Employers often use psychometric testing to vet potential employees and help them understand a little more about your personality and ability to fit into the role they are offering – and this type of testing is becoming increasing popular.
Tips
– Be yourself, as you don’t know exactly what qualities the interviewers are looking for. They may be looking for a variety of different personalities rather than just one profile. Personality questionnaires usually contain checks to test whether or not you are being consistent, so try to answer as honestly as you can.
– Put down the answers that immediately spring to mind, rather than spending time pondering their meaning.
– Do not worry about your answers. Your interview and CV also provide important information about you, so your tests results will not represent the be all and end all.
– As there are no right or wrong answers in personality tests, you can’t revise for them. However, to ensure you don’t suffer from last minute nerves, you can undertake some practice questionnaires ahead of your interview, which are available free-of-charge from many websites.
– Get a good night’s sleep the evening before the test and plan to arrive in good time, with a positive frame of mind.
– Inform the administrator if you are on medication that makes you drowsy.
– Read the questions carefully.
– The test may have some practice questions at the start. Make sure you understand these thoroughly before the test itself begins and, if you do not, ask the administrator to explain them.
– If you have a disability and require special provisions, you should contact the employer in advance.
– If you get stuck on a question, move on to the next one. However, do not abandon a question prematurely, if with a few extra seconds you might have solved it.
– If you change your answer, make sure your final choice is clear.
– Don’t waste time checking each answer thoroughly until you are absolutely convinced it is right.
– If you are not sure of an answer, put down your best guess and move on. However, avoid wild guessing – especially if marks are taken off for wrong answers.
– Don’t forget – Ask for feedback on your test results. Even if you are not hired, it can be useful to learn a bit more about yourself and how you come across to others.