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Everything a job aspirant must know about Psychometric tests
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Psychometry is the ability to define the personality of an individual and the manner in which they respond to certain situations. Curated from the Greek words for measure and mental, the term psychometric has been used since the 20th century. Originally used for educational psychology only, it wasn’t until 1904 when the first intelligence test was created.
In a time when employees switch their jobs frequently, it is necessary for employers to judge the emotional quotient of a potential employee. So, since then, psychometric tests have been widely used by companies. They judge the caliber of the potential candidate with respect to the requirements of the job role.
A Psychometric test give a brief idea about the behavioral style and the mental capabilities of an individual. Often conducted during the initial stages of the recruitment process, psychometric test help in shortlisting candidates for further rounds of selection. The ones which do not suit the role are eliminated. This fine tunes the selection process and helps the employer test the cognitive abilities of the prospective employee.
Psychometric test can be categorized under different categories. These depend on the requirement of the recruiter. The headings are:
Depending on the job you’ve applied for, these test general or specific skill sets. For instance, logical reasoning and inductive assessments evaluate the skills of job applicants in the field of IT, science and other technical fields. Aptitude tests are further classified into the following:
Another way of assessing candidates, skill tests judge candidates for their capability of acquiring new skills quickly. These help the employer in testing how competent the potential employee is. Skill tests also depend on the job type you’ve applied for. For instance, such tests might require you to design a web page, in case you’ve applied for the post of a designer or define a financial modeling task, if you’ve applied for a position in finance.
Both skill and capability tests are conducted on paper which assesses the potential of the candidate via multiple choice questions. The tests are held during examination hours. With the boon of the internet nowadays, many such tests are now conducted online.
These are tests built to test your behavior and your approach towards work. These determine how much a particular candidate fits into the organization. Recruiters often cross-reference the answers of candidates with those of top employees to check for the similarity in traits.
Apart from the technicality required for a particular job role, recruiters look for factors such as teamwork and decision making which often govern an individual’s personality. More often than not, these tests are conducted without a time limit and are required to be filled honestly. They, thus, conduct personality tests to get a hint of whether or not you are the missing piece of the jigsaw they have been looking for.
A psychometric test can act as a make or break for you. Depending on the role on offer and the recruiter organisation, the weightage of a psychometric test may vary. You'd want to prepare yourself to be calm while you wait for things to unfurl!
In a time when employees switch their jobs frequently, it is necessary for employers to judge the emotional quotient of a potential employee. So, since then, psychometric tests have been widely used by companies. They judge the caliber of the potential candidate with respect to the requirements of the job role.
A Psychometric test give a brief idea about the behavioral style and the mental capabilities of an individual. Often conducted during the initial stages of the recruitment process, psychometric test help in shortlisting candidates for further rounds of selection. The ones which do not suit the role are eliminated. This fine tunes the selection process and helps the employer test the cognitive abilities of the prospective employee.
Psychometric test can be categorized under different categories. These depend on the requirement of the recruiter. The headings are:
- Aptitude tests
- Skill tests
- Personality tests
Aptitude Tests:
Depending on the job you’ve applied for, these test general or specific skill sets. For instance, logical reasoning and inductive assessments evaluate the skills of job applicants in the field of IT, science and other technical fields. Aptitude tests are further classified into the following:
- Numerical reasoning test: This tests your skill of data interpretation. Often tested with the help of statistical or written information found in reports, charts or graphs, these also help in checking the basic mathematical ability.
- Verbal reasoning test: Verbal reasoning determines your potential to interpret comprehensive written information and make conscious decisions.
- Inductive reasoning test: This particular test requires the candidate to identify patterns or trends with the help of diagrammatic information.
- Diagrammatic reasoning test: Meant to assess your skills of logical reasoning, this test comprises of diagrams and flowcharts.
- Logical reasoning test: Also known as deductive reasoning tests, these aim at evaluating your skills of reaching conclusions. The candidate is often provided with bits of information. He then has to make a decision with the given data.
- Error checking test: These test your ability to find mistakes in complex sets of data which include codes, or mixtures of alphanumeric characters.
Skill Tests:
Another way of assessing candidates, skill tests judge candidates for their capability of acquiring new skills quickly. These help the employer in testing how competent the potential employee is. Skill tests also depend on the job type you’ve applied for. For instance, such tests might require you to design a web page, in case you’ve applied for the post of a designer or define a financial modeling task, if you’ve applied for a position in finance.
Both skill and capability tests are conducted on paper which assesses the potential of the candidate via multiple choice questions. The tests are held during examination hours. With the boon of the internet nowadays, many such tests are now conducted online.
Personality Tests:
These are tests built to test your behavior and your approach towards work. These determine how much a particular candidate fits into the organization. Recruiters often cross-reference the answers of candidates with those of top employees to check for the similarity in traits.
Apart from the technicality required for a particular job role, recruiters look for factors such as teamwork and decision making which often govern an individual’s personality. More often than not, these tests are conducted without a time limit and are required to be filled honestly. They, thus, conduct personality tests to get a hint of whether or not you are the missing piece of the jigsaw they have been looking for.
A psychometric test can act as a make or break for you. Depending on the role on offer and the recruiter organisation, the weightage of a psychometric test may vary. You'd want to prepare yourself to be calm while you wait for things to unfurl!
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