JOIN USAptitude and ability
Psychometric tests attempt to objectively measure one’s mental ability, aptitude and personality traits. It the favoured testing ground for some companies while recruiting new employees. A significant number of employers use psychometric tests not only for the recruitment process, but also to guide their current employees on how to enhance their career prospects.
What is psychometric testing?
The test helps identify specific traits that an employer is looking for in a candidate. The three categories of the psychometric test will help determine skills like IQ, EQ, behavioural patterns etc. The three categories are:
*Ability testing
*Aptitude testing
*Personality testing
Ability testing helps to understand a person’s potential in learning a new skill. It also offers an idea of how he/she can cope with the pressures of a specific job. Aptitude testing focuses on a specific task and the candidate’s ability to perform in that role. Personality testing helps evaluate the candidate’s behavioural skills (interactive skills, communication skills, etc). This is considered a very important component of psychometric testing as it helps the organisation choose from the best. Companies which help conduct psychometric tests usually deploy their own methods of testing. The tests contain multiple sets of questions. The questions relate to:
*Personality type
*Strengths and weaknesses
* Handling of different aspects of work
* Goals for the future
Psychometric test samples related to sales roles, contact centre roles, leadership, management and executive roles, and service roles are available at www.selfmgmt.com/sample_reports.asp
How to prepare
Candidates can enhance their chances at a job interview by attempting a couple of mock tests well ahead of the interview. These ‘rehearsals’ help improve your test scores significantly. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, at http://en.wikipe
dia.org/wiki/List_of_psychometric_software, offers details about a few free tools developed by researchers and educators. The webpage provides weblinks for free psychometric software. Some of the listed links include:
*The University of Iowa, USA test link
*The University of Massachusetts, USA
More test sources are available at www.psychometrics.co.
uk/, www.careerpsychologycentre.com/, and www.mindtools.
com/page12.html. Thomas International, an online psychometric assessment website, offers mock tests and samples at www.thomasinternational.net/Home/FreeOnlinePsychometricTest/tabid/3982/Default.asp. These self-assessment tests are easy to do and give you constructive feedback.
While taking these tests, remember that you must be truthful for the results to be accurate.
Are the tests accurate?
Like any other measuring instrument, psychometric tests are not 100 per cent error-free. They are certainly not perfect, but so are the interviews, screening of application forms, and others, argue recruiters who deploy psychometric tests. They are designed, structured and administered to ensure an almost error-free result.
The tests provide additional relevant information over and above what is revealed through traditional assessment methods.