Psychometric tests

Psychometric testing is the overall term used to describe tests which measure a skill such as verbal, numerical, abstract or mechanical reasoning (these are often called aptitude tests) and questionnaires used to find out about your personality type, learning style or career choices, which can help you and / or an employer make informed choices.

Tests are used to give employers an objective assessment of a candidate's abilities, and to enable fair comparisons between candidates.

• Verbal - Analyses your ability to understand written material and work out what logically follows from what you have read.
• Numerical - Analyses your ability to solve problems using numerical information. If you have not done maths since GCSE and need to brush up try the numeracy refresher from MathCentre on the practice tests page.
• Abstract/diagrammatic/logical - Analyses your ability to find patterns and links between groups of shapes, and see where new shapes fit in; an ability linked to generating new ideas, creative thinking and problem-solving.
• Situational Judgement Tests - Used by employers during recruitment to measure your behaviour and attitudes to work-related scenarios.

Employers want you to have a range of skills in addition to your academic qualifications.  Understanding more about your personality will help an employer (and you) to recognise the way in which you are likely to approach different situations, and those where you might have to change your preferences to work more effectively.

Answer honestly - there are no right or wrong answers. If you did manage to 'fool' the system, you could end up being accepted for a job for which you are temperamentally unsuited, resulting in an unhappy you and an unhappy employer.

It is important to remember that personality assessments look at how you typically behave, or what your usual preferences are.

Try the Type Dynamics Indicator, on the online assessment page. This questionnaire looks at your preferences, or how you are likely to react and behave in different circumstances. It's based on the work of psychologist Carl Jung, whose theories are behind the most widely-used personality assessments in the world.

The stage at which tests are taken might give you a clue as how important the results are to the employer.

The earlier in the selection procedure you are asked to sit a test, the more important the results are likely to be to the outcome (although some employers who use tests even before first interview will only look for an average performance).