Psychometric tests are very important in any company and its recruitment process. This is a way for employers to test and assess potential employees and their personality, intelligence and skills. The results from these tests help recruiters to determine whether or not you’re an apt match for the company’s level of work and dedication.
These tests are specifically structured in a way so as to measure and evaluate a person’s capacity to process and handle information, how he/she will work with others and also cope with curveballs and the stress of the job in question. Most of the psychometric tests are usually taken online. However, every now and then an employer does use a paper test.
History of Psychometric tests:
If you think that psychometric tests are a recent invention then you’re wrong. These tests are being used since a very long time, since the beginning of the 20th century. Earlier they were used for the purpose of educational psychology, but 1905 was the first time that Alfred Binet got ‘intelligence test’ in the picture.
Since then, these tests have evolved greatly and have become very common as a means to make selection and choose the best candidate for work. This is very important for large organisations that are competitive. This way they can pick out candidates in a better, sorted way than going through everyone’s educational background.
Where and why are psychometric tests put to use?
Most recruiters like to use psychometric tests for the following reasons:
- These tests are impersonal and objective. They allow for easy comparison between candidates. There is no bias per se and everyone is selected on the basis of their performance on the test.
- These tests allow the recruitment process to be more simple and efficient by reducing a huge amount of Human resource cost.
- Not just that, Psychometric tests are very reliable tests and indicate very clearly how the future job performance of a potential employee will be like.
- This test can come at any point during the recruitment process. Usually it happens at either of the following stages: Once you submit your application form, before the interview as an add-on or immediately after the interview is done.
What exactly do these tests measure?
The word psychometric comes from a Greek term which means measurement and mental. The main areas explored by the tests are: aptitude for the job, capability, whether or not your personality is suitable for the job in question. Most importantly these tests look out to evaluate how you can handle pressure what your working style is like. Your personality must also be in line with the vision of the organization so that they can achieve their goals with ease.
Different types of psychometric tests:
For most cases, there are three psychometric tests, namely aptitude tests, personality tests and skills tests. Let’s see each of them:
1. Aptitude tests: The main focus of these tests is to assess a general or a specific set of skills. However, this really depends on the type of employee an organization is looking for. A few of the categories are as follows.
- Verbal reasoning test: This is a test that helps in determining the ability of an individual to make an informed decision on the basis of a given set of detailed information.
- Numerical reasoning test: This test is used to see how a particular person can interpret a given set of data using a combination of both statistic and written information given via charts, reports and graphs. This is also used to assess a person’s mathematical understanding and ability.
- Diagrammatic reasoning test: This kind of test tries to assess a person’s capacity of using logic using the help of diagrams and flowcharts.
- Inductive reasoning test: This type of test requires the person to identify patterns or trends using a given set of diagrammatic information.
The kind of test you take is determined by the job sector you will enter. For example, logical reasoning assessments and inductive assessments are usually used to understand the potential of candidates who apply for jobs in the IT and Science sector. These places are need advanced technical skills which can be measured through these tests. In these tests, a multiple choice question is given to the candidates and they have to complete it within a given period of time.
Inductive testing usually results in the identification of strategies and new solutions that can solve important issues that a company faces. This is why these types of tests work best for companies that specialise in innovation and technology.
2. Personality tests: These tests enable employers to understand how suitable you are for the job in question based on the way you approach work and your behaviour. Now here is the place where it gets tricky because all companies have different ways of approaching a given work structure so you can’t plan out the answers beforehand. This will show how well you can adjust and fit into the company. The responses you give will be cross checked with a top employer or manager of the company. This will give an indication to the company whether or not you have the same characteristics.
Nowadays employers take their psychometric tests very seriously. Taking a candidate on the basis of the educational achievements has often proven to be a waste of training and resources on manpower. This is why these tests are so important because they not only measure your aptitude but also how you work in a team and your decision making ability.
