Psychometric test are often used as part of a recruitment process

They are a way for employers to assess your intelligence, skills and personality. In other
words, recruiters use psychometric test scores to work out whether or not to hire you.
These tests also evaluate your capacity to work with others, process information and
cope with stress. The majority of psychometric tests are taken online, although paper
tests are sometimes used.
Different Types of Psychometric Test
There are essentially three categories: aptitude tests, skills tests and .
1. Aptitude Tests
Aptitude tests aim to assess a specific or general set of skills, though this often depends
on the type of job that you are applying for.
Categories found within this group include:
 Numerical reasoning test. Used to identify how you interpret data, often via a
combination of written and statistical information presented in reports, graphs or
charts. This can also be used to assess basic mathematical abilities. numerical
psychometric tests will explore how quickly and easily a candidate works with
numbers.
 Verbal reasoning test. Used as a way to determine your ability to evaluate
detailed written information so as to make an informed decision. explore a
candidate’s understanding and comprehension skills with written extracts, usually
with a multiple-choice answer format.
 Inductive reasoning test. These require you to identify trends or patterns,
typically using diagrammatic information.
 Diagrammatic reasoning test. These assess your capacity for logical
reasoning, using flowcharts and diagrams. explore a candidate’s ability to
problem-solve. Typically, candidates will get about one minute to answer each
question.
 Logical reasoning test. Aims to evaluate your skills in reaching a conclusion.
You may be provided with some information and then asked to make a decision
on what you have been provided with. As such, these tests are also often known
as deductive reasoning tests. designed to measure an individual’s ability to think
logically. These tests are similar to diagrammatic testing, but may not use
diagrams.
 Error checking test. Assesses your ability to quickly identify any errors in
complex data sets such as codes, or combinations of alpha-numeric characters.
gauging how a candidate identifies errors within information.
The type of test that you will have to undertake will be determined by the job type and
sector.
For example, inductive or logical reasoning assessments are used to evaluate
candidates applying for jobs in science, IT or other roles where advanced technical
skills may be needed.
These tests usually comprise of multiple-choice questions and a specified time frame in
which to complete them.
Inductive testing can result in the identification of new solutions and strategies to solve
the issue, which is why these types of tests are used in many firms who specialize in
technological innovation.

2. Skills Tests
Skills tests represent a way for employers to evaluate how quickly you can learn a new
skill to competently carry out the job you are applying for.
Depending on the job you are hoping to secure, the aptitude test may include something
such as designing a basic web page (if you are applying to be a designer) or a financial
modelling task (if you are applying for a quantitative role in finance).
Both capability and skills tests are assessed through paper-based exercises consisting
of multiple-choice questions completed under exam conditions.
Increasingly, psychometric tests are completed online using specialist systems that
removes the requirement for a paper-based test.

3. Personality Tests (also known as occupational tests)

Personality assessments enable employers to evaluate your suitability based on your
behavior and the way in which you approach your work.
This will be used to determine how well you will fit into the organization and the culture
of the business.
Your responses will often be cross-referenced with those of a top-performing employee
or successful manager, which will be an indication as to whether you share the same
characteristics.
Employers look at many factors during the recruitment process, from your knowledge
and experience through to your aptitude in areas such as decision making and
teamwork.
Increasingly, they will use personality tests as a way to determine if you have the right
attitude and personality to fit in with the company’s culture and vision.
Myers Briggs is one of the most commonly used personality tests.
After progressing through a series of questions about how you would feel or act in a
given scenario, you will be assigned to one of sixteen personality types based on your
responses.
Employers then review this personality type to see if you would fit in with their
organizational values.
There is rarely a time limit, as they are looking for you to answer the questions honestly
(though it's worth having a sense of the job description and the employer needs in the
back of your head as you go along).

4. Behavior tests
By assessing and understanding a candidate’s behavioral style, we can explore things
such as their preferred way of communicating, how they might handle setbacks, or how
they would approach managing a team.
This kind of insight is crucial in identifying development areas, maximizing engagement
and establishing whether an individual would be a good cultural fit for a team or
organization.
One example of behavioral tests is Thomas’ Personal Profile Analysis (PPA) which is
rooted in William Moulton Marston’s DISC theory uses four main profile factors:
Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and Compliance to provide information on an
assessment taker’s fears, motivators, values and behavioral style.
In order to complete the PPA, candidates choose two trait adjectives from a block of
four, one 'most like' and one ‘least like’ them. This process is repeated 24 times, giving
48 choices from a total of 96 words. An individual’s response patterns are compared to
themselves rather than the scores of a comparison group.

Psychometric tools include the questionnaires we use for psychological assessments.

1. The Big 5 Personality Test

- One of the most well-known psychometric tools for teams
- The psychometric assessment provides insight into an individual’s job fit and
company fit by assessing their personality on five main personality
characteristics.
The five traits are entitled ‘Openness’, ‘Conscientiousness’, ‘Extraversion’,
‘Agreeableness’ and ‘Neuroticism’; often referred to using the acronym ‘OCEAN’.
‘Openness’ represents how willing an individual is to accept new or non-conventional
ideas and experiences.
‘Conscientiousness’ can be observed in an individual’s drive to complete a task to the
best of their ability, their attention to detail and level of organization.
‘Extraversion’ describes how enjoyable an individual considers social interactions and
risk taking behaviors.
‘Agreeableness’ indicates the level of cooperation and consideration an individual
might display to others.
Lastly, ‘neuroticism’ refers to an individual’s ability to remain calm when under
pressure and how well they deal with stress.
recruiters - to assess a candidate’s suitability to join a team,
employers - to better understand their employees’ personality in order to foster a more
productive working environment.
These psychometric tools for teams do not necessarily require expert interpretation to
help navigate the assessments and results, explaining their popularity in organizations.

2. The Occupational Personality Questionnaire (OPQ)

The Occupational Personality Questionnaire (OPQ) is one of the most renowned
psychometric tools for teams; inviting participants to describe their behaviour, attitudes
and preferences in their working life in order to enhance personal development and
career transition.
Unlike many other personality assessments, the OPQ is designed specifically for the
use within organizations as it concentrates on an occupational model of personality.
The most commonly used OPQ and the first commercially available Big Five instrument,
the SHL OPQ, was developed by Savile & Holdworth Ltd (1984).
The assessment provides 32 measures of personality traits relevant to occupational
settings and performance.
Personality traits measured are grouped into categories; including relationships,
sociability, influence, empathy, and thinking style.
Also incorporated in the OPQ are social desirability measures to prevent individuals
from ‘faking’ responses. OPQs are often used to re-deploy talent across the business,
identify future leaders, and evaluate a talent pool to create first-class project teams.

3. The DISC Assessment

Based on the four dimensions of personality (dominance, influence, steadiness and
conscientiousness) as modelled by American psychologist William Moulton Marston, the
DISC psychometric tools for teams provide insight and practical tips to help teams
interact and communicate more effectively.
People are thought to be a blend of all four styles and that these styles can be
influenced by various factors, such as life experience and education.
One of the cornerstone principles of DISC assessments is that by learning about other
team members’ styles, the quality of the workplace and work produced can be improved
greatly.
 4. The MBTI Personality Type
Another of the psychometric tools for teams widely utilised by organizations is the Myers
Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)r.
Using the basis of Carl Jung’s theory of personality types and the adaptations of his
successor, Isabel Briggs Myer, the MBTI categorizes individuals on four
dichotomies/pairs of personality styles – ‘extraverted/introverted’, ‘sensing/intuition’,
‘thinking/feeling’, and ‘judging/perceiving’. People are considered to prefer one style
more than the other.
Using an individual’s style preferences, the questionnaire then identifies and describes
an individual as 1 of 16 possible distinctive personality types. It is important to note that
all MBTI personality types are considered to be equal with no type seen as “ideal”.

 The ‘extraversion’ and ‘introversion’ pair relates to the direction of an individual’s

energy.
Those who prefer to direct their energy towards people and situations lean more
toward ‘extraversion’; whereas those who prefer to direct their energy towards
ideas and information might seem to have a more introverted style.
  The second pair of styles, ‘sensing’ and ‘intuition’, relates to the type of
information an individual processes.
Those who prefer facts and clarity have a ‘sensing’ preference; while those who
like to generate new possibilities and deal with the unknown might prefer
‘intuition’ style.

 The third pair of ‘thinking’ and ‘feeling’ reflects on an individual’s style of decision-
making.
Individuals, who prefer to use a more analytic approach and make decisions on
the basis of objective logic, are likely to have a preference for ‘thinking’ styles.
By contrast, those who like to make decisions using the foundations of their
beliefs, values, and feelings are expected to favor the ‘feeling’ style.

 the ‘judgment’ and ‘perception’ pairing illustrates the type of lifestyle an individual
adopts.
People who like to structure and plan their lives tend to have a preference for the
‘judging’ style.
Those who value flexibility and enjoy “going with the flow” seem to prefer the
‘perception’ style.

When the MBTI tool is employed in an organizational capacity, it allows one to review
how well a team communicates and works together, and to appreciate each other’s
preferences to improve team morale and performance.

The reports generated by the MBTI questionnaire are not predictors of job performance
or success but are able to generate an idea of collective communication preferences to
help facilitate a team environment that enhances work productivity.

5. Color Profiling
Fashioned on the four personality types as described by Carl Jung, colour profiling
focuses on the 4 elements (fire, water, air and earth), in order to create a colour profile
which can be internationally understood.
In organisations, colour profiling can create a common language across all departments
and levels, generating a more cohesive workforce.

People with ‘red’ personality traits are considered to be strong leaders and risk takers.
They are competitive, confident and often impatient.
Individuals with ‘yellow’ personality traits are sociable and enthusiastic. They are often
optimistic, relatively informal displaying high energy and lots of vision.
Those demonstrating ‘Blue’ personality traits are generally deep thinkers who are detail
focused. They are systematic, often coming across as perfectionists, and have good
time management skills.
Finally, people with predominantly ‘Green’ personality traits can be described as laid
back, patient and democratic. They are agreeable, have a slower thinking style and are
likely to be understanding of other team members.
 6. The Belbin Team Role Inventory
The Belbin Team Role Inventory (the BTRI) is another example of one of the most used
psychometric tools for teams in the business domain; focusing on behaviors which are
believed to be influenced by an individual’s personality.
Created by Meredith Belbin (1981), the tool focuses on how people behave at work and
which roles they are best suited to in a team environment. ‘9 Belbin Team Roles’ are
used to describe nine clusters of observable behavior in order to highlight strengths and
weaknesses within your team.
The nine team roles are defined as follows: The Resource Investigator, the
Teamworker, the Co-ordinator, the Plant, the Monitor Evaluator, the Specialist, the
Shaper, the Implementer, and the Completer Finisher.

The BTRI scores individuals on how intensely they express behavioral traits from the
nine team roles.

The Belbin psychometric tools for teams are not only intended for managerial or
personal development purposes, but also as a tool to aide conflict management and
increase employee engagement.
A Brief History of Psychometric Tests
Psychometric tests are by no means a new concept; they have been used since the
early 20th century, when they were originally used only for the purposes of educational
psychology. It was in 1905 that Alfred Binet introduced the first 'intelligence test'.
They have since evolved to become a common feature of a selection process.
Particularly within large, competitive organizations, these types of test are frequently
used as they can assess candidates based on their acquired skills rather than
educational background.

Why and When Are Psychometric Tests Used?

Recruiters like to use psychometric tests for the following reasons:
 They are objective and impersonal, allowing candidates to be compared in ability
terms without unconscious bias;
 They help to make the recruitment process more efficient and can represent
substantial HR costs;
 They are proven to be reliable indicators of future job performance.
 The tests may appear at any stage in the recruitment process but usually, you
will undertake the test at one of these three stages:
Immediately after you submit your application form
As an add-on to your interview
Immediately before or after your actual interview
What Do Psychometric Tests Measure?
The term 'psychometric' is coined from the Greek words for mental and measurement.
There are three main areas that the tests explore:
 Your capabilities,
 Your aptitude for the job,
 To determine whether your personality fits in with the vision of the organization
you are hoping to join.

. Big Five, Five Factor, and OCEAN are all ways of describing the same theory of
personality. Multiple psychological studies have arrived at the conclusion that the
differences between people's personalities can be organized into five broad categories,
called the Big Five or Five Factors. These are sometimes referred to as the five broad
dimensions of personality.