Many employers are switching to using third-party recruiting companies and game-based job assessments to evaluate candidates. Here are some of the pros and cons and what they mean for you as a job-seeker.

The Pros

These are some of the positive aspects of game-based job assessments:

They Can Be Fun

Playing a game-based assessment could be a fun alternative to the regular dull 100-question-long assessments. If you like playing video games, you'll probably enjoy the change of pace.

Game Assessments Are Often Shorter

Game-based job assessments are often much shorter than traditional ones, though some can be longer. Generally, a game-based assessment might take only 10 minutes, while a traditional one can take up to an hour to complete.

They May Eliminate Bias

Many employers claim that using the game-based assessment process eliminates bias. That claim could be true, as it would prevent selecting people solely based on their resume content.

The Cons

Here's why you may not care for game-based job assessments:

They're Impersonal

The game-based assessments might seem much more impersonal than assessments that ask straightforward questions about your attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. They may also seem a little shady.

An AI Program Is Your "Interviewer"

An artificial intelligence program will decide whether you are fit for a job based on an algorithm with rule sets that could be unfair. Thus, you may not get a chance to speak to a human being about the job because a computer "predicted" you won't be a good fit based on ambiguous rule sets.

The Game May Have Nothing To Do With the Job

You might find that the game-based assessment has nothing to do with the job, which will make you wonder about its true purpose. That's not to say that all game-based assessments are bad news. Some of them use real scenarios, and you can clearly tell the point is to gauge your compassion, empathy, problem-solving skills, etc. Others are not well designed, and many people may end up without job opportunities because of it.

Game-based assessments seem more for the employers' benefit than the candidates'. Still, they seem to be a growing part of today's hiring process, and you need to learn more about them as a job-seeker.