The PDA Assessment is a behavioral profile evaluation used in HR. What it describes, how it is used in selection, and how it compares with other ways to assess candidates in LATAM.
An assessment is not a single test: it is a combination of competencies chosen for the role. How to build the right mix for each position.
A practical guide to building a role assessment: from the role’s challenge to the competencies, and from there to the tests worth combining.
Looking for “the test for salespeople” starts backwards. A role needs several combined competencies. Why an assessment is more than an isolated test.
Skills-based hiring means hiring for the skills and competencies a role needs, instead of by degree or background. The gap between talk and practice lies in assessing those skills in a verifiable, comparable way, not in declaring them.
A balanced battery covers the role's dimensions without overloading the candidate. A practical guide to combining personality, aptitude, and technical skill by role.
Big Five describe la personalidad en cinco grandes dimensiones; 16PF la describe con dieciséis factores más específicos. La diferencia para reclutamiento está en el nivel de detalle y en quién interpreta el resultado.
Cognitive ability gives a signal about how easily someone learns and solves new problems. Why it matters when hiring and how to use it without overweighting it.
Reasoning, behavioral style and technical knowledge answer different questions. Together they give a complete signal of role fit, without predicting performance.
Applying the same combination of tests to all candidates for a role puts them on the same scale and produces a comparable signal that organizes the human decision.
The recipe to assess customer service: DISC + Emotional Quotient + service competencies + a cognitive base. The combination provides signal, it doesn't predict.
The recipe to assess a salesperson: Wonderlic cognitive + DISC + Sales Style + sales competencies. Why the combination gives more signal than one test.
The recipe to assess leadership: Leadership Test + 16PF or Big Five + cognitive + management competencies. The combination adds signal, it doesn't predict success.
The recipe for operations and warehouse roles: cognitive base + DISC + Integrity + operational competencies. The combination describes aptitudes, not outcomes.
The recipe for technical or IT roles: Wonderlic cognitive + technical test + Big Five + technical competencies. The mix adds signal, it doesn't predict performance.
Guía para combinar 6-8 competencias por cargo: empezar por el dolor del puesto, elegir el conjunto correcto y mantener el mismo criterio para todos.
How to read a 16PF profile in selection: what its 16 factors describe, how they group, and why it needs more interpretation than a five-factor model.
The recipe to assess call center agents: cognitive + DISC + Emotional Quotient + contact competencies. It describes aptitudes, doesn't predict performance.
The recipe for assessing administrative roles: Wonderlic cognitive + DISC + order-and-detail competencies + Integrity. It describes aptitudes, not performance.
How to read a DISC profile in selection: what each dimension means, how to combine them and what mistakes to avoid. DISC describes styles.
The library lets you build role-based assessments by combining the competencies that matter.
La receta de competencias para evaluar un cargo administrativo: atención al detalle, organización, capacidad cognitiva, manejo de herramientas y responsabilidad.
La receta de competencias para evaluar a un ejecutivo de atención al cliente: empatía, comunicación, manejo del estrés, orientación al cliente y más.
La receta de competencias para evaluar un cargo de call center: comunicación, manejo del estrés, orientación al cliente, escucha activa y tolerancia a la frustración.
La receta de competencias para evaluar a un vendedor antes de entrevistar: orientación al resultado, comunicación, manejo del rechazo y más.
La receta de competencias para evaluar a un jefe o supervisor: liderazgo, comunicación, toma de decisiones, gestión de conflictos y orientación al resultado.
Liderazgo, orientación al cliente, integridad, pensamiento crítico, trabajo en equipo, comunicación y adaptabilidad: qué mide cada una y cómo se evalúan.
Hiring for skills, not degrees, starts by translating each role into the competencies it needs and assessing them on the same scale for everyone.
Combining 6 to 8 tests usually covers a role's dimensions without overloading the candidate. The criterion isn't quantity: it's useful coverage.
DISC describe cuatro estilos de comportamiento fáciles de comunicar; 16PF describe la personalidad con dieciséis factores detallados. Cuál elegir depende de cuánto detalle necesitas y de quién va a leer el resultado.
DISC describes behavioral styles simply and clearly; Big Five describes personality across five dimensions with a stronger academic basis. The choice depends on the role and on what you use the result for, not on which is 'better'.
Designing a role-based assessment means going from the role’s challenge to the competencies and the tests that measure them.
Leadership is made of observable competencies (decision-making, communication, team management) that can be assessed before promoting or hiring.
Customer focus is a competency you can assess, not a quality you guess at in the interview.
Assessing soft skills with evidence means translating them into observable competencies and measuring them with the same yardstick, not by impression.
A cognitive test measures reasoning aptitude; a personality test describes behavioral styles. What each tells you and why you should combine them.
How to read a personality test in hiring without overinterpreting: what it really describes, mistakes to avoid, and how to turn the profile into better interviews.
No hay una única mejor prueba de personalidad para selección: DISC, Big Five y 16PF describen estilos con distinto nivel de detalle. La mejor es la que se ajusta a tu cargo y a quién interpreta el resultado.
The OCEAN or Big Five model describes personality across five factors. What each one means and how to read them in hiring without making them a verdict.
A cognitive test shouldn't filter candidates on its own. How to use it as an input, calibrate it to the role, and keep it from becoming an unfair wall.
A test battery is a set of combined assessments applied together to describe a candidate from several complementary angles.
What the emotional quotient (emotional intelligence) is, which dimensions an EI test describes, and how to read its result in hiring without overreading.
A behavioral competency is an observable behavior relevant to performance —like customer orientation or teamwork— that can be described and evaluated.
DISC is one of the most widely used behavioral models in hiring. What it describes, how it is used to understand a candidate’s behavioral profile, and what not to expect from it.
Competency-based assessment measures candidates by the behaviors a role needs, instead of by credentials or general impressions.
A percentile places a result against a reference group; it doesn't measure how much someone knows. What it means, how to read it, and common mistakes.
A brief definition of a cognitive or aptitude test: it measures reasoning and the ability to learn, not prior knowledge. Kokoro selection glossary.
A workplace intelligence test measures a candidate's reasoning aptitude at a given moment, comparably. What it evaluates, what it's for, and its limits.
Brief definition of a technical test: it measures concrete knowledge and skills of a role, not general reasoning or personality. Kokoro glossary.
What the BIS-11 (Barratt) scale measures, which facets of impulsivity it describes, and how to read its result in selection without turning it into a diagnosis.
What the Wonderlic test measures, the general cognitive ability it evaluates, and how to read its result in selection without over-interpreting it.
Una competencia conductual es un comportamiento observable en el trabajo. Qué son, cómo se evalúan y en qué se diferencian de las pruebas técnicas.
Behavioral competencies are observable behaviors that the resume does not show but can be assessed.
Detecting skills gaps means comparing what the role needs with what each person demonstrates, by the same yardstick. Find the gap before hiring, not after.
Logical, verbal and numerical reasoning measure distinct aptitudes. What each one measures, which roles it matters most in, and how to choose the right one.
Personality, aptitude, and technical are three layers that describe different things about a candidate. What each adds and why together they give a fuller signal.
A single test measures one slice of the person. Combining tests per role gives a fuller signal to support the decision, without replacing the interview.
Assess your applicants before the interview and compare them with common criteria. You decide; Kokoro gives you the support.