Many multinational companies currently consider ‘being fluent in English’ as a requirement for their candidates. It’s especially important for jobs in sales, customer satisfaction and loyalty departments, as well as call centers.
However, when it comes to an interview, the only thing the recruiters do to evaluate the candidate’s level of English is to ask typical questions that look more like topics from a school examination rather than something relevant to the job.
Another approach is to suggest a writing test. This, however, is time-consuming for a recruiter to check and doesn’t sound like fun for a jobseeker. It may also be misleading, because it often happens that the grammar skills seem almost perfect: some of the candidate can write a good essay on where they see themselves in 5 years’ time. However, when they need to make a phone call or present a new product in English, they fail miserably.
The reason for this is that English skills are not developed evenly. You can be a really inspiring speaker, but a poor writer, and the other way around. The best solution would be to really understand the job’s requirements. For example, if an international company needs to appoint someone at their call center, the focus should really be on the English speaking skills of the candidate.
Your solution
With the current rise of technology and AI, we see a wide range of tools to assess a candidate’s verbal proficiency. The SmallTalk AI-based product will help you attract the best talent and hire the best candidate faster, easier and bias-free.
How does it work?
All your candidates have to do is to click on the link and record their speech. The AI algorithms will then analyze it, and in the end the recruiter has a detailed report on the candidate’s level of grammar: the mistakes, pronunciation, vocabulary and overall level of English.
What’s in it for you?
It will save your recruiter time that is usually spent on checking English during an interview, and it will also save money by not making a wrong hiring decision. SmallTalk customizes the procedure for each industry, making it relevant to the role and is easily integrated with your Applicant Tracking System. Moreover, all candidates are evaluated on the same level, and therefore you will always make fair and unbiased decisions.
If you’re interested in implementing the cutting-edge technology for a fair and easy assessment of your candidate’s English, don’t hesitate to contact the SmallTalk team support@smalltalk2.me.
