JobCannon

Custom test development

Custom psychometric test development, built for your role

Off-the-shelf personality and aptitude tests are built for nobody's job in particular. When you need an instrument for one role, one competency model and one organization, we design it, build it and, if you choose, validate it statistically on your own candidates. It runs on the same platform as our 201 published assessments.

Get a quoteSee the three packages
Reply within 1 business dayNo per-seat pitches

When a custom test beats an off-the-shelf one

A general test measures a general trait. A custom test is written against what people in your target role actually do at work. Our items use room-based, Best/Worst forced-choice scenarios, the situational-judgment format used by major test publishers. Every option carries a score, instead of one right answer, which makes the test harder to fake than a self-report rating scale. It is an occupational psychologist’s technique, not something we invented.

How it is built

  1. 1

    Job analysis. We map the target competencies to real on-the-job behavior, with input from people who do or supervise the role.

  2. 2

    Item design. Scenarios written from scratch in the Best/Worst format, with internal review rounds.

  3. 3

    Build. Scoring logic, delivery and results, built in parallel with item design.

  4. 4

    Pilot. Review and calibration before launch.

  5. 5

    Statistical validation, if you choose it. Item statistics on a real sample of at least about 30 candidates or employees.

Starter skips steps 1 and 2: it configures our existing item bank for you. We give no fixed date for step 5 until the sample is agreed, because its length depends on how quickly the sample arrives.

‘Validated’ means something specific

A content-validated test is built by a psychologist from a documented job analysis. A statistically validated test has also been checked against real candidates’ data. They are different claims, and we tell you which one your package includes. We never call a test validated unless the statistical validation has actually been completed.

Three packages

Starter
  • SolvesFast screening on key traits
  • QuestionsOur existing item bank, configured for you
  • MethodSimplified
  • Your teamNot involved
  • EvidenceProfessionally assembled
  • Defensibility if challengedBasic (content validity)
  • Our time1-2 weeks
  • You receiveThe test
  • Needed from youNothing
  • PriceOn request
ProfessionalRecommended
  • SolvesA precise test for your specific role
  • QuestionsWritten from scratch for your role
  • MethodFull Best/Worst scenario method
  • Your teamOptional interview with your people
  • EvidenceDesigned by a psychologist, with a licensed psychologist's written sign-off
  • Defensibility if challengedBasic (content validity)
  • Our time3-5 weeks
  • You receiveTest plus psychologist's report
  • Needed from youNothing (interview optional)
  • PriceOn request
Comprehensive
  • SolvesA test plus statistical evidence that it works
  • QuestionsWritten from scratch for your role
  • MethodFull Best/Worst scenario method
  • Your teamFull interview with your people included
  • EvidenceStatistically validated on real candidates
  • Defensibility if challengedMaximum (statistical validation plus adverse-impact analysis)
  • Our time6-10 weeks*
  • You receivePlus statistician's report
  • Needed from youYour people for interviews, plus about 30 candidates
  • PriceOn request

*Depends on how quickly the candidate sample arrives.

Delivery and ownership

Choose how it runs: on JobCannon like any client account, on a separate branded site we build just for your tests, or handed to your own developers through our API.

Your content is yours: the questions, the scoring logic and how results are structured and interpreted. We never reuse it or show it publicly without your written permission. We keep our underlying platform, which serves other clients with their own separate content.

Related on JobCannon

Custom test development sits alongside our other institutional offerings on the JobCannon for Business hub. If you are hiring for the role the test is for, see JobCannon for recruiters; if you are building it into an internal development or promotion process, see JobCannon for HR.

How to start

Tell us the role and what the test has to measure. We reply within one business day, agree the package with you, fix the target role and competencies on a kickoff call and start with the job analysis.

What do you need it for?

We reply within 1 business day. No spam, no per-seat pitches.

  • Designing a test for a specific purpose: analysing the job, writing and reviewing items, building the scoring and, optionally, checking statistically that the test measures what it should. An off-the-shelf test skips the first steps because it was written for a general population.

  • It depends on the package, from configuring our existing item bank to a from-scratch test with statistical validation. Tell us the role and we will quote.

  • 1-2 weeks for Starter, 3-5 weeks for Professional, 6-10 weeks for Comprehensive, plus the time it takes to gather the candidate sample.

  • The first is built from a documented job analysis; the second has also been checked on real candidates' data. We state which one you are buying and never use the word 'validated' for the first.

  • Not for Starter or Professional; an interview with your people is optional in Professional. Comprehensive needs interviews and a sample of about 30 candidates.

  • You own the content: questions, scoring logic and result structure. We keep the platform it runs on.

How to start

Tell us the role and what the test has to measure. We reply within one business day, agree the package with you, fix the target role and competencies on a kickoff call and start with the job analysis.

Get a quote