a software development company, and your team is working on a critical project with a tight deadline. A client representative contacts you and requests additional features to be included in the project scope, which were not part of the original agreement. These features would require significant extra time and resources to implement, potentially jeopardizing the project's success.

What should you do?

  • Turn down the client's request, emphasizing the project's existing constraints and the importance of sticking to the agreed-upon scope.

  • Proceed with the project as originally planned without addressing the client's request, as accommodating the additional features would be too risky.

  • Agree to the client's request and instruct your team to start working on the additional features, even though it may impact the project's timeline and resources.

  • Try to persuade the client to explore potential compromises while considering the project's constraints and the client's needs.

How to assess negotiation skills using our test

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

The test provides valuable data insight into the strengths and weaknesses of a candidate. 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).

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    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

Negotiation FAQs

Can negotiation skills be improved?

Negotiation skills can be improved with dedicated effort and practice. Developing effective negotiation skills involves learning negotiation strategies, refining communication techniques, and gaining a deeper understanding of human psychology and persuasion.

What are different types of negotiation?

Competitive or distributive negotiation is crucial in situations where securing favorable terms is vital. Collaborative or integrative negotiation underpins relationship-building and value creation. Compromising negotiation is invaluable when parties need to find a middle ground.

For which jobs is the negotiation test relevant?

This test is particularly useful for roles such as lawyers, mediators, purchasing agents, retail buyers, talent agents, and more.

How does a negotiation test work?

The test contains multiple hypothetical scenarios and asks candidates to select the responses that are the most and least effective courses of action. Candidates need to figure out which option leads to the optimal outcome of a negotiation.

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

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