Chapter 7: Psychometric Tests at an Assessment Centre
A resource guide to the psychometric tests issued at assessment centres.
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Jump to:Introduction to psychometric tests at assessment centres
This chapter is a short summary of the psychometric tests you are likely to encounter at your assessment centre, since we already have in-depth pages on psychometric tests, numerical reasoning tests, personality tests and any other cognitive ability test.
The important thing to remember is that many companies ask candidates to sit a repeat psychometric test at the assessment centre, even if they've already completed an online test. This is because the assessors can never be totally sure that you weren't being helped during your unsupervised online test. If they re-test you at the assessment centre they will know for sure that your score was achieved by you.
Most common types of psychometric test at assessment centres
The most common forms of psychometric test seen at assessment centres are personality questionnaires, numerical reasoning tests, and verbal reasoning tests. The personality questionnaire is more likely to have been done online before hand, and you won't be asked to repeat it because you can't 'cheat' in a personality questionnaire; there are no right and wrong answers. The personality questionnaire just aims to find out about your motives and preferences. However, we do have advice on how to pass your personality test.
You are likely to be re-tested on your aptitude test score at the assessment centre, to verify the results of your online test. This is not the case for personality questionnaires, which are normally taken just online prior to the assessment centre.
Numerical, verbal, inductive, and diagrammatic tests are strictly timed (usually between 18 and 30 minutes) and are multiple choice. The difficulty is such that you should be capable of answering all the questions but most people will not complete the test within the time limit.
Key takeaways
Here are the main key elements to know about assessment centre psychometric tests:
- Types: There are two main types of psychometric tests: aptitude tests and personality tests.
- Purpose: The purpose of psychometric tests is to help employers assess a candidate's suitability for a role. By measuring various aspects of a candidate's mental capacities, the employer can gain a better understanding of the candidate's strengths and weaknesses.
- Format: Psychometric tests are usually administered online and can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours to complete.
- Preparation: You can prepare for psychometric tests by familiarizing yourself with the types of questions you may encounter and practicing under timed conditions.
- Reliability: Psychometric tests are considered to be highly reliable if they are administered and interpreted by a qualified professional.