Not every role needs video. Not every role needs behavioral data. But nearly every role benefits from trusted feedback.

Spark Hire Meet offers three asynchronous assessments that help you uncover critical signals early in the hiring process; whether you're overwhelmed with applicants, hiring in a new way, or simply trying to make more confident, consistent decisions.

🔎 What Each Assessment Type Offers

📹 One-Way Video Interviews

Empower your team to get to know candidates more efficiently.

What is it: Candidates record video responses to your interview questions on their own time, from any device.

What it measures: How a candidate thinks, communicates, and responds to structured, real-world questions; on their own time.

Where in the process: Typically, a one-way video interview is used early in the screening process as an alternative to the phone screen.

Best for:

• Evaluating how a candidate articulates their experience and decisions
• Asking structured behavioral questions (e.g., “Tell me about a time you...”)
• Letting stakeholders review candidates asynchronously

Best practices:

• Ask questions tied to real work experience, not hypothetical “what would you do?”
• Focus on moments of ownership, challenge, collaboration, and learning
• Use consistent question sets across candidates to compare fairly

🧪 Predictive Talent Assessment

Use data to provide you with key insights about a candidate’s alignment with the behavioral competencies needed for the role.

What is it: Candidates answer a standardized set of multiple choice questions in 15-20 minutes and the assessment scores them against a set of behavioral competencies you select.

What it measures: A candidate’s behavioral capacity for success in a specific role based on the competencies necessary for the role.

Where in the process: Typically, a Predictive Talent Assessment is used early in the screening process as an alternative and complementary to a phone screen. It may also be used late in the hiring process as a way to compare finalists for a position.

Best for:

• Making structured comparisons across candidates
• Identifying who’s most likely to thrive in your environment
• Understanding areas of development for a future hire

Best practices:

• Choose a standardized profile first (or customize one if needed)
• Use it early to prioritize, or later to break ties or add structure
• Review both “Fit for Role” and “Workplace Motivation” for richer context

🤝 Automated Reference Checks

Capture others’ experience and relationship with your candidates.

What is it: Candidates input references’ contact information and Spark Hire automatically reaches out to the references asking them to complete a survey you customize.

What it measures: Trusted third-party feedback from people who know how the candidate actually worked.

Where in the process: We suggest using automated reference checks towards the end of the process so you’re not giving candidates the wrong impression about the seriousness of their candidacy. However, we do recommend requesting them before your final interview with a candidate so they’re completed in the event you want to make an offer quickly.

Best for:

• Validating top candidates before final interviews or offers
• Gathering perspectives from past managers or coworkers
• Making fast, consistent checks without phone tag

Best practices:

• Send reference checks early to accelerate decision-making
• Ask for feedback across multiple dimensions (e.g., teamwork, reliability, problem-solving)
• Use findings to guide interview questions or onboarding plans

🔁 Video Interview vs. Predictive Talent Assessment: When to Use Which

These assessments often serve the same stage in the process, but offer different types of signals.

Both assessments are asynchronous so they’re convenient for you and your candidates. 

Both assessments are structured in the sense that all candidates get the same questions and experience.

A One-Way Video Interview is better suited when you’re looking to…

• Add more context to a candidate’s resume
• Understand how someone thinks through past challenges
• Conveniently give hiring managers more visibility

The Predictive Talent Assessment is better suited when you’re looking to…

• Compare candidates using data-backed behavioral traits
• Measure a candidate’s likelihood for success based on behaviorals rather than hard skills
• Identify candidates who are wired to learn, adapt, and grow even if they haven’t done the exact job before

Some customers choose to use the Predictive Talent Assessment instead of a One-Way Video Interview if they have candidates for a particular role that aren’t as comfortable with video.

Further, some customers will use the Predictive Talent Assessment at the end of the process when comparing finalists for a role rather than as a screening tool.

✨ The Hidden Value: Intangible Insights

Regardless of which assessment you use, you’ll often learn things that aren’t in the resume or the report:

• Follow-through: Did they complete the assessment on time?
• Adaptability: Were they comfortable with async steps or new tech?
• Motivation: Do their actions show they’re interested in the opportunity?
• Autonomy: Did they handle the process independently, without being chased?

These behaviors matter just as much, and Spark Hire Meet helps you see them early.

🤝 Check References, All the Time

While not every role needs a video interview or a behavioral assessment, automated reference checks are almost always worth including; especially once you’ve narrowed down your shortlist.

They provide fast, reliable third-party insight with minimal lift for your team and no back-and-forth scheduling.

References help confirm what you’ve learned (or reveal what you haven’t), giving hiring managers added confidence before moving forward.

Whether you’re making a high-stakes hire, backfilling a position quickly, or just want a broader perspective on how someone works with others, reference checks offer consistent value across nearly every hiring situation.

✅ Final Takeaway

You don’t need to use every assessment for every role.

But for any role, there’s at least one Spark Hire Meet assessment that will help you:

 

• Save time
• Reduce bias
• Get to the right candidate faster
• And make hiring decisions you’ll feel confident about

💬 Need help mapping assessment types to your roles? We’re here for that.