TESTING – WHAT AND WHY?

When are psychometric tests used?

Psychometric tests may be used on their own, before or at the end of an interview, or at an assessment centre. They are simply a method used in addition to interviews, CVs and other assessment exercises, to gain additional supporting evidence that you have the required skills and abilities for the job in question. They attempt to measure whether or not you have the specific skills or the appropriate personal qualities required for that job.

A test is a way of assessing human behaviour, or certain aspects of it. It is likely that you will face testing at some stage of your career, so it is useful to be aware of testing.

What is a psychometric test?

The term psychometric test is commonly being used nowadays to refer to all types of testing. The British Psychological Society (BPS) has the following definition:

‘Instruments designed to produce a quantitative assessment of some psychological attribute or attributes.’

‘A psychological test is any procedure on the basis of which inferences are made concerning a person’s capacity, propensity or liability to act, react, experience, or to structure or order thought or behaviour in particular ways.’

You will often find them called other names, such as:

• occupational tests
• psychological tests
• personality tests.

What are the rules about their usage – what rights do you have?

A great deal of research goes into such tests, to ensure that they are measuring what they set out to measure and to make certain that they are fair to those who sit them. The Chartered Institute of Personnel (CIPD) gives the following advice:

‘Test administrators should ensure that individuals receive:

• Advance notice that they will be required to take tests.
• Notice of the duration of tests and whether this is significant in interpreting results.
• Adequate time to allow them to make any practical arrangements to allow them to take the tests.
• Access to an appropriate environment free from interference in which to take tests.
• Adequate information about the requirements of each test they are required to complete, and the opportunity to question any arrangements before taking the tests.
• Information on the arrangements for feedback.’

Although this is only advice, it is good advice. If you feel you have been tested in a way that is inappropriate or unprofessional, however, as a candidate you are unlikely to improve your chances of getting the job if you complain!

Types of test

There are two main types of test:

• 1.Tests to assess how well you perform – tests we shall call aptitude tests in this chapter, although they can cover far more.
• 2.Tests to assess why you perform or behave in the way you do. These are tests we shall call personality tests in this chapter, although again they can include far more sorts of tests than just personality.

Why test?

So why do employers use tests? You might be forgiven for thinking that, after three interviews, anyone should be able to make their minds up without any extra tricks! But remember, interviews aren’t actually very objective. People do base judgements on first impressions, or personal likes and dislikes (subjectivity). Any interviewer, especially one who is inexperienced, may have a tendency without even realising it to recruit based on a first impression, or on finding that they are interviewing someone whom they personally like. Interviewers may also suffer from ‘stereotyping’.

An objective test such as a psychometric test will not make any allowances for these personal preferences to enter the decision-making process. Psychometric tests are objective, and their scoring is the same for everyone. Some researchers believe that tests are more than twice as effective as interviews in selecting the right applicant for a job.

Tests that are administered competently are good selection methods, but no selection method is perfect. These tests are designed so that every person who takes the test has exactly the same questions and an identical amount of time in which to answer them. The score each person gets is then converted, by comparing it to a representative sample of people who have taken the test. This will inform the tester whether you have scored below average, average, or above average, and by how much.

UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY ARE LOOKING FOR

Testing is carried out to compare you with the ‘ideal employee’. The idea is that the employer has an idea of what competencies or abilities/qualities would enable someone to do well at the job. The test is to determine whether or not you have those competencies. This is important. It means that the employer is testing you compared with an ‘ideal employee’, not compared to perfect scores. Scoring as high as possible may not be what they are looking for.

For example, if an employer tested for analytical skills and flexibility, scoring very highly in both isn’t necessarily the best idea. Their ideal employee might be someone who follows rules and processes and never deviates from them, so they could be looking for a high score in analytical skills and low flexibility. On the other hand, they might be looking for someone who is flexible and able to make quick decisions without detailed research, so they are looking for high flexibility but low analytical skills. Get the idea?

APTITUDE TESTS

What are aptitude tests?

As we said earlier, aptitude tests are tests to assess how well you perform. They are tests of:

• ability
• aptitude
• intelligence
• performance
• problem-solving
• skill
• specific skills, such as how to programme a computer
• verbal or numerical reasoning.

What do they measure?

These are tests that measure your individual performance as compared with a given standard, such as a representative population average or ‘norm’. The test results are then used, together with other information gleaned, to make a selection decision. It is worth bearing in mind that as aptitude testing is only part of the recruitment process, poor test performance may not necessarily mean you are not successful!

How do they work?

These tests generally require correct answers to questions. They are timed and administered under strict examination conditions and it is normal that the test is set so that you are unlikely to finish all the tasks within the given time limit. In many tests you may find that as you go through the test, the questions or tasks become more difficult so they take longer. Don’t worry if you can’t finish the test – this will be taken into account, as the test group you will be assessed against will have faced exactly the same tasks as you in the same time.

Ways of improving test scores

Here are some ways in which you could try to enhance your chances of doing well in tests. But please remember that tests are designed so that problems have to be solved from scratch, or so there is no right or wrong answer.

• Brush up on maths, such as fractions, percentages, averages, charts and tables. There are relatively common tests for numerical reasoning.
• Practise tests. This may not help you with the answers, but it could help you become familiar with the time pressure of a timed test, and test conditions. Remember that many tests are designed to be more than is achievable in the time allowed, so don’t panic about having to finish the whole test.
• Try puzzle books such as logic puzzles if you might face a reasoning ability test.
• Search the Internet – there are a wealth of tests available online, some more reliable than others.

PERSONALITY TESTS

What are personality tests?

How successful you are likely to be in a job doesn’t just depend on whether or not you can do it. It also depends on your personal qualities. Personality tests are tests to assess why you perform in that way. They are tests of:

• personality
• values
• interests
• motivation.

These tests are designed to give an insight into your preferred outlook, way of thinking and behavioural style. As such there are no hard and fast ‘right answers’, so these tests tend to actually be questionnaires and inventories rather than ‘tests’. Often they are called inventories or questionnaires, but for ease of reference we will use the word test in this chapter.

What exactly do they measure?

Personality tests explore the way in which you do things, including why, and how you behave in certain circumstances. They explore your preferences and attitudes. They are designed to predict how those factors will affect the way you work. The tests are aimed at finding out about you as an individual, your style of working and the way you deal with situations, to predict how you might behave in the job. They are almost always paper and pencil exercises (although they are sometimes computer-based) and frequently have no set time limit. They are not tests as such, but carefully designed questionnaires that ask you to be honest about the way you would behave in particular circumstances.

What do the results mean?

Your results are usually called your ‘profile’. In order to assess your results, this is compared with the results of a test group of others (a ‘norm group’) that have taken the test in the past. Because these tests attempt to characterise you as an individual, and due to the level of expertise required to interpret them, only individuals qualified by the British Psychological Society should administer them.

Advice for personality tests

• Be yourself! As there are usually no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answers you should just try to answer as honestly and naturally as possible. That will enable the profile produced of you to be as accurate it can be.
• Remember that if you are not honest, your profile may end up helping you get a job for which you are really not well suited!
• If in doubt, use the answer that feels most right to you – ‘gut feeling’.
• Never try to give an answer just because it is what you think the employer might want you to say.

Tests of interest or motivation

These are mainly tests or measures of what things appeal to you and what things you find unappealing. The tests therefore have no ‘correct’ responses. ‘Motivational measures’ are aimed at understanding your interests in a general way, to show the kinds of activities and work in which you are likely to be comfortable. For example, if you are motivated by stimulation and learning new things, and the job requires someone who is a detail-conscious person, who is content to do repetitive work motivated by it being accurate, you and the job are not well matched.

QUESTIONS TO ASK

There are actually very few questions to ask at psychometric tests. They aren’t like an interview in this respect. Here are some that you should feel comfortable asking, should you wish.

Can you explain that to me again please?

Never be afraid to ask for an explanation of the instructions if you aren’t sure. Feeling silly for asking for additional explanation is far better than messing up the entire test because you haven’t understood.

Will I have an opportunity to see my results?

Some companies let you see your results, or even take a copy home with you. Others never let you see them. If you would like to see them, feel free to ask – they can always say no!

Is it possible to have some feedback about the results afterwards?

This is subtly different from asking for an actual copy. You might like to have someone talk you through your results. Especially with personality tests, it can be very frustrating or even worrying to go away without knowing what the results were. If you then don’t get the job, it can even make you wonder whether there was anything unusual in your result! Don’t be afraid to ask for feedback. Most companies will give you brief feedback as to the results, but there is no guideline that says they must do this. If you have a burning desire to get the results of a personality test, try one of the ones freely available on the Internet (although be warned that some are better than others).

CAN YOU MANIPULATE A TEST?

Myths and legends

There are a lot of myths and stories about tests and how easy some of them are to manipulate. It is true that experienced individuals can slant answers towards a particular direction in a personality test. For example, it can be easy to see answers that would lead to a profile of someone who is bubbly, enthusiastic and extrovert. But how do you know what the employer is looking for? You could be biasing your test in totally the wrong direction if they are looking for a quiet, calm team player! Even if you could manipulate a test, it’s not a good idea to try.

DEALING WITH TESTS

Before the test starts

• Stay calm. Panic won’t help your performance.
• Sit comfortably. Don’t worry about how you look whilst you are being tested. Feel free to loosen ties, remove jackets, roll up sleeves etc so you are comfortable to give your best performance without distractions.
• Ask questions if necessary – don’t worry about looking stupid in front of other candidates – they aren’t the ones you have to impress.
• Read and obey the instructions exactly – if it asks you to tick boxes, tick them, and don’t shade them in and vice versa.
• Don’t make assumptions – ask if you aren’t sure about anything.
• If there are any sample or practice questions, use your opportunity to do them, to make sure you are doing them correctly.

During the test

• Work quickly but don’t rush.
• Make sure you answer in the correct place on the answer sheet.
• Read questions thoroughly before trying to answer them.
• Don’t agonise over a question you can’t do, but move on to the next one.
• Don’t waste time double-checking questions with easy or obvious answers unless you have spare time at the end.
• Check the time. It’s easier to rush or work too slowly if you have no awareness of the time left. Check your own watch at the beginning of the test, so you know how much time is left at a glance.
• Don’t try to do each question in the same time. Some tests are designed to start with easy questions, which get progressively more lengthy.
• Ignore other people. Just because they may be turning over pages more quickly, it doesn’t mean they are getting the answers right!
• If you have time left at the end, go back and check your answers.
• Take some deep breaths occasionally and look up – it relieves the stress!
• If you can’t answer, move on to another question and come back to the one you’re stuck on.
• Forget about looking for easy or trick questions. Just work methodically through the test.
• At the end, return to any questions you got stuck on.
• It is usually better not to guess answers you aren’t sure of unless instructed to do so. Some tests look at how many correct answers you got from the number you answered, so they measure percentage correct. Guessing may make you answer more questions, but with fewer correct answers.

Online practice sites

There are a number of Internet sites that have practice questions or tests that you can use freely. Here are some website addresses. Please note that these can only be correct at the time of printing, and websites may change their content.

http://www.morrisby.co.uk – click practice test from menu
http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/psychtests.htm
http://www.shldirect.com
http://www.assessmentday.co.uk
http://www.kenexa.com/solu_practicetests.html
http://www.psychometric-success.com/
http://www.prospects.ac.uk/links/aptitudetests

WHAT HAPPENS NOW?

Always ask for feedback. Some people give feedback on the day, but it is surprising how many employers never offer feedback to individuals. It is both perfectly acceptable and a good idea to ask how you can obtain feedback at the session. There is nothing wrong with ringing up afterwards and asking for test feedback, especially if you didn’t get the job – this can even be a better idea, as you may be less stressed a day or two after the test, and more likely to understand and take in the feedback.

Feedback can help you do better in other tests in the future. After you have received feedback, there is absolutely nothing wrong with asking a tester for advice on how to improve for next time.

If you disagree with the feedback, remember, this is what the test results say. Therefore you have given the tester this information. So if it’s not accurate, you need to rethink how honest you were in the test. The exception to this is if you are offered feedback on the day. If the decision hasn’t yet been made it is worth mentioning anything you disagree with to the tester. For example, if you assumed something, and that’s why you answered in a particular way, let them know. It can sometimes make a difference.

CHECKLIST