You may hear people say that it is not possible to
prepare for
Psychometric tests.
This is simply untrue. Everyone, if they practice,
can improve their test scores. The biggest gains are achieved
quite quickly and result from becoming familiar with the types of
question and from getting ‘into the groove’ of answering them.
Research suggests that the amount of improvement you can expect
will depend on three areas.
Your Educational Background - The
longer that you have been out of the educational system and the
less formal your educational background, the more likely you are
to benefit from practice. Both of these factors suggest that
familiarity with any type of examination process, both formal
and timed, will give you an advantage.
Your Personal Interests - Most
people who have been out of education for more than a few years
will have forgotten how to multiply fractions and calculate
volumes. While it is easy to dismiss these as 'first grade' or
elementary maths, most people simply don't do these things on a
day-to-day basis unless their job or a hobby demands it.
Practice will refresh these dormant skills.
The Quality of the Practice
Material - If you are unfamiliar with the types of test
questions then you will waste valuable time trying to determine
what exactly the questions are asking you to do. This
unfamiliarity also causes you to worry about whether you have
understood the question correctly and this also wastes mental
energy, which you could otherwise spend on getting the correct
answer. By increasing your familiarity with the style and types
of questions you will improve your scores.
The first of these factors is beyond your control, the second
may be worth addressing in the longer term if you feel that
increasing you facility with maths would benefit your career.
However, it is not going to make much difference to your
psychometric test results in the short term. This leaves you with
the ‘quality of the practice material’ as the best way to improve
your score.
Firstly, the material itself needs to match as closely as possible
the tests that you expect to take. The questions in this book are
based on the question types used by the most popular test
providers in the industry and are updated regularly to reflect the
latest trends.
Secondly, you should practice the material in the most realistic
way possible. Find somewhere where you will not be disturbed and
go through each paper without interruption and try to stick to the
time limit. Do not have anything with you that are not allowed on
the day of the test and switch off your mobile phone.
The tests are generally about twenty minutes long. If you don’t
have an uninterrupted twenty minutes for a practice paper, then
try to complete the first half of the questions in ten minutes and
treat the second half as another ten minute paper. Concentrate one
hundred percent for the duration of the test as this keeps the
practice as realistic as possible.
Some organizations apply
psychometric testing in ways that are
directly relevant to the job. For example, you may only have to
take a
numerical reasoning test if the job you're applying for
requires good numerical skills. However, many organizations use a
battery of tests as a matter of routine irrespective of the
particular demands of the job.
The job selection process usually involves an initial screening of
candidates resumes against the job specification. Most candidates
will be discarded at this point because either their
qualifications or experience are judged to be insufficient. The
remaining candidates will then be sent a letter inviting them for
an initial interview and telling them when and where the testing
will take place and what form it will take.
You will usually receive a few sample test questions, so that you
have an idea of the type of questions used in the test. It is very
unlikely that you will be given enough questions to use for any
worthwhile practice. It is only to make sure that nobody is going
to be upset or surprised when they see the test paper.
When you receive this letter, if you have any special requirements
you must notify the test center immediately. This would include
disabled access and any eyesight or hearing disability you may
have. Large text versions of the test should be available for
anyone who is visually impaired and provision for written
instructions should be made for anyone with a hearing disability.
You will usually be told the date, time and place of the test. The
format, duration and whether there are any breaks scheduled. The
types of test you will be given, any materials that will be
supplied and whether the test is paper based or uses a PC or
palm-top computer.
In addition, if you are asked to sit a
psychometric test as part
of the recruitment process, you should:
Be briefed about the purpose of
the test before taking it
Have the results of the test
provided to you in a private feedback session
Be informed of organizational
policy about distribution and storage of the results
It is perfectly normal to feel some stress and nervousness when
you are told that you need to take psychometric tests as part of
the selection process. This can be a particular problem if you
haven’t taken this type of test before. Most of the nervousness is
simply a fear of the unknown and a feeling that you will ‘let
yourself down’ and that the test will not be a fair reflection of
your strengths and abilities.
You must act to tackle this stress or its effects will become more
severe as the test approaches. You may experience physical
symptoms such as a lack of ability to get to sleep and
psychological symptoms such as loss of concentration and mild
depression.
The job selection process will always involve an element of
stressfulness, which is mostly due to confronting a situation over
which you do not have total control. For example, you cannot
predict or influence the personality or behavior of the
interviewer or know in advance which questions you will be asked.
However you can, and probably have already, prepared for the most
likely questions. You can also make educated guesses as to which
areas of your resume the interviewer will concentrate on.
With regard to the psychometric test component of the selection
process, your preparation can and should be far more
straightforward. You can influence your scores in these tests
significantly by
understanding the question types and
practicing
them. Not only will this improve your test scores and increase the
chance of you getting to the next stage of the selection process,
but by taking positive action to
prepare for psychometric tests
you will tackle the cause of the stress directly.
Go to pass psychometric tests
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