Psychometric Tests - What You Need to Know
Psychometric testing is now used by over 80% of the Fortune 500 companies in the
Psychometric tests are devised by occupational psychologists and their aim is to provide employers with a reliable method of selecting the most suitable job applicants or candidates for promotion by measuring attributes like intelligence, aptitude and personality. They aim provide an employer with an insight into whether you will be able to cope with the intellectual demands of the job and how well you work with other people.
As a recruitment and selection tool, these tests can be applied in a straightforward way at the early stages of selection to screen-out candidates who are unlikely to be suitable for the job. They can also provide management with guidance on career progression for existing employees.
The term 'Psychometric Testing' itself can be confusing as it is commonly used to cover two distinct and very different types of test.
Aptitude Testing
Aptitude and ability tests are designed to assess your logical reasoning or thinking performance. They consist of multiple choice questions and are administered under exam conditions. They are strictly timed and a typical test might allow 30 minutes for 30 or so questions. Your test result will be compared to that of a control group so that judgments can be made about your abilities.
If you are facing an aptitude test as part of the job selection process then it is a good idea to familiarise yourself with the types of questions that they contain. You should also try to work through as many practice questions as possible, both to improve your technique and to boost your confidence. The selection process is always going to be stressful, because of the factors which are not under your direct control, for example the personality of the interviewer. However, becoming familiar with the aptitude tests component of the selection process is straightforward - just download the relevant practice questions below and work through those types you expect to encounter.
There are literally thousands of aptitude tests which employers can use in the selection process and new tests are continually being developed and added to the already huge number of tests available. The companies that sell aptitude tests need to differentiate their own tests from those of their competitors and this has produced a bewildering range of test names and acronyms. However, all of the test questions you are likely to come across during the selection process can be classified into the seven types listed below.
Verbal Reasoning Tests - These questions appear in most job selection tests because employers usually want to know how well you can communicate. The test may include questions on spelling and word meanings as well as those that require you to understand analogies and follow detailed written instructions.
Download Verbal Reasoning Spelling Practice Questions.
Download Verbal Reasoning Word Meaning Practice Questions.
Download Verbal Reasoning Word Relationship Practice Questions.
Download Verbal Reasoning Comprehension Practice Questions.
Download Verbal Critical Reasoning Practice Questions.
Numerical Reasoning Tests - These questions appear in most general aptitude tests because employers usually want some indication of your ability to use numbers even if this is not a major part of the job. The test may include basic arithmetic, number sequences and simple mathematics. In management level tests you will often be presented with charts and graphs that need to be interpreted.
Download Numerical Reasoning Computation Practice Questions.
Download Numerical Reasoning Estimation Practice Questions.
Download Numerical Reasoning Data Interpretation Practice Questions.
Download Numerical Critical Reasoning Practice Questions.
Abstract Reasoning Tests - This is believed to be the best indicator of fluid intelligence and your ability to learn new things quickly. These questions appear in most general aptitude tests.
Download Abstract Reasoning Practice Questions.
Download Diagrammatic Reasoning Practice Questions.
Spatial Aptitude Tests - These questions not usually found in general aptitude tests unless the job specifically requires good spatial skills. These tests measure your ability to mentally manipulate shapes.
Download Spatial Ability Practice Questions.
Mechanical Reasoning Tests - These questions are used to select for a wide range of jobs including the military and emergency services, as well as many craft, technical and engineering occupations.
Download Mechanical Reasoning Practice Questions.
Download Fault Analysis Practice Questions.
Data Checking Tests - Measure how quickly and accurately errors can be detected in data and are used to select candidates for clerical and data input jobs.
Download Data Checking Practice Questions.
Download Concentration Practice Questions.
Work Sample Tests - Involves a sample of the work that you will be expected do. These types of test can be very broad ranging. They may involve exercises using a word processor or spreadsheet if the job is administrative or they may include giving a presentation or in-tray exercises if the job is management or supervisory level.
Personality Profiling
In 2007, personality testing is $450 million industry which has been expanding by about 10% per year. There are over two thousand personality questionnaires on the market and each year dozens of new companies try to break into this lucrative market. Some of these products are broad-spectrum tests designed to classify basic personality types whilst some are designed to test candidates for suitability for a particular occupation.
There is a historical association with academic and occupational psychology which gives the personality testing industry a degree of credibility that it does not always deserve. Many of the well established companies who provide personality tests do operate to the highest ethical and professional standards. However, it is inevitable that such a growth industry with low barriers to entry and little official regulation has attracted entrants with varying degrees of competence and integrity.
This situation is made more difficult since most of the companies that produce personality tests are very secretive about their methodologies and refuse to make public crucial information about how their tests were developed or how well they work, claiming that this information is 'proprietary'. For some personality tests, ''almost no evidence at all is available beyond assurances that evidence exists," reported a task force appointed by the American Psychological Association. The usefulness and accuracy of even the most well established tests, (for example, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) - first published in 1962 and the subject of thousands of research papers), remains highly controversial among academic psychologists.
If you would like to know more about personality tests, how they work and how to approach them - then see personality tests at www.psychometric-success.com