What to expect from a Psychometric Test
Psychometric testing becoming more and more popular amongst employers as part of the recruitment process. The aim is to understand your personality and objectively measure your mental ability or see which areas you may need to upskill in. They allow an insight into how you will work with others, how you cope with the demands of the job and how you handle stress.
Most of these tests involve multiple-choice questions. While the results are often given as a number, a higher score is not necessarily better as the tests are usually measuring more than one skillset. The tests fall into two main categories, personality questionnaires and aptitude tests, which measure your reasoning and intellect.
Personality Tests
A personality test is used to better understand your interaction style, personality traits and how you would behave in different situations. They look to identify aspects of your personality that will become relevant to the job you’re applying to.
Aptitude Test
An aptitude test is a type of testing done to measure how you would react to different situations and your ability to perform certain tasks. They aim to understand how you would respond to challenges you would face in the day-to-day role you are applying for.
How should I prepare?
Ask the employer what kind of test you will be doing so you can find practice questions. You don’t need to do preparation for a personality test. For the aptitude test it is a good idea to practice by finding online tests ahead of your assessment. If you are familiar with the layout of the test and the timing, it will help you be more relaxed and confident in the real thing. You can find free practice tests here:
- https://www.cut-e.com/online-assessment/free-assessments
- https://www.publicjobs.ie/publicjobs/advice/test/sample.htm
Once in the test, pay close attention to all the instructions you are given and ask questions if you need clarification.
Requesting Reasonable Accommodations
Make sure you make employers aware of accommodations or support you may require for the test. Most of these tests require a lot of reading and writing, so be mindful of that when asking for accommodations. Some common accommodations for this type of interviewing would be extra time, or the use of a computer to type answers if it’s a written test.
