Tips & Tricks

OK, so you want to fail. Let’s see what we can do to increase your chances. What can you do, short of not turning up for the test, to ensure failure?

How Many Men Does it Take to Change a Light Bulb?

Answer: Nobody knows because it has never happened.

Structured interviews, or patterned interviews, are a test interview method popular in many different industries and the public sector as well. In these interviews, a large group of candidates is asked the same or rather similar questions that reflect on their past experiences so various competences, such as working with others, leadership, learning and development can be assessed. A typical question would be the following: “Please tell me about a time when you had a conflict with a member of your team and how you reacted?”.

When interviewing for a job, candidates are assessed on their skills, experience, academic qualifications, and personality. Personality also translates into a candidate’s attitude towards work, their co-workers, and organisational processes.

Numerical reasoning tests, also known as numerical ability tests, are used by assessment centres in business organizations to determine if a candidate is fit for the job they are interviewing for. These tests are used particularly for sales, marketing, and financial positions or for those who work with a large amount of data.

An important component of assessment centres, in-tray exercises (or in-basket or e-tray exercises, the latter being used when they are administered on a computer) are role playing exercises where a candidate assumes the role of an employee and is given a set of tasks to perform under time pressure. These tasks can include writing memos, answering emails, creating reports, or handling organizational charts. By involving candidates in these tasks, assessment centres are able to determine their professional attitudes and also evaluate if they are fit for the job.

Assessment centres are an important part of the job selection and recruitment process, in which candidate skills are tested through a series of psychometric tests and role playing exercises. These tests are designed to give a fairly accurate idea of how a candidate can be expected to perform in the job they are interviewing for.

Cognitive ability tests, also known as aptitude tests, are a part of psychometric testing conducted by assessment centres during job selection procedures to determine a candidate’s skills and abilities. In most cases, these aptitude tests include a combination of abstract reasoning tests and numerical and verbal reasoning tests.

Initially reserved for management interviews in consulting firms, case study exercises are gaining popularity in all industries. They are a quick way of determining a candidate’s problem solving and strategic thinking skills based on a (usually) fictitious context that is presented in background documents such as e-mails, statistical charts, article clippings or any other kind of material. These exercises form an integral component of assessment centres and most management oriented interviews.

An abstract reasoning (or, as sometimes called, diagrammatic reasoning) test is a test of analytical and logical abilities, designed to evaluate quick thinking and strategic planning. They are an integral component of many aptitude tests and are increasingly being used by business organizations for interview testing.

If you have already done job interviews in a special setting, it is likely that your prospective employer has used assessment centres to evaluate your skills and determine if you are a good fit for the job. Quite simply, an assessment centre uses a series of evaluation methods to assess interviewees. These methods can include simulated job situations or psychometric testing. Typically, an assessment centre tests six candidates at a time and can last anywhere from a day to three days, during which candidates participate in several stages of assessment testing.

As the name rightly suggests, verbal reasoning tests are used to assess linguistic ability of the test taker. Candidates are tested on several different parameters, including reading comprehension, grammar, and sentence structure. Although these assessment tests are primarily used in universities and colleges during the admission procedure, many business organizations are also adopting verbal reasoning tests, along with psychometric testing, for candidate evaluation.

Yikes! Is it time for that assessment test already? Before you start to panic, read these tips and we promise you’ll feel much better afterwards. First of all, it’s just a test, one which you have hopefully spent some time preparing for. Regardless, these tips can help you focus and perform well on your next psychometric exam:

You’ve just completed your first round of assessment or aptitude testing, congrats! And now what? Instead of sitting around waiting for the phone to ring here are a few tips:

Personality questionnaires are a popular type of interview test for employers to get an idea of what makes you “tick” and whether your personality would be a good fit for the position they are filling. The great thing about personality questionnaires is that there are no wrong answers; it is all about how you feel about particular situations. If you are taking your first personality test, consider these tips:

Are you just days away from taking your first round of assessment tests? In many cases this is the time where candidates start to obsess and worry about how they will do on the tests, instead of focusing on preparation. To distract yourself from being nervous, focus on being prepared instead. Here are a few tips on getting ready:

Before you even consider the task of evaluating sample aptitude tests before applying for a position, your first step is to attract the attention of a potential employer with a stellar CV and cover letter.

Even if you understand the need to prepare for psychometric tests while job-hunting, there are still many common mistakes to avoid. By reviewing these issues you can ensure you are ready for your next testing interview, as well as what comes before and after to maximize your employment success:

Studying for hours upon hours, taking online practice tests, and for what? The slim chance of landing a good job? While it may not seem worth it now, studying for psychometric tests online is well worth it, both in the short and long run. Here are a few reasons why!

Have a psychometric test coming up in the course of your recruitment and are not sure how to get ready? While many are content to just walk in and take the tests, preparation is needed if you want to do your best (and doing your best is the only way to secure the job!).
Here are 6 career tips on how to get started...

Psychometric test procedures are an important step towards qualifying for lucrative jobs in many fields. Approaching and preparing for these tests should not be taken lightly, as failing to pass one of the requirements may significantly affect your chances of gaining a great job. So here are the top reasons why candidates fail and how to overcome them:

For some, verbal and numerical reasoning tests can be very intimidating, and it can be hard not to think about how much depends on one particular test. However, verbal and numerical reasoning tests are the easiest types of psychometric tests to learn to master, simply because they don’t need any specific prior knowledge. With a few tips you can learn to love these tests. Here is a handful of them...