Psychometric Tests
What are psychometric tests ?
Psychometric tests can be used as part of the recruitment and selection process by employers to assess your ability in specific skills (eg, verbal, numerical and diagrammatical reasoning) or to find out about your personal qualities by using personality questionnaires.
Practicing tests can be helpful, to familiarise yourself with the types of questions as well as getting feedback on your performance.
Personality questionnaires assess different aspects of your personality, and they explore the way you react in different situations. There are no right or wrong answers, and they are not usually timed. They are used to see whether you would ‘fit in’ with the culture of the organisation and suit the role applied for. You should answer questions honestly and not try to second-guess what the employer is looking for.
When do employers use them?
Sometimes they are used in conjunction with a face-to-face interview and are often carried out at an Assessment Centre, along with other tests. They are sometimes used as a ‘first sift’ of applicants (i.e. only candidates with a certain mark proceed to the next stage). The following is a range of sites where you can practice ability/aptitude tests and personality questionnaires:
What are assessment centers
Tasks may include a range of activities including the following
- Interviews with one or more interviewers
- Individual and/or group presentations
- Group exercises such as a teambuilding task or business case study
- In-tray or e-tray exercises - Social events
- Written exercises or case studies