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Look at any white-collar office job posting from the last few decades and you’re likely to see something like “basic computers skills” listed as a requirement. “Great,” you think to yourself, “I can use technology, after all, I managed to find this job posting!” And if you’re on the hiring end for a position that’ll be spending six to eight hours in front of screen, you’d certainly hope applicants would know that they need to be able to use a computer. Ten years of bookkeeping experience? Reception? Managing remote staff? In a Venn diagram of work experience and basic computer skills, those should be a near complete overlap! We shouldn’t need to train them at all! Can we be sure though? It turns out “basic computer skills” doesn’t have a universally accepted definition.

Since basic computer skills doesn’t have an official definition we can point to, lets attempt to create one ourselves. I argue for reading comprehension as the base skill underlying all the others we’re going to talk about (see “One Skill To Rule Them All” for more on this). Unfortunately reading comprehension doesn’t have a universal measurement either. I used to use “6th grade reading level” as my go-to, but today’s media is full of articles on changing standards and outcomes in public education, so that’s no longer dependable. If you’re interviewing someone, try providing them with a copy of the job posting and asking them questions about it that require some simple inference. For a more advanced option, I’ve included a test you can administer that covers reading comprehension and several other elements.

How about typing? Should basic computer skills include home row typing ability? What about speed requirements? If we’re talking about basic skills, I’d say no to both of those. While “chicken pecking” with two fingers probably wouldn’t qualify you for a staff writing position at a newspaper, I consider formal typing (especially with a speed requirement) to be an intermediate skill. So your applicant should be able to navigate a keyboard without assistance, but that’s all.

Email is probably the most universal computer task of the modern era. I’ve included it in the test template. Users should be able to recognize an email address and the “To”, “Subject”, and “Body” fields in an email client, even an unfamiliar one. Email interfaces have kept their same basic elements since the 90s.

The most controversial skill I’ve seen talked about lately is the ability to navigate and use a file system. The advent of smartphones and tablets, and the ubiquity of Chromebooks in schools, has led to new workers who have never had to save a file to a “documents” folder, or infer that a photo could most likely be found in a “pictures” folder. The strongest counterargument I’ve read is that between “recent” lists and search functions we shouldn’t need to know how to navigate file structures. I disagree, so I’ve included this skill in the test as well.

Lastly, safety and security. What’s considered “basic” varies wildly. Could you recognize a phishing email pretending to be from your boss? What about the difference between an ad link and a regular result in an internet search? I haven’t included this in the test as needs and policies are different at every workplace, but it’s a good idea to consider it when planning your interviews and internal training. An employee who clicks the links in every suspicious email without a second thought is a security disaster waiting to happen.

Here’s the skills test I promised. There are two ways of administering it; either provide the interviewee with a computer to use, or use screenshots and have them verbally walk you through the steps they would take. The latter requires a bit more visual and verbal knowledge transference and self-awareness so I only recommend it if providing a company computer isn’t a possibility. You’ll also need to customize it; for example YOURTEXTEDITOR needs to be replaced with whatever program is standard for your org, i.e. Microsoft Word.

Instructions for the Applicant:

Please read the instructions below carefully and perform the steps described. After completing the task, answer the follow-up questions about the process.

Task:
1: Open YOURTEXTEDITOR on the computer.
2: Create a new file and write the following without the quotes: “Welcome to the team! Your onboarding kit is on your desk.”
3: Save the file with the name "Team Message - " ending with today’s date, in the "FOLDERORSHAREDRIVE" folder.
4: Format the text to bold and change the font size to 14.
5: Close the application.
6: Open YOUREMAILCLIENT.
7: Send an email to INTERVIEWER with the subject “Team Message”. In the email, let them know that the file is ready.
8: Attach the file and send the email.

Instructions for the Interviewers:
After they’ve completed the task, ask the following questions about the process. Interviewees should be allowed to keep their instructions in front of them, but DO NOT tell them they can refer to them unless they ask.

1: What was the name of the first program you opened?
2: If you couldn’t save the file to the “FOLDERORSHAREDRIVE” folder/share drive, where would you have saved it? Why?
3: Who did you send the email to?
4: What did you name the file?
5: What changes, if any, would you make to the instructions?

Post-interview analysis:
The following is reasoning for the instructions and questions, and what to look for in the interviewee’s actions and responses.

Task:
1: They should be able to find an application on the computer with little assistance.
2: They should be able to type the sentence into the document and understand the instructions to leave out the quotation marks. Observe their typing style (home row vs single finger presses) and speed.
3: Ability to remember or find today’s date and to save a document to a specific location.
4: Ability to format text.
5: They should remember to save the document or answer the automated prompt to save the document.
6: Same as question 1, but with a different application.
7: They should be able to send an email with an attachment. Ideally they’ll either know, or be able to figure out, how to look up the interviewer in the company address book. Also, the ability to write without being told explicitly what to say.
8: The ability to locate and attach a file to an email.

Follow-up questions:
0: Allowing them access to the instructions without explicitly telling them they can refer to them will test their sense of agency. Asking permission is fine as some will feel the follow-up questions are a test, and most people are used to tests or exams being closed-book. It will also test their ability to find the information they need within the task instructions.
1: Ability to recall or locate the information.
2: Ability and sense of agency to make a best-option decision when faced with adversity.
3: Ability to recall or locate the information.
4: Ability to recall or locate the information.
5: Tests self-awareness around needs or preferences for directions. “None” is also an acceptable answer if they had no struggles with any of the task steps.

Share this article with anyone working on job postings or interviews in your organization, and please feel free to use the skills test content in any way you like. It’s best modified for your specific needs!

Need someone to assist with skills assessment, training, or hiring processes? You can find us at scalebright.ca.

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What are Basic Computer Skills?