If you're looking for someone to fill an available job, it's critical to locate the best applicant. This is especially true if a job's physical demands are high, or where work-related stress may have an impact on a candidate's general health and fitness. In these situations, requiring potential new workers to take physical or mental ability tests can be an important component of the recruiting process. This is particularly true for police and fire departments where job stresses and demands can be intense.

The DOT physical is one of the most typical pre-employment physicals. These routine physicals are used to verify that persons who have a commercial driver's license are in good physical, mental, and emotional health to do their jobs safely for themselves and others.

An alternative to putting potential employees through a full physical examination is something called the HPE, or Human Performance Evaluation. This test is not typically performed by a medical doctor, though it does cover many aspects of a candidate’s physical and mental fitness.

Employers may use a variety of medical tests to evaluate the physical health of their workers, including pre-employment physicals. Some exams, such as DOT physicals, must be completed on a regular basis during the course of employment. Employees may be subjected to random drug testing in order to ensure a drug-free workplace.

Physical tests to evaluate a job candidate's fitness are a highly particular type of medical exam, and expertise with the workplace's needs and limits is required. Because these screenings differ slightly from an annual physical, many companies look for medical professionals that do these tests on a regular basis.