Psychometric Assessments
Psychometric assessments may form one stage of the recruitment process. They help employers gather objective information about an applicant in order to decide if they are the most suitable person for the job. The results are generally used in conjunction with other information such as your resume, interview responses, and referee comments.
They are used across many industries and are commonly part of the selection process for graduate programs
The most commonly used psychometric tools would be:
Aptitude tests
Aptitude tests are used to ensure a minimum level of ability in using numerical and written information. You may encounter them at the first stage of a graduate recruitment campaign where they can be used to reduce the size of the applicant pool by eliminating scores below a certain level. Tests may inlcude:
- Verbal reasoning (critical evaluation of written information)
- Numerical Reasoning (analysis of numerical data)
- Abstract Reasoning (often use of diagram sequences)
Personality Questionnaires
- Occupational Personality/Motivational/Values based questionnaires.
These are used to get an idea of your fit with the role, team or organisation, or may be used to flesh out questions for a final round interview.
For example, an employer wanting someone for a role requiring consistent attention to repetitive detail will probably not want to give that job to someone who is very creative and gets bored easily.
Assessment preparation
While no specific preparation is possible, becoming familiar with what to expect will also lower anxiety around the process.
Practice tests are avaiable:
- www.shldirect.com
- www.onetest.com.au
- www.acer.edu.au/gsa-hr/sample.html
- Books and folders available in the Careers Resource Centre (and also on Reserve - ask at the Enquiries Desk)
Other strategies include:
- Read the newspapers and complete crosswords to 'exercise' your mind
- Brush up on basic mathematical calculations such as calculating percentages
- Get a good night's sleep and don't skip breakfast!
On the day, make sure you listen to the test instructions carefully, know whether there are time constraints and clarify any concerns by asking questions.
And remember - for timed tests, it is unlikely that you will finish. The best strategy is to find a balance between speed and accuracy. There is no point finishing the test if you get them all wrong!
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