Pre-Employment Spatial Reasoning Tests For Hiring | 2024/25 Guide For Recruiters

Spatial reasoning tests are becoming widely popular among recruiters and employers to screen candidates for roles requiring strong problem-solving and visualization skills. These tests help employers identify top talent by evaluating a candidate’s ability to mentally manipulate, rotate, and visualize objects in two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) spaces. 

While traditional screening methods are becoming more time-consuming, complex, and costly, organizations today are turning to innovative hiring tools like online psychometric tests, game-based assessments, and video interviews to overcome these challenges. Spatial reasoning tests, in particular, help employers speed up and streamline the hiring procedure, eliminating the need for lengthy interviews, work samples, or CV reviews. 

Did you know? According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), 82% of U.S. companies use pre-employment assessments, with psychometric tests being the most common. 

This article delves into how spatial reasoning tests can simplify hiring by offering a quick and cost-effective way to assess candidates. We explore the industries that benefit most from them and how companies can use spatial reasoning assessments to hire more skilled and capable applicants.

Whether you’re a recruiter, hiring manager, or talent acquisition expert, keep reading to learn how spatial reasoning tests can help you select candidates with the visual and spatial problem-solving skills necessary for success in various industries. At Assess Candidates, we are here to support you every step of the way. 

Contents

  1. What is a spatial reasoning test? 
  2. What do pre-employment spatial reasoning tests measure?
  3. How do spatial reasoning tests work as hiring tests?
  4. Why do employers use pre-employment spatial reasoning tests for hiring?
  5. At what stage are spatial reasoning tests used in the hiring process?
  6. Best practices for implementing spatial reasoning tests into your recruitment strategy
  7. When to give candidates a spatial reasoning test?
  8. What employers use spatial reasoning tests for hiring?
  9. Why do top companies prefer Assess Candidates’ spatial reasoning tests for pre-employment screening?  
  10. Spatial reasoning tests: Client application story

1. What is a spatial reasoning test?

Spatial reasoning tests, also known as spatial awareness or ability tests, are a type of pre-employment skills test primarily designed to evaluate a candidate’s ability to comprehend and manipulate spatial objects. In particular, they measure how candidates interpret spatial relationships between 2D and 3D objects, identify patterns between shapes, and visualize movements and changes in these shapes. 

What is a Spatial Reasoning Test?

We primarily recommend using pre-employment spatial reasoning tests specifically for roles that require strong problem-solving and spatial awareness skills. Employers, hence, frequently incorporate spatial reasoning pre-hire tests into their pre-employment hiring process for fields such as architecture, engineering, computer science, industrial design, 3D game design, graphic design, and more. 

Spatial reasoning tests for hiring are typically part of a broader screening process, including cognitive ability tests, numerical reasoning tests, verbal reasoning tests, and situational judgment tests. Since spatial reasoning tests are a type of logical reasoning test, assessment providers generally incorporate spatial reasoning test questions under logical reasoning assessments or present them as abstract reasoning tests

In the following sections, we will explore these assessments in more detail, including the meaning of spatial reasoning, its importance, and what a spatial reasoning test measures during the pre-hiring process

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Assess Candidates Spatial Reasoning Tests for Hiring

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2. What do pre-employment spatial reasoning tests measure?

Spatial reasoning tests fall under the umbrella of psychometric assessments alongside other cognitive ability tests, such as numerical reasoning, verbal reasoning, and logical reasoning tests. A spatial reasoning test is conducted to evaluate a candidate’s ability to visualize objects from different perspectives, identify patterns, and solve problems involving spatial arrangements. Hence, it helps employers identify candidates with strong spatial reasoning and problem-solving abilities, ensuring they are well-suited for positions that require these skills. But what does spatial reasoning mean?

What is spatial reasoning? 

In essence, spatial reasoning is the mental ability to visualize and manipulate 2D and 3D images. Examples of spatial reasoning include visualizing objects from different perspectives, identifying patterns, and solving problems involving spatial arrangements. 

What is Spatial Reasoning?

Employers assess spatial reasoning skills in candidates through spatial reasoning tests. Applicants are required to organize 2D shapes, transform 2D nets into 3D shapes, visualize movements and changes in these shapes, count blocks, perform rotations and reflections, and read maps.

A recent study (Bradley et al., 2019), considering the top 100 global employers, found that candidates who do not practice assessments tend to fail at the first hurdle of psychometric assessments (54%-84%). As an employer, you can benefit from incorporating spatial reasoning assessments into your hiring process, knowing that candidates have the potential to develop and practice their spatial reasoning skills over time.

But what are spatial reasoning skills in reality?

Spatial reasoning skills, in general, focus on three areas of spatial ability. Here is a simplified list:

  1. Spatial Perception: the ability to understand and interact with the relationships between spatial objects. Essentially, this skill enables individuals to visualize how objects relate to one another in terms of position, navigate physical spaces and analyze distances effectively. 
  2. Mental Rotation: an individual’s ability to mentally rotate a 2D or 3D object. In simple terms, it is a skill that allows applicants to visualize the object from different angles, even when they do not have access to a 360-degree image. 
  3. Spatial Visualization: a complex skill that enables individuals to mentally manipulate, rotate, fold or twist 2D and 3D objects.

Why is spatial reasoning important?

Spatial reasoning skills are among the most in-demand skills in today’s business landscape, particularly for roles that rely on problem-solving, the ability to visualize and manipulate information and strong pattern recognition.

Employers hiring for industries such as engineering, manufacturing and product design, 3D game design, and architecture highly prioritize these skills, and they usually incorporate spatial reasoning tests into their pre-hiring assessments. 

Investing in spatial reasoning skills for hiring speeds up and streamlines the process, eliminating the need for lengthy interviews, work samples, or CV reviews. Moreover, combining spatial reasoning tests alongside other psychometric assessments like numerical reasoning tests, situational judgment tests, and personality tests will comprehensively evaluate an applicant’s cognitive abilities, personality traits, and job-related competencies

For example, suppose your business is hiring for a graphic designer role. In this case, we would recommend incorporating a spatial reasoning test into the pre-hiring procedure to analyze the candidate’s 3D visualization skills, their efficiency in handling design tools, and how they manipulate visual components to achieve a desired result, ensuring their skills align with the role. 

Let’s now take a look at examples of spatial reasoning test questions and their format. 

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3. How do spatial reasoning tests work as hiring tests?

Spatial reasoning tests are usually timed assessments that involve 14 to 15 multiple-choice questions via an online testing platform. As the test advances, the questions become progressively more difficult. In this scenario, candidates must effectively manage their time while mentally visualizing and manipulating 2D and 3D objects, making it a test of both spatial skills and time management.

What type of spatial reasoning questions are most commonly found on spatial reasoning tests?

Although the type of spatial reasoning test questions varies depending on the employer setting the tests, here is a list of the most commonly used questions:

  • Organizing 2D Shapes: requires assembling or disassembling 2D shapes.
  • Transforming 2D Nets into 3D Shapes: this requires transforming 2D nets into 3D shapes from the image of the 2D object provided. 
  • Rotations and Reflections: this analyzes candidates’ ability to mentally rotate and reflect shapes or images.  
  • Block Counting: this spatial visualization test requires counting the number of blocks in a pile of blocks shown.  
  • Map Reading: this is a timed spatial awareness assessment that is designed to assess a candidate’s sense of direction and fast thinking abilities by navigating a 2D map. 

It is important that candidates prepare and practice for these spatial reasoning tests by revising basic spatial reasoning concepts and familiarizing themselves with visual spatial reasoning – mentally visualizing the relationship between 2D and 3D objects.

Pre-employment spatial reasoning test example

Let’s now look at a spatial reasoning question example and answer below: 

Examples of Spatial Reasoning Test Questions

This typical spatial reasoning example question presents a 3D shape consisting of various cubes. Candidates must examine the shape carefully and identify how many cubes are present.

Spatial test example worked solution:

  • The first step is to count up the cubes on the different levels. Going from the bottom up 5 x 3 cubes at the base, 3 x 3 cubes at the second level, and 3 cubes on the top.
  • Adding up the cubes, gives (5 x 3) + (3 x 3) + 3 = 27.

Answer: The correct is 27

In the next section, we will explore the many benefits of using spatial reasoning tests in your hiring process.

Discover more examples of spatial reasoning tests in our extensive assessment library.  LEARN MORE

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4. Why do employers use pre-employment spatial reasoning tests for hiring?

Spatial reasoning assessments are a popular tool amongst employers for use during the pre-hiring process, especially for jobs that require a high level of spatial awareness and visual problem-solving skills. These tests help identify candidates with the necessary spatial reasoning abilities, determining who should progress to the next assessment stage. Additionally, spatial reasoning tests provide an efficient way to evaluate critical skills quickly without the need to go through lengthy interview processes or detailed work samples, making them particularly advantageous for graduate employers. 

In this section, we explore the benefits of using spatial reasoning testing tools in recruitment, highlighting how they enhance the quality of hires, streamline the hiring process by saving time and money, and reduce biases and discrimination. 

The Benefits of Spatial Reasoning Tests for Hiring

What are the benefits of using pre-employment spatial reasoning tests for hiring?

  1. Saving Time and Money

Finding and hiring skilled candidates can often become a tedious task, leading to a waste of time and money. The spatial reasoning test is an online, automated pre-employment tool designed to simplify the hiring process. Instead of lengthy manual sifting, online spatial reasoning tests can evaluate thousands of candidates in minutes, with the results immediately accessible in a single click. This enables employers to identify which candidates meet the role’s requirements quickly and save valuable time on going through multiple interviews with unqualified candidates

Spatial reasoning tests also help minimize the high financial costs associated with high-volume recruitment. Administered online and typically priced per test or as a flat fee, spatial reasoning assessments offer a relatively low cost per candidate. This makes them a highly efficient and cost-effective selection tool before progressing candidates to more expensive stages, such as in-person interviews or assessment centers. 

  1. Improving the Quality of Hires

Spatial reasoning is highly correlated to cognitive aptitude, which is considered to be one of the best ways to evaluate a candidate’s long-term job performance. Spatial reasoning tests, in particular, help employers choose candidates with the best critical thinking and problem-solving skills, both major aspects of cognitive aptitude. 

In fact, spatial reasoning tests offer a more reliable measure of job performance compared to CVs, which can be prone to exaggeration or dishonesty. By hiring individuals with the right skills and cognitive capabilities, companies benefit from higher job satisfaction, improved performance, and reduced turnover. This is crucial, as high employee turnover can result in significant financial and operational costs for organizations, making accurate hiring decisions all the more valuable.

Spatial reasoning tests are potent indicators of job performance. When combined with other cognitive ability tests, such as numerical and verbal reasoning tests, their predictive validity increases further. A holistic approach enables hiring managers to make the most well-informed decisions by evaluating candidates based on skills, abilities, and potential. This ensures that only the most qualified candidates progress through the application process, further enhancing the quality of hires. 

  1. Producing Reliable Data-driven Results

Spatial reasoning tests are invaluable for organizations primarily focused on making data-driven decisions and eliminating uncertainty from the hiring process. These tests provide quantifiable and comparative data on candidates’ spatial awareness and problem-solving skills, making it easier for recruiters to compare applicants and identify top performers to progress to the next assessment stage. This approach helps eliminate the risk of expensive mis-hires

Did you know? According to Aberdeen Group, managers who use pre-employment assessments for recruitment report 36% more satisfaction with their hiring decisions than those managers who don’t.

  1. Reducing Bias

Spatial reasoning tests are standardized and impartial, designed to reduce conscious and unconscious biases in the hiring process. By evaluating candidates solely on their spatial reasoning abilities and potential for job performance rather than factors like background, education, age, gender, or ethnicity, these assessments ensure a fair and objective hiring process.

For candidates from underprivileged backgrounds who find it difficult to demonstrate their full potential in traditional interviews, spatial reasoning tests offer an objective platform to showcase their merit. Moreover, the non-verbal nature of these assessments makes them accessible to candidates worldwide who speak different languages, promoting an inclusive, fair and objective hiring process that aligns with company values and legal policies

  1. Improving Diversity and Inclusion

Online spatial reasoning tests broaden access to application processes for a wider range of candidates, particularly those who might not be able to travel for interviews. By adjusting the assessment’s cut-off rates, employers can diversify the talent pool and target traits and knowledge gaps in their current team. This approach fosters a more diverse and inclusive workforce

  1. Ensuring a User-friendly Candidate Experience

Spatial reasoning tests are designed to be accessible and engaging, with straightforward questions that vary in style, ensuring a positive candidate experience. These questions often include 2D and 3D diagrams, shapes, patterns, and rules, which help evaluate a candidate’s spatial awareness and problem-solving skills. 

By integrating a spatial reasoning assessment into your hiring assessment process, you can confidently shortlist candidates who possess the essential spatial reasoning abilities required for the role. This leads to a more successful and productive workforce, improving both performance and retention rates

Maximize the advantages of incorporating spatial reasoning tests into your recruitment process. HIRE FOR FREE

However, as with any assessment methodology, some considerations must be made before making an informed decision about your hiring process. 

4 things to consider before using spatial reasoning tests

  1. Test Anxiety: Completing a spatial reasoning test, similar to any assessment, can trigger stress and anxiety, restricting candidates from demonstrating their true spatial abilities.

Solution: Encourage candidates to practice more spatial reasoning assessments before taking the official test. Practicing spatial reasoning assessments will help candidates familiarize themselves with different types of questions and formats, further improving their problem-solving skills and boosting their confidence. This will allow them to showcase their true potential during the actual assessment. 

  1. Limited  Predictive Validity: A spatial reasoning test does not paint a well-rounded picture of a candidate and their full potential. Just because a candidate does well on the spatial reasoning test does not mean they will perform well in the real world.

Solution: Combine spatial reasoning tests with other selection methods, such as numerical reasoning tests, situational judgment tests, verbal reasoning tests, structured job interviews, and assessment centers. This comprehensive approach provides a more holistic view of a candidate’s natural technical abilities, competencies, and personality traits, significantly boosting the predictive validity of results.

  1. Soft Skills: When used in isolation, spatial reasoning tests can restrict candidates from demonstrating their soft skills. 

Solution: Spatial reasoning tests measure candidates’ critical thinking and problem-solving skills, two major aspects of cognitive aptitude. We recommend assessing candidates’ soft skills at later recruitment stages, for instance, through a situational judgment test, interview, or assessment center, to complement the insights gained from the spatial reasoning test and provide a more balanced evaluation of candidates.

  1. Cheating: It is possible for candidates to cheat on an online spatial reasoning test or have someone else complete it on their behalf. 

Solution: When searching for assessment test providers, it is important to check whether they provide potent cheating prevention measures. Many third-party assessment providers, such as Assess Candidates, provide cheat detection technology and mechanisms. 

Now that we have more of an understanding of the benefits of spatial reasoning tests in hiring and their potential drawbacks, we will now move on to discussing at what stage and in what situations they should be used in the hiring process.

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5. At what stage are spatial reasoning tests used in the hiring process?

Spatial reasoning tests can be strategically implemented at various stages during the pre-employment process, depending on the role. However, they are particularly effective at the initial screening stages. These assessments offer a swift and efficient method to identify a candidate’s ability to visualize and manipulate objects in space. For maximum impact, we also recommend combining a spatial reasoning test with other pre-employment aptitude tests, such as a logical reasoning test, verbal reasoning test and numerical reasoning test, at this first stage.

Where to incorporate spatial reasoning tests in the hiring process?

Imagine you’re hiring for a new role employee and receive 1,000 job applications. By initially inviting all candidates to complete a spatial reasoning test online, you can quickly and accurately evaluate their ability to understand and work with spatial patterns, ensuring that only the most qualified candidates advance to the next stage of assessments, whether a situational judgment test, personality test, video or in-person interview, or assessment center day. 

Candidates receive a link to the talent assessment platform and are provided a specific timeframe (typically several days) to complete the spatial reasoning test, usually incorporated under logical reasoning tests. Recruiters can review the results through an online dashboard, making it easy to identify and shortlist top candidates for the next stages of the recruitment process.

Below is a detailed explanation of the purpose and role of spatial reasoning tests at different stages of the hiring process:

Stage of hiring processPurpose of spatial reasoning testBenefits
Early-stage screeningTo sift candidates– Saves time and resources by quickly identifying candidates who don’t meet the minimum threshold for spatial reasoning skills
– Reduces unconscious bias in the screening process
Initial evaluationTo assess spatial reasoning skills– Provides a more accurate, objective, and detailed evaluation of candidates 
– Often used in low-volume and rolling recruitment
Interview processTo assess spatial reasoning skills– Provides a well-rounded view of candidates’ spatial reasoning abilities, including problem
-solving, critical thinking, and other skills/competencies- Reduces bias and subjectivity
OnboardingTo tailor the onboarding process based on candidate results– Provides precise insights into a candidate’s critical thinking skills, enabling you to customize training sessions accordingly
– Proactively addresses new employees’ areas for improvement
How Spatial Reasoning Tests are Used in the Hiring Process

Incorporating spatial reasoning assessments at different stages of the hiring process can help organizations save time and resources, reduce biases, ensure a positive candidate experience, and customize onboarding and training to meet individual needs. These tests are especially valuable in industries that require strong spatial awareness, such as engineering, architecture, and design and are also used to assess employees for promotion

Spatial reasoning tests also provide employers with valuable insights into areas where they can focus on the development of both new hires and current employees. Whether your goal is to enhance problem-solving skills, improve the ability to visualize and manipulate objects or support better technical decision-making, spatial reasoning insights are essential for creating targeted learning and development strategies.

Explore our comprehensive range of psychometric tests developed by Chartered Scientists and Psychologists. LEARN MORE

In the next section, we outline step-by-step the best practices for incorporating a spatial reasoning test into your hiring process. Ready to dive in?

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6. Best practices for implementing spatial reasoning tests into your recruitment strategy

Test providers generally incorporate spatial reasoning tests and questions under logical reasoning tests or present them as abstract reasoning tests. When incorporating a spatial reasoning test into your hiring process, there are several best practices that you should follow for optimal results. 

Here, at Assess Candidates, spatial reasoning tests are a branch of our logical reasoning tests. Below, we have outlined three straightforward steps to help you shortlist and select suitable candidates.

  1. Create your spatial reasoning assessment campaign.
  • Decide in advance whether to give candidates a standalone spatial reasoning test or combine it with other assessments. We recommend combining the spatial test with verbal reasoning, numerical reasoning, situational judgment, and personality tests to enhance predictive quality and provide a comprehensive view of candidates’ cognitive abilities, behaviors, and traits. Using multiple assessments also eliminates the influence of bias in the hiring process.
  • Before launching your recruitment campaign, define clear cut-off scores for your spatial reasoning test. These scores should align with industry benchmarks, the specific job requirements, and the level of spatial reasoning proficiency necessary for the role.
  • Set a firm deadline for candidates to complete the assessment and maintain consistent time limits for all candidates. This standardization ensures that candidates are evaluated under uniform conditions, making the hiring process fair and objective.
Create a Spatial Reasoning Test Recruitment Campaign
  1. Invite candidates to your spatial assessment platform 
  • Invite candidates in a single click to take your spatial reasoning test via personal email, CSV file upload or public link. 
Invite Candidates to your Spatial Reasoning Test
  1. Analyze candidate results and shortlist candidates
  • Track candidates’ progress in real-time during their spatial reasoning test. Access automatically graded candidate results and detailed reports immediately after test completion. 
  • Utilize advanced tools to rank, filter, and sort candidates based on criteria, such as performance scores, completed assessments, hiring status, and more. This allows you to efficiently identify and prioritize top talent for your role and organization. 
Shortlist Top-performing Candidates from the Spatial Reasoning Test

By following this structured, user-friendly selection process and best practices, you can confidently make informed hiring decisions and identify candidates with the spatial reasoning skills vital for success in your role and organization. 

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7. When to give candidates a spatial reasoning test?

Spatial reasoning tests are a type of cognitive aptitude tests which are one of the most common types of pre-employment tests used by employers in their candidate selection processes. These tests are suitable for a wide range of roles, from apprenticeship and graduate programs to more experienced managerial and senior executive positions. Spatial reasoning tests are tailored to match each specific job’s complexity and spatial demands.  

In this section, we explore the purpose of spatial reasoning tests in different types of recruitment, highlight the roles that would benefit the most from these hiring tests, and further highlight employers who are currently using spatial reasoning tests in their hiring process.

2 examples when employers should use spatial reasoning tests for recruitment

  1. High-volume recruitment: Recruiting for popular roles that attract thousands of applicants can be challenging. However, spatial reasoning tests offer a fast and effective way to identify the most qualified applicants for the role from a pool of candidates early in the process, ensuring the procedure is fair and legally defensible. Spatial reasoning tests are particularly beneficial for roles such as engineering, design and architecture, where visualizing space is key.  
  1. Rolling recruitment: For companies that review applications on a rolling basis and fill positions as they arise, spatial reasoning tests provide an excellent solution. They establish a standardized process that allows hiring managers to identify high-performing candidates swiftly. By incorporating spatial tests in the pre-employment process, employers can swiftly move candidates through the recruitment stages and confidently advance them to the next phase when required, whether that’s an interview or a practical test.

Which industries and roles should use spatial reasoning tests to recruit and why?

In a nutshell, the answer is….a lot! These tests are most valuable particularly in sectors which require the manipulation of 2D and 3D images, visualizing objects from different perspectives, identifying patterns, designing solutions and solving problems involving spatial arrangement. In these industries, incorporating a spatial reasoning test to hire top talents can be essential. 

Industries that use spatial reasoning tests for hiring include: 

  • Architecture and Engineering: spatial reasoning tests are crucial in sectors like architecture and engineering as they mostly deal with solving technical problems, designing structures, analyzing complex systems, understanding blueprints, visualizing 3D objects, and more. Spatial reasoning tests are thus frequently employed within engineering recruitment. Many engineering companies use spatial reasoning tests for hiring, including Accenture.
  • Technology: spatial reasoning skills are important in technology and IT roles as they often require candidates to to think abstractly and manipulate complex systems, both of which are major aspects of spatial reasoning. Spatial reasoning skills are important for technical roles like software development, game design, and UX/UI design, where candidates must visualize user interfaces, software architecture, and data flows. Some employers that integrate these tests into their recruitment processes are Amazon and Microsoft.
  • Design: spatial reasoning skills are crucial in designing sectors like product, graphic and interior design. These sectors rely on visual spatial reasoning and creating innovative products and layouts. Many huge design companies use spatial reasoning tests for hiring, including BMW.
  • Piloting and Aviation: spatial reasoning skills are also important in sectors like piloting and aviation since they assess a pilot’s ability to visualize and interpret 3D space, maintaining situational awareness, and handling complex cockpit instruments. Employers, including Boeing, use spatial reasoning tests as a central pillar of their recruitment strategies.
  • Retail: work within retail involves efficiently handling stock, creating appealing store layouts, and optimizing product displays – all tasks that require strong spatial reasoning skills. Many major retailers are increasingly incorporating spatial reasoning tests into their hiring assessment processes to identify candidates with robust spatial reasoning abilities. These employers include M&S and Target.
  • Construction: spatial reasoning skills are further crucial in sectors such as construction as this role requires accurately interpreting blueprints, schematics, and site layouts, which is crucial for effective design, planning, and execution. Many established construction companies use spatial reasoning tests for hiring, including AECOM.

Neglecting to assess candidates’ spatial reasoning skills can disrupt team performance and impact overall company success. Thus, incorporating spatial reasoning tests into your recruitment strategy is essential to ensure you hire individuals who will positively impact your organization’s goals. 

Roles that use spatial reasoning tests for hiring include: 

  • Architect
  • Mechanical Engineer
  • Civil Engineer
  • Aerospace Engineer
  • Industrial Engineer
  • Product Designer
  • Graphic Designer
  • UX/UI Designer
  • Game Developer
  • Pilot
  • Construction Manager
  • CAD Technician (Computer-Aided Design)
Roles that use Spatial Reasoning Tests

For roles that do not require high levels of spatial reasoning skills, basic numeracy and literacy tests for jobs are still often used by employers to outline candidates’ attention to detail, problem-solving skills, and how accurately they handle numerical and written information. 

If you are an employer that is unsure if using a spatial reasoning test is the right choice for you, get in touch with us and we will do a free of charge analysis of your recruitment needs.

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8. What employers use spatial reasoning tests for hiring?

Spatial reasoning tests have been used in the recruitment processes of large multinational companies in modern times. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and startups are also increasingly adopting spatial reasoning tests to improve the quality of their hiring process.

Here is a list of some of the top companies using pre-employment spatial reasoning tests for hiring:

  • Boeing
  • Shell
  • Barclays
  • Airbus
  • Amazon
  • Accenture
  • Microsoft
  • Marks and Spencer
  • Target
  • Deloitte
  • Rolls-Royce
  • Siemens
  • Foster + Partners
  • AECOM
  • NVIDIA

Are spatial reasoning tests suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)?

Many SMEs have traditionally overlooked the use of spatial reasoning tests in their pre-employment procedure due to the perceived infrastructure challenges associated with these assessments. Moreover, while larger companies typically have the resources to implement in-house pre-employment testing, smaller organizations have found it more challenging to incorporate these tests. However, with the rise of specialized third-party SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) solutions for talent acquisition, this barrier has been greatly reduced.

Today, all businesses use online pre-employment assessment tools, such as spatial reasoning tests, from top test providers like Assess Candidates, SHL Verify Spatial Ability Tests, Criteria Corp CCAT and more. The advantages of these tools are that they are cost-effective, often more affordable than traditional interviews, and require no additional infrastructure setup from the employer. Modern recruitment assessments are fully automated, cloud-based, and easily integrated into existing recruitment campaigns, making them quick and simple to deploy.

While it is not possible to ignore the cost of incorporating a spatial reasoning test into your hiring process, modern pricing models are flexible to suit any recruitment type or volume. The cost of a poor hire or missing out on diverse talent is far greater than the investment in these assessments.

With the availability of affordable candidate testing software and the ease of integrating spatial reasoning assessments into current recruitment workflows, smaller businesses can now access the same advanced evaluation tools once reserved for larger organizations.

The top 7 candidate assessment software providers

When selecting a candidate assessment platform for implementing a spatial reasoning test, employers should assess both the quality of the spatial assessment tools and the overall functionality of the recruitment platform. Consider the following questions: 

  • Does the candidate assessment software efficiently accelerate candidate evaluation?
  • Can I assess the spatial reasoning skills of multiple candidates simultaneously?
  • Can I access candidate results and insights in a single click?
  • Does the spatial assessment platform provide an objective evaluation of candidates?
  • Can I customize the spatial reasoning test and questions to fit my specific role and organization?
  • Is the talent assessment platform user-friendly, and does it ensure a positive candidate experience?

By considering these questions, you can ensure the candidate assessment platform you choose for your spatial reasoning test meets your requirements and improves the quality of your recruitment process. 

Here are some pre-employment screening providers to help you assess candidates’ spatial reasoning:

  1. Assess Candidates
  2. SHL Verify Spatial Ability Tests
  3. Criteria Corp CCAT
  4. Talegent PATH
  5. Saville Swift Series
  6. HireVue
  7. IBM Kenexa

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9. Why do top companies prefer Assess Candidates’ spatial reasoning tests for pre-employment screening?

As mentioned before, spatial reasoning tests are a type of cognitive aptitude test, and most test providers generally incorporate spatial reasoning tests under logical reasoning tests or present them as abstract reasoning tests. Here, at Assess Candidates, spatial reasoning tests are a branch of our logical reasoning tests

Below is an example of the campaign reporting dashboard that you will find on the Assess Candidates platform. This user-friendly tool is accessible to hiring managers and HR professionals, offering valuable insights and advanced sorting functions to streamline candidate assessment and selection.

Spatial Reasoning Test Campaign Dashboard for Recruiters

Here are the top four reasons to consider using Assess Candidates’ logical reasoning tests for your hiring process

  1. Designed and Scientifically Validated by Expert Psychologists: The logical reasoning tests at Assess Candidates’ are developed by Chartered Scientists, Psychologists, and Psychometricians with extensive experience creating assessments for major companies like SHL and IBM Kenexa. The logical tests have undergone stringent testing and validation to accurately measure candidates’ logical reasoning and problem-solving skills. Our assessments have consistently demonstrated success in helping organizations across industries identify and hire top talent. 
  2. Expert Reporting: Assess Candidates’ user-friendly and easy-to-navigate assessment platform allows employers to analyze candidate reports in detail, enabling them to make informed hiring decisions based on flexible criteria. Recruiters can easily view individual candidates’ performance on the logical reasoning test and filter, rank, compare, and shortlist candidates. Furthermore, our talent assessment platform also offers seamless integration with your existing Applicant Tracking System (ATS), streamlining the hiring process. 
  3. Positive Candidate Experience: The Assess Candidates’ logic test also offers a positive candidate experience. It is easily accessible from any device and features an aesthetic and user-friendly interface for candidates. The test also provides clear assessment instructions and can be fully branded to match your organization. With a focus on minimal clicks to complete, the assessment automatically moves to the next question once answered, ensuring a seamless and positive candidate experience, which will further be associated with your brand. 
  4. Candidate Accessibility Support: Assess Candidates is committed to providing support for individuals with disabilities and visual impairments. All our assessments, including the logical reasoning test, can add extra time, include zoom functionalities, and accessible color schemes and images that comply with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), guaranteeing compatibility with screen readers.

As one of the leading providers of pre-employment aptitude tests, Assess Candidates delivers comprehensive assessment solutions for organizations of all sizes. Start using our top-tier logical reasoning assessments today and hire the right candidates with confidence.

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10. Spatial reasoning tests: client application story

Client Problem Statement:

Imagine a rapidly expanding design company struggling to find and hire the right talent for product design and graphic design roles. Despite attracting a high volume of applicants with impressive portfolios, the company’s recruitment process lacks a potent method for evaluating spatial reasoning skills, which are crucial for tasks such as creating innovative designs, visualizing concepts, and managing complex design projects. This gap results in suboptimal hiring decisions, project delays, and increased frustration among team leaders and HR. The company thus requires a more refined approach to assess candidates’ spatial reasoning skills to ensure they can thrive in these demanding creative roles.

Assess Candidates Proposal:

At Assess Candidates, we suggest incorporating spatial reasoning tests early in the hiring process for product design and graphic design positions. These tests evaluate candidates’ abilities to visualize, manipulate, and solve spatial challenges—skills crucial for developing effective design solutions and managing visual projects. By incorporating spatial reasoning tests, recruiters can efficiently screen a large pool of applicants and identify candidates with superior spatial abilities who should progress to the next stage of the hiring process.

Result:

By integrating spatial reasoning tests into their pre-employment process, the design company can efficiently identify and hire top talent with the essential spatial skills needed for product design and graphic design roles. This approach provides a reliable, data-driven method to assess candidates’ capabilities, enabling recruiters to make informed hiring decisions. Leveraging spatial reasoning tests will help the company achieve its design objectives, simplify project execution, and boost overall creative output.

Interested in learning more about effective candidate assessment? Continue reading for frequently asked questions, and sign up with your email to get started.

Frequently Asked Questions

What do spatial reasoning tests measure?

Spatial reasoning tests for hiring help employers identify candidates with strong spatial awareness and problem-solving abilities, ensuring they are well-suited for positions that require these skills. This test evaluates one’s ability to visualize objects from different angles, recognize patterns, and solve problems related to spatial arrangements and relationships. It measures how effectively candidates can mentally manipulate shapes and objects to derive accurate solutions.

Where in the recruitment process are spatial reasoning tests used?

Spatial reasoning tests can be strategically implemented at various stages during the pre-employment process, depending on the role. However, they are particularly effective at the initial screening stages. These assessments offer a swift and efficient method to identify a candidate’s ability to visualize and manipulate objects in space. Spatial reasoning tests are particularly valuable in fields such as architecture, engineering, industrial design, 3D game design, graphic design and more.

How effective are spatial reasoning tests for hiring?

Spatial reasoning tests are highly effective for hiring. They have undergone decades of research history and rigorous scientific validation to ensure they are a reliable and accurate method for assessing candidates’ spatial reasoning and problem-solving skills. By using pre-employment spatial reasoning tests for hiring, employers can better predict candidates’ performance in the workplace, leading to more informed hiring decisions, enhanced productivity and reduced training costs.

How difficult are pre-hire spatial reasoning tests?

Pre-employment spatial reasoning tests vary in difficulty depending on the talent assessment provider and the specific demands of the role. These assessments are designed to measure a candidate’s ability to visualize objects, identify patterns, and solve spatial problems under timed conditions. While some tests may be more complex than others, they are structured to be fair and objective, allowing candidates to demonstrate their spatial reasoning skills regardless of their prior experience.

Do spatial reasoning tests ensure objectivity in the hiring process?

Yes, spatial reasoning tests ensure objectivity in the hiring process by providing a standardized, bias-free method to evaluate candidates’ spatial reasoning aptitude. They use consistent scoring criteria and assess candidates objectively based on skills and performance rather than subjective judgments. Spatial reasoning tests offer fair candidate assessment and enable employers to make objective and informed hiring decisions.

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