Psychometric Testing, what’s it all about?

For some people the thought of having to complete a psychometric test fills them with dread. Whether you’re securing a job in engineering, science, quality or languages, it’s often part of the recruitment process. What some people may not be aware of is that unlike most examinations, psychometric testing does not require right answers; however, they do require your honesty….

These tests are designed to measure your suitability for a role based on the required personality characteristics and aptitude of your employer. They identify the extent to which your personality and cognitive abilities match those required to perform the role. Employers use the information collected from the psychometric test to identify the hidden aspects of candidates that are difficult to extract from a face-to-face interview. This is not always a bad thing!

Most common types of Psychometric tests for engineering roles are:

Aptitude Tests

Aptitude tests are tests that are designed to assess general abilities and intelligence. These assessments are usually presented as online tests sent to you by email these tests are generally time limited with multiple choice type answers.

Technical Tests

In addition to the aptitude tests mentioned above, many employers also use examinations that specifically test prior technical knowledge and Technical knowhow. These tests are often referred to as ability tests. They can also be presented in pen and paper form during assessment centres.

Personality and Situational Judgment Tests

These tests differ from the aptitude and technical tests discussed above in that they are not designed to assess either knowledge based skills or general abilities. Rather, employers use these tests to find out more about personal attributes and characteristics. Situational Judgment Tests that present you with a number of work based scenarios involving a conflict or dilemma that needs to be solved.
5 Top tips for completing Psychometric tests

1.      The questionnaire is about how you see yourself now, so think in the present.
2.      Don’t over think or read too much into questions – what they might be trying to ask or where they are leading.
3.      Don’t sit on the fence. When taking a personality questionnaire don’t tick the “don’t know” option more than five times, it makes you look indecisive and turns your profile          into a Miss Average or Mr Mediocre.
4.      Don’t try to outsmart the test. The questionnaires are structured to measure different things and will often ask the same thing several times but in different ways.
5.      Most personality questionnaires will ask you to consider how you typically behave in a work/public setting so don’t consider home or private situations.

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