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Taking the Myth Out Of Psychometric
Tests
The following article explains what psychometric tests are and some
other general info about them. |
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What is a Psychometric Test?
It's an instrument attempting to find out about individual differences:
personal characteristics underlying actions, possible future behaviour,
how "good" you are at something compared with other groups of people.
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But they look like quizzes in magazines
True. Some use simple right/wrong questions. Some ask you to chose the
one out of three or four responses which best reflects your views.
Others, however, will show you shapes, numbers, pictures - even the
famous ink blots that open Frasier. For many there is no right or
wrong, just answers that reflect your individuality. Whatever you see,
the differences between a good psychometric test and a quiz is what
lies behind the test: over 100 years of theory, data gathered on other
people, complex statistical techniques and the precise way the items
are worded and drawn, or ordered. Sometimes a true psychometric test
does look like a quiz....but there's a lot going on beneath the
surface.
Practice real psychometric tests that employers use >>
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So what do they measure?
Anything going on inside you and how that affects your behaviour.
They're used on young babies to check development, in the treatment of
mental illness and in rehabilitation. In businesses, they're used to
decide on recruitment, to give career counselling, to promote people
and to build teams.
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If you're going for a job you're likely to be given one of two types of
test:
Ability Tests - Old IQ tests claimed to
give one number that expressed your intelligence. Nowadays we know that
there are lots of different sorts of intelligence. The most common
tests assess verbal, abstract, spatial and numerical intelligence but
there are many others: emotional intelligence for example. People may
be good at some, not so good at others. Jobs require different mixes of
intelligence.
Personality Tests - Personality tests
are not like horoscopes. Good ones are based on theory and many years'
research in which they are tried on millions of people to build up
profiles of the sorts of people who are successful in different jobs.
You might get tested for other things - ethics, values, integrity for
instance - but ability and personality are the most often measured
aspects of people during the recruitment process.
Practice real psychometric tests that employers use >>
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Will the test decide whether I get the job?
Not on its own, if the test is being used well. Good tests are supplied
only to people trained in their use and they know that tests should
NEVER be used on their own to make a decision. Tests are used as part
of a process, each part of which - interviews, references, work
simulations - provide different parts of the jigsaw. Tests only measure
specific aspects of people and are often used to provide objective
back-up to subjective feelings.
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When will I be tested?
Tests are used at different stages in the recruitment process.
Sometimes they're used in conjunction wih other information (i.e. CVs)
to shortlist candidates; sometimes they're used as part of a first
interview, sometimes to generate questions for a further interview. The
information they generate might be used to plan training for a
potential candidate. Increasingly, you'll find that access to the test
is given via password sites on the internet or even on web recruitment
sites. But be careful: there are some very bad tests on the internet.
Practice real psychometric tests that employers use >> |
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What should I look for?
You should take the test in a good environment where you can
concentrate on it without disruptions. The test administrator should
put you at your ease and be happy to explain anything you're not sure
of. Check that the test looks good - it's not a photocopy or a cheap
print out. Ask questions about the test; what it's for, how it's being
used in the process. Finally, all good test users are trained to give
feedback to you on how you performed once the test has been
interpreted. This should always happen because recruitment is a two way
process and you have a right to understand the decision and learn a bit
more about yourself.
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Should I be nervous?
A little bit of adrenaline helps in a lot of activities including
testing. But there's no need to be worried. Strangely, research shows
that a lot of people enjoy a well-run testing process because the
feedback gives them more information about themselves. Basically, tests
are there to help you and the employer make good decisions.
Practice real psychometric tests that employers use >> |
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This article was supplied by www.ase-solutions.co.uk,.a Human Capital
Consultancy.
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