How To Get The Job You Really
Really Want - The Interview - Psychometric Tests
The psychometric test is something that you may not
have come up against, and is yet another tool in the armoury of the
recruiter. Simply put, it is a series of (normally multiple choice)
questions that are designed to give an insight into your personality
type.
Employers use them to try and ensure that, if they
take you on, you will "fit in" with the personality style of
the team or department in which you are going to be working. For
example, if the department is an extrovert tele-sales operation,
there is no point in taking on someone who is an introverted
technical type. Now, this is an extreme example, but it does help
to illustrate why psychometric tests are used.
Such tests were first pioneered in the good ole U S
of A some sixty years ago. As I mentioned the test is a series of
questions to help determine your personality and character traits.
The reason these tests are widely used is simply to try and cut down
the number of bad hire decisions. It is a fact of life that someone
with a good CV, good interpersonal skills and a good interview
technique can fool even the most experienced recruiter. In
this case, I can speak from bitter experience.
It is also
interesting to note that a bad hiring decision costs the hiring
company an awful lot of money. Think about it. It costs
management time and money in the interview process. Training time
and effort. Induction training. Peer time and effort in integrating
the new employee. Then, if the new recruit leaves after a couple of
months, you have lack of continuity, costs in terms of lost time,
possibly external relationship costs, and then, of course, you have
to go back to square one and start the recruitment process all over
again! Not the best situation, and it can cause a real lack of
confidence in the people who do the recruiting.
I have heard
estimates that put the cost of a hire who leaves in less than six
months at between three and four times their annual salary. That's,
potentially, a lot of money.
So, to try and cut down on this drain in time and
resources, psychometric tests are used to try and ascertain, up
front, that the potential recruit is more than likely to fit in well
with the work area to which he is going. To that end, psychometrics
do save an awful lot of time and money. However, if not used
properly, and relied on solely, they can result in the rejection of
some high calibre applicants.
In fact, I believe the most effective way of using
them is to administer them at first interview. However, this rarely
happens, and they are normally given as the last leg of the
process. If they are taken at your first interview, and there are
areas of unease, they can be probed, to the employers satisfaction
(or otherwise), at second interview. You know it makes sense!
So, having
given you a little bit of history on psychometric tests, I feel I
ought to tell you what they are. Firstly, they are nothing to be
frightened of! Secondly, do not try to give what you think
are the right answers. There are no right or wrong answers
to a psychometric test. The answers you give will indicate your
personality type. You are better to answer honestly, as the
potential employer will then be given an insight into your true
personality. If you try to fudge the issue, you will give duff
information to your potential employer. This in turn may lead to a
bad hiring decision, which will either see you not offered a job
you should have been, or possibly working in a job for which you are
totally unsuited. Many tests nowadays are sophisticated enough
to allow for a certain amount of "fudging" and still be able to give
an accurate assessment. Pretty clever, if you ask me! But do
answer honestly.
Most tests are
computerised these days, and are made up of two major components.
Firstly a questionnaire, and then the software to interpret the
results. Despite the advent of today's technology, though, a
skilled interpreter is needed to get the best from most tests.
The questionnaire itself normally contains between 40
and 100 questions. They are normally multiple choice, and you
record your answers in an A to E tick box. Some will be formatted
so that you tick the box you relate most closely to, others so that
you tick twice, one tick for that which you relate to most closely,
the other for the least.
Some tests are also able to assess skills and
attributes (competencies). For example, the skills required to sell
recruitment are different to those required to sell in the petrol
retail trade. That's something I didn't realise when I first went
into recruitment, and that is where yours truly achieved the
first of his two sackings! Yep, I approached recruitment in the
same way I did the petrol industry, and it didn't work.
Result? Goodbye Derek!
So, some tests will look for the particular skills
needed in certain disciplines. These types of tests are normally
scenario based. That is to say you are given a situation and asked
for your reaction to it. Again no right or wrong answers, the test
is looking purely for a "style".
Most tests are either marked via a computer, online
or sent to the test provider for analysis. However, some tests
nowadays, do provide the facility for the person taking the test to
mark themselves. Results are normally provided in the form of
graphs and a series of reports.
The graphs will show what personality traits you are
most like compared to the norm. The reports will give a more
in depth commentary on your personality type, as well as how you
react in certain situations. They are easily understood, and do
normally provide a recommendation on the candidate.
There are two main types of test. Ipsative and
normative. You didn't know that, did you? Ipsative, were first on
the scene, the originals. They nearly always present the results as
graphs and reports. You may see names like PPA (Personal Profile
Analysis) and HJA (Human Job Analysis). Normative testing came
along a bit later, and they have a nice little quirk in the way the
results are presented. They too use graphs and reports, but they
also compare the results to others who have completed the test. In
this way, the potential employer can have a "benchmark" by which to
compare. He will be able to look at existing employees who are
doing well, and try to look for results that show similar traits.
Normative tests also give the results as interpreter percentage
scores against the norm. That is to say they show the scores as how
far above or below the norm the tested individual is.
Now, I know this all sounds rather scientific, but it
should be remembered that most companies use the psychometric test
as an aid to the recruitment process. Remember what I said earlier
about making a decision solely based on the psychometric.
For your information, as psychometrics become more
widely accepted, you may be asked to take a test for your present
employer. They can also be used for evaluation of training needs,
suitability for promotion, team building and self-awareness
training.
One final point. There is a code laid down by the
CIPD which dictates how psychometric tests should be conducted, and
by whom. If you are unsure, ask the potential employer. The person
administering the test should be a Chartered Occupational
Psychologist who holds a Level A and B Certificate in Occupational
Testing from the British Psychological Institute.
You can get more information from the CIPD at the
following address;-
CIPD
151 The Broadway
London
SW19 1JQ
Tel 0208 612 6200
www.cipd.co.uk
Happy testing, and remember answer honestly!
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