Every candidate who abandons an online assessment is a lost opportunity, and the ones who leave are not always the weakest. This article looks at why candidates drop out of tests, what it costs employers, and how engaging design, including Viewpoint's video situational judgement tests, keeps completion rates above 95%.

Why drop-out matters

Drop-out is easy to overlook because it is invisible: the candidates who leave simply never appear in the results. But it matters for three reasons.

• You may lose good candidates. In a competitive market, strong applicants often have other options and are the first to leave a process that feels slow or irrelevant.

• It can affect fairness. If some groups are more likely to drop out, for example because a test is hard to complete on a phone, the shortlist can become less diverse without anyone noticing.

• It reflects on your brand. A frustrating assessment leaves a poor impression with people who may also be customers.

Research on applicant attraction shows that how candidates experience the recruitment process influences their attraction to the organisation and their decisions about whether to continue [1, 2].

Why candidates drop out

Common causes include:

• Tests that feel long, repetitive or unrelated to the job.

• Dense written scenarios that are tiring to read, especially on a phone.

• Poor mobile design, such as content that needs zooming or hides the answer options.

• Anxiety about time limits and not knowing what to expect.

• No sense of getting anything back for the effort.

How Viewpoint's video SJTs keep candidates engaged

In Viewpoint's video SJTs, each scenario is presented as a short video instead of a block of text. Candidates watch a realistic work situation unfold and then choose the most and least appropriate responses. Our own data shows completion rates of more than 95% for our video SJTs.

Several design choices contribute to this:

• Short, realistic videos. Scenarios are quick to take in and feel like the job, which keeps attention and makes the purpose of the test obvious.

• Less reading. Video reduces the reading load, which helps candidates who find long passages tiring, including many neurodivergent candidates and those taking the test on a phone.

• Built for mobile. On phones, videos play without going full screen, so candidates can see the response options while the scenario plays.

• Untimed. All Viewpoint SJTs are untimed, so candidates can focus on judgement rather than the clock.

• A preview of the job. Seeing realistic situations helps candidates decide whether the role suits them, which is useful for them and for the employer.

Giving something back: feedback reports and tools

Candidates are more willing to invest time when they know they will get something useful in return. Every Viewpoint candidate can receive a Candidate Report with constructive, development-focused feedback, without scores. Viewpoint also offers guided feedback tools that help candidates reflect on their results and plan their development. Feedback turns the assessment into a worthwhile experience, even for candidates who are not appointed.

Other ways to improve completion

• Tell candidates in advance how long each stage takes and why it is used.

• Offer practice questions so the format is familiar.

• Keep the first stage short and proportionate.

• Send reminders, and make it easy to return to an unfinished untimed test.

• Track completion by stage, device and candidate group, and act on what you find.

See our situational judgement tests, our article on candidate experience in assessment, or contact us to see a video SJT.

Frequently asked questions

What is a good completion rate for an online assessment?

It depends on the test and the stage, but completion should be tracked for every stage. Viewpoint's video SJTs achieve completion rates above 95%.

Do video SJTs work on mobile phones?

Yes. On phones the video plays without going full screen, so the response options stay visible.

Are video SJTs timed?

No. All Viewpoint SJTs are untimed.

Do candidates get feedback?

Yes. Every candidate can receive a Candidate Report with constructive development suggestions.

References

1. Chapman, D. S., Uggerslev, K. L., Carroll, S. A., Piasentin, K. A. & Jones, D. A. (2005). Applicant attraction to organizations and job choice: a meta-analytic review of the correlates of recruiting outcomes. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90(5), 928–944.
2. Hausknecht, J. P., Day, D. V. & Thomas, S. C. (2004). Applicant reactions to selection procedures: an updated model and meta-analysis. Personnel Psychology, 57(3), 639–683.