Whilst we help our clients to recruit, relate and retain their best people. Trilogy also want to support candidates, to help make them feel as prepared and as comfortable when taking selection tests or personality assessments as possible. Everyone wants to do their best and give as good a performance as they possibly can to demonstrate their capabilities. Make no mistake, research, knowledge and preparation can help boost your Psychometric test scores and may just give you edge you need to land that dream job / role.
Few people enjoy taking tests, especially when it's in a pressured environment or when a test result will be used as part of a selection criteria. We hope that by giving you some useful and helpful information, we can help reduce this anxiety. However, some pre-test nervousness can be positive as it raises your senses, attention span, and focus.
Remember that tests should only be used as part of the overall assessment procedure. They are used to support the other methods, such as interviewing. However interviews have their limitations as they rely on what a person says they have done or can do. This means that there is always going to be some subjectivity in assessing their capability. Therefore an appropriately chosen Psychometric test or assessment will objectively measure the candidate's skill directly.
WARNING :
Over-practicing is not the answer and can sometimes be detrimental to your results. It really is about striking the right balance. Whilst you want to be alert and feeling good about yourself when you take these type of tests, do not get unnecessarily worked up or stressed about the tests. The reality is that they are only part of the selection process - something that supports the other information.
There are websites available which will allow you to practice tests without paying for them:
CEB-SHL are the acknowledged market leaders in tests:
http://www.shldirect.com/en/practice-tests
The University of Kent website provides free practice tests and it also gives you results:
http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/psychotests.htm
Guidance on Taking Ability Tests
- Most tests today are online assessments and dependent on the job you have applied for, you may be required to complete one or more. If you have more than one to complete, you do not need to complete them all in one sitting. However, each test should be completed in one session. Different tests will be different lengths but typically most are quite short - less than 25 minutes. The mental focus when taking more than one is very high so take a break between tests.
- If you are completing them online, not at the company's premises, you will be given a deadline to complete them. Ensure you choose a time where you are relatively relaxed and not too stressed. Also choose a time of the day when you feel more alert and focused. Reliable internet access ( Should a problem occur, make sure you have relevant contact details at both test and organisation ) and an environment that is quiet and disturbance free. You will be unable to pause part way through.
- You will be provided with some practice questions before you start the timed test. Practice questions are not timed so make sure you are very clear about what you need to do. If the test is being administered to you by a person at an assessment Centre, if there is anything that you do not understand, make sure you ask about it before you start.
- Pace yourself - make sure you know how much time you have for the tests. Try to answer most of the questions, but do not worry about not finishing them all as the test has been designed to stretch the most capable individuals. Remember you do not need to complete all the questions to achieve a reasonable score.
- Do not get stuck - if you find a particular question difficult, do not spend too much time on it. Give the answer you think is best, but avoid simply guessing. If you have time, you may be able to go back to it at the end.
- Concentrate - work quickly and accurately, do not get distracted. Understand both nature of the test and job to get the pacing correct. You do not want to rush questions where you might make too many errors, nor do you want to go too slowly where you end up doing only a few questions. However if a job is very much about quality, safety and precision, then you might want to just adjust it slightly towards accuracy rather than speed.
- If you have a disability that requires special arrangements you should let the organisation that you have applied to know about this in the first instance. See Trilogy's test policy.
Verbal Critical Reasoning Tests
Measure your ability to respond to tasks that place demands on your verbal abilities. Examples include... evaluating information, making decisions based on written materials, problem solving and working with reports, email and letters.
Numerical Critical Reasoning Tests
Measure your ability to respond to tasks that place demands on your numerical abilities. Examples include... evaluating financial information, performing calculations, interpreting numerical data and working with accounts, profit & loss reports, prices and statistics.
Guidance on Personality Questionnaires
- Personality Psychometrics can, when correctly selected, administered and feed back by an appropriately qualified and experienced practitioner provide a deep insight into both your preferences and work behaviours ( often known as Type and Trait's ). Trilogy believe we are the most comprehensively accredited independent Psychometric consultancy in the UK.
- Organisations understand that everyone is unique and therefore, you should always respond to the questions as openly and honestly as possible.
- Personality questionnaires are not timed as they require you to answer all the questions within the questionnaire. Do not to ponder over questions too long, it is better to just to go with your immediate reaction to a question.
- Personality information and subsequent competency interview questions will be used to support other evidence to determine overall 'fit' for the job or role. At the end of the day, it is best for both the candidate and the organisation that the 'fit' is good.
- Like other tests there will be some practice questions, so make sure you understand how the questionnaire works.
- Try to choose a time to complete the questionnaire when you feel relatively comfortable, relaxed and are not stressed or worried about a big issue. We like to say to candidates that they should complete the questionnaire when they feel " Most like themselves ".
After the Test … What Next?
- When used in recruiting, Trilogy prefer to use High level Personality Instruments which provide pre - generated questions. We do this because it greatly aids competency based interviews for both organisation and candidate. Expect to be asked specific questions relating to the personality questionnaire and the aptitude tests during the interview. Organisations seek consistency in your responses, so again be honest and open.
- Trilogy only undertake any Psychometric assignment ( large or small ) if we can offer feedback on the respondents results be they successful or not. This is a cornerstone of our proposition and one of our key differentiators.
- There should always be an opportunity to receive feedback on the assessments you have completed. Although usually only available and offered after the recruitment process is completed. Remember ...ALWAYS ASK FOR FEEDBACK whether you are offered the role or not. We understand that if you have not been successful, asking for feedback on the reasons why will be uncomfortable. However, remember that the test information is your information. We believe you have a right to request feedback, and this should be provided in a form that is both useful, meaningful and that you can learn from.
- Your test data should only be used for the purpose that it was collected and cannot be used beyond that purpose without your express permission. Trilogy take data protection and confidentiality extremely seriously. Only those who are appropriately qualified within Trilogy or those within the organisation to whom the data specifically relates will have access to it. Please see our Psychometric Test Policy for additional details.