Job Doc
From typing tests to AI-powered video screenings, pre-employment assessments are becoming more complex — and in some cases, legally risky.
From typing tests to AI-powered video screenings, pre-employment assessments are becoming more complex — and in some cases, legally risky. Kelly Chan/Boston.com
If you’ve ever interviewed for a job, you’ve been assessed — even if you didn’t realize it.
Today’s hiring assessments are very different from what your parents experienced, or even what an older sibling encountered. Modern interviews run the gamut from typing tests, equation solving, hypothetical questions (“What kind of animal would you be?”), personality-type questionnaires, and more recently, interactions with artificial intelligence.
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Over time, interviewers adopted behavioral interviewing as a way to predict on-the-job success. That approach expanded into full-day psychological assessments that might include quantitative tests, a demonstration of written skills, inbox simulations to assess prioritization, and psychological or personality evaluations.
For candidates who get to the interview stage, thank the interviewer for the opportunity and immediately follow up with a simple, but important question: Can you tell me about your interview process? If you don’t know what’s coming, you won’t know how to prepare.
Whether you’re applying for an hourly job or a senior executive level role, understanding what employers are trying to measure will shape the type of assessment you will face. Having as much information as possible about the process can make — or break — your success.
According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), 82% of companies use assessment tools in hiring. Interviewing has become an art and a science with companies spending an inordinate amount of money and time training managers to assess integrity, cultural fit, capability to successfully do the job, and retention long enough to be worth the cost of the process.
“Pre-employment testing can be useful in technical and operational roles, where skills are highly measurable,” said Dr. David Brendel, a Boston-based executive coach and psychiatrist. “Its value drops sharply in senior leadership, where judgment, emotional intelligence, and context matter most.”
Brendel warns of false precision — when organizations may overinterpret test scores, exclude strong candidates, or unintentionally favor narrow definitions of talent.
As artificial intelligence plays a growing role in pre-employment assessment, new legal concerns are emerging. Some AI-powered interview tools analyze facial expressions, vocal patterns, or behavioral cues to score traits like “integrity.” That approach has already drawn legal scrutiny in Massachusetts.
Attorney Scott Connolly of Epstein Becker Green, a Boston-based labor law expert, points to recent lawsuits involving AI-driven video interview platforms.
In one case, the job applicants alleged that the employer’s AI screening tool functioned as an unlawful lie-detector test under Massachusetts law. The case was ultimately settled.
Massachusetts law prohibits employers from requiring lie-detector tests as a condition of employment. The definition is broad, covering polygraphs and any device, mechanism, instrument, or written examination used to detect deception, according to Connolly. Employers are also required to include a specific notice on job applications and online portals.
What matters most for both candidates and employers is transparency. Employers must ensure required lie-detector notices are included in all employment application materials and clearly explain to candidates that any assessment tools are used solely to evaluate job-related criteria.
Understanding how modern hiring assessments work — and where legal lines are drawn — can help candidates prepare smarter and help employers avoid costly mistakes.
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