Psychometric Tests Made Easy!

Concerned about psychometric tests?

In the UK probably about 75% of medium to large sized organizations use these tests as part of their selection procedure alongside interviews or other face-to-face techniques.

It doesn’t mean that you should be worried; any feedback you receive will help you to understand and describe your personality better now and in the future.

1. What are psychometric tests and questionnaires?

Many companies used to rely solely on interviews to assess candidates for most jobs, and quite a lot still do. However, we know that interviews can be highly subjective and don't necessarily produce the most accurate results. Consequently, many companies are complementing the interview with more objective and accurate assessment methods such as these.

The use of psychometric tests and questionnaires aims to measure your abilities and personality.

The information they collect helps to identify your strengths and areas for development on an objective basis. A lot of information can be collected in a relatively short time and is collected under standardised conditions. Its objectivity is further derived from the fact that a person’s score is compared to the range of scores obtained from a large group of people from a similar background, e.g. students, programmers, sales staff or managers who have taken the same psychometric tests.

2. Types of psychometric tests and questionnaires

First, let me make a distinction between tests which have right and wrong answers, and questionnaires which do not, but which ask about your interests and how you normally behave. There are three main types of tests or questionnaires, measuring:


Ability/Aptitude


These assess specific enduring abilities such as:


Verbal understanding and reasoning with words;
Numerical understanding and reasoning with numbers;
Diagrammatic reasoning with abstract symbols;
Spatial reasoning with shapes and forms;
Mechanical comprehension involving principles of mechanics and physics;
Checking ability, with words and numbers

Tests of Special Aptitude are also fairly common and assess your capacity for a specific job like computer programming, or for a task such as learning foreign languages. Often aptitudes are measured by a number of different, but related, tests.


Personality

These psychometric tests assess up to 32 different aspects of personality such as your temperament, feelings and relationships with others, and your attitudes and values.

Unlike tests, these do not have right or wrong answers and are known as questionnaires.

They are always in multiple-choice format, normally with three, four or five possible responses to choose from, or rank in order.

Popular ones you might come across could include 16PF, OPQ or Penna Assessor all of which can be completed on-line or on paper.


Interests


Interest questionnaires are normally only used for career counselling purposes. The questions usually relate to different types of job activities or tasks. You are asked to give your preferences, and from your answers the types of jobs you would prefer, and the direction your career might best take, can be deduced. The Strong Interest Inventory is one you may see.


3. Using the results


The psychometric tests and questionnaires:


Are always administered and interpreted by qualified staff that are trained in their use;

Are chosen because they are relevant to the specific requirements for a specific job, or a range of jobs at a specific level;

Are reliable, i.e. you would get similar results if you sat them again;

Are valid, i.e. they have been shown to predict current or future job performance;
Results are never used on their own but usually in conjunction with an interview.

The results can help the interviewer to prepare, and to focus the time on key questions which need detailed consideration. By using these methods, it is much more likely that the right person will be selected and developed for each job. You are also likely to benefit by securing a job which is more suitable for your particular abilities, interests and personality.

4. A typical psychometric tests session


You may be asked to take a number of tests. They will be administered in a comfortable environment and all necessary equipment will be provided. The time allowed for each test will vary.

Each ability test is unlikely to take less than 10 minutes and not more than 40. Personality and interest questionnaires have no set time-limit since you must respond to all of the questions, but usually take between 20 and 60 minutes.


Preparation

Being well prepared and doing practice example questions beforehand will give you a much better idea of what to expect and reduce any anxieties you might have about the testing session. Consequently, you will be more likely to perform at your best and give a truer account of your abilities. Many bookshops stock books containing practice material and it is also possible to access examples of psychometric tests practice questions through the internet.