A true test of Character: Psychometric Testing

Tests of any sort usually strike apprehension and trepidation into individuals. Include the term 'psychology' and even worse reactions are provoked.

People regress to experiencing the same sentiments and concerns that they had during their Leaving Certificate or other examinations. (Many people whom I have spoken to recently on the subject, still have recurring dreams and nightmares about their leaving certificate years later!)

However, psychological or psychometric tests are not something to feel threatened by. Used correctly they will help to ensure that you are recruited to a job that you are suited to and that will allow you to utilise your innate talents and abilities.

Psychometric assessment covers both ability and personality assessment that may form part of a selection process.

To be of maximum effectiveness assessment should always be used in conjunction with some other element such as a structured interview. From an organisations perspective it makes perfect sense to use psychometric tests as their use increases the reliability of hiring the best person for the job. An unstructured interview has 10% reliability, whilst psychometric tests have 40% reliability. Organisations use psychometrics as they generally provide accurate assessments of human capabilities and behaviour. According to Sinead Brady, Human Resource Manager PepsiCo Ireland, 'Assessments highlight points that should be discussed at interview with the candidate as well as confirming information given at interview'.

However, despite the statistical affirmations for the organisation that is recruiting, this does not do much to dispel the concerns of the individual who is being asked to complete the assessments.

Personality Assessments
Let us look firstly at the area of personality assessments.How do they work? The company will have a personality profile of the type of person that they wish to hire. They will have based this profile on a large number of high performing employees within their organisation. From the way that you have completed the questionnaire, they are looking to see how closely your profile matches the profile that they have. It is best practice that you will be given the opportunity to discuss the feedback of your results with a trained psychologist. This ensures that you are comfortable with the results of the personality assessment and that there is nothing contained in the report that you would not be able to recognise in yourself. Sessions such as this should be viewed as a learning curve and can provide the opportunity to develop greater self-insight. The most commonly used personality questionnaires include the 16PF and the OPQ. Another widely known questionnaire is the MBTI (Myers Briggs Type Indicator) although this is used predominantly as a development tool by organisations.

A common reaction when presented with a personality questionnaire is What should I do? How should I answer it? The simple answer is to answer the questionnaire as naturally as possible. There is little or no benefit in faking or making 'socially desirable' responses. Indeed many of the questionnaires have built-in scales to assess the level of distortion that exists, when individuals try to make a good impression or when people may answer in an acquiescent manner, i.e. answering 'yes' to all the questions. By attempting to fake a questionnaire neither you nor the organisation will receive any benefit.

Ability tests
Ability tests take many formats but the most commonly used forms are the numerical and verbal. Depending on the role, some form of spatial or diagrammatic reasoning may also be used. When approaching any ability tests it is crucial to come prepared. Obviously rushing in to the event at the last minute will not help. Be aware of the time limit that is on the test, how many test items (questions) there are and also if there is a form of negative marking. Work steadily and methodically through the questions. Only a small percentage of individuals will actually complete all the questions and get them all correct in the time allocated. However, getting 70% of the questions right will not necessarily get you a score of 70%, it is more complex than that. The scores are based on population norms. For example, if you are a graduate engineer then scores of hundreds of graduate engineers will be assessed. From this the score of the top10% high performing engineers will be taken. It may be that to be in the top 10% you need to have 95% accuracy in the test. Each company will then develop their own level that they will recruit from.

There is an ongoing debate as to whether practice can make a difference when taking the tests. It is generally accepted that whilst it won't make a huge difference in the percentage scores over all, it will obviously make a big difference to the confidence and comfort level that an individual has when approaching the task.

On completion of any of the tests you should seek feedback and use this as a positive learning experience for the future. Psychometric tests are not something to be afraid of, nor have they been created to 'catch some one out'. 'Psychometrics is another way of ensuring that the recruitment process is fair and equitable for all concerned', says Brady. Psychometrics are a valuable tool for both parties to ensure that you are recruited to a job suiting your skills and abilities and to an organisation where you will thrive.