What are psychometric tests?
The lowdown on psychometric testing
The 'psycho-' part of 'psychometric' may have some unfortunate connotations but don’t worry: it has nothing to do with homicidal maniacs. It just means that it’s connected to psychology or how your brain works. The '-metric' bit means that the test gives a measurement. So a psychometric test measures some aspect of your brain. There are two main kinds of psychometric test. Skills tests measure how well you do something, and can be split into ability and aptitude tests. Personality tests measure less quantifiable characteristics – they reveal your motivation, attitude and work-style. Psychometric tests are put together very carefully by experts to make sure that each one accurately measures what it should. They are backed up by evidence and data that shows how well they work, so don't worry about the tests being unfair. Most tests involve multiple-choice answers and provide a numerical score. A higher score is not always ‘better’ – tests often measure multiple skills. In skills tests, the results compare your ability levels to those of other people; in personality tests they reveal how much of a certain characteristic you possess. These can be compared to the standards desired by the company. You're not competing directly against the other applicants in such tests, so there's no point stealing their pencils.
Ability tests
Ability tests measure either general or particular types of intelligence. These include numerical, verbal and logical reasoning, problem-solving skills, and the ability to identify mistakes accurately. Ability tests are often confused with aptitude tests, which is hardly surprising since they’re quite similar and many tests measure both. Ability tests measure general skills, which you’re likely to already possess.
Aptitude tests
Aptitude tests are more specific. They assess your ability to use specific job-related skills, and predict future performance. They examine your potential to learn to do a new task rather than testing the silky skills you already have. With the continual development of new technologies, the ability to adapt to change is increasingly important to employers. Those who can apply their experience and develop new skills quickly are very valuable and highly sought-after.
Personality tests
Personality tests show your personality, strangely enough. They assess your typical behaviour and preferred way of going about things. Employers may look for people with certain characteristics for particular jobs. For a sales role, for example, they may want someone who is very sociable, organised and creative. A personality test enables employers to see whether you match their ideal profile. Psychometric tests may seem scary, but they’re not. They’re not like A levels and GCSEs, where you need to show off what you’ve learned. Instead they ask you to use your natural abilities. It’s a way of showing you have the skills needed to do the job. You’ll perform better if you’re not nervous. To become familiar with the test situation and to find out just how the tests are made up, do some practice tests.
This article has been viewed 4234 times.
Rating: 3 / 5 (8 votes cast for this article)
Rate this article:
Related articles