Think of a commonplace scenario. When a job interview has gone off well, one is often asked, pronto: “Would you mind having a psychological appraisal?”
While it may be argued that there’s no better way to punching trepidation than asking job seekers to go through the motions of a psychological appraisal — or, psychometrics — the idea has its advantages. It not only determines psychological characteristics, such as mental abilities and personality traits, but also aids in the personnel selection process. More importantly, it helps match a person’s characteristics to what is required for the job. In addition, there’s a positive side to it — one you’d use to gain valuable insights into your personality and potential abilities and ‘pilot’ your career and/or your life in a nourishing, also sustaining, direction.
Psychological testing needs to be done by specialists — not just about anyone who may have a smattering of its overall chemistry. At the same time, it should be performed to minimise a costly job mismatch — one that may be enormously important, not just to the employer, but the candidate, too. Because, it’s debasing for the latter to end up in a position that’s not just right for them.
Ability & Personality Tests
A psychological appraisal falls into two major groups: tests of ability and personality tests. While the tests of ability are designed to mirror a person’s aptitudes in a range of different areas, the latter provides the way to gaining insight into characteristics that may not be readily discussed, or made evident, at the interview.
Ability tests cover areas, such as numeracy, critical thinking, verbal comprehension, and reasoning, logical and analytical thinking, problem-solving, and general intelligence. Besides, a handful of additional specific exercises are included to suit the requirements of a particular job. All the same, the tests require a combination of speed and accuracy. They often look at how people respond to problem-solving in an environment that has the added pressure of time.
Personality tests are sometimes difficult to interpret, because certain questions appear to be ridiculous; some may also, likewise, not seem relevant. Hence, they are at times misconstrued. This is one reason why we often hear complaints from candidates who do not receive any feedback, or were told that they had been rejected on the basis of their psychological results. Not surprisingly, people who ‘fail’ are legitimately baffled: “Do I not have a personality?” What’s more, people, who may not have sufficient understanding, or grasp, apropos to the text results, sometimes, evaluate the tests.
How-To Made Simple
The best way to approach a psychology test is by getting a good night’s snooze, because if you’re not relaxed, you may not perform at your best. Also, you’d do well to consult various resources available that provide information on the structure of the tests and types of problems you may be required to ‘fix,’ including self-help ‘how-to’ doing well at interviews. Test ‘samples’ may also be available.
Here are a few useful pointers that you’d incorporate too:
- You ought to know the time of day when you are at your peak level of performance. Also, if you really feel you don’t fit into a given slot, you may solicit another time of the day
- Stay calm, relaxed, and focused, as intense anxiety can affect your performance. Meditation/deep breathing can be helpful to slow down
- If you are anxious, tell the interviewer/psychologist during your pre-assessment interview. This would make them reach a tangible assessment of the results
- Don’t be afraid to raise a point, especially when you have concerns, or questions
- Avoid assessing yourself. Since many of the tests are difficult to finish within a given period of time, you’ll only increase your anxiety. So, stop thinking that your future depends on your performance in these tests. It doesn’t
- Be upright. Don’t say something that you don’t really believe is genuine.
Quality psychological tests have an effective verification cue that reveals when someone’s trying to appear ‘too smart to be true.’ And, while it is also possible that you may be inexact in your estimation of your employers’ needs, if you do well in the tests and abilities, even when you lack formal qualifications, you’d have an opportunity to prove you’re intellectually capable of meeting and also fulfilling the demands of the job. However, if the employer feels that your personality may not ‘gel,’ chances are you’d not be cheerful at the workplace.
The bottom line — it is imperative that you ascertain — maybe, in concert with a psychologist — where your skills, or abilities, fit appropriately and you’d, in turn, improve upon them on the foundation of your ‘test’ findings.
