How To Pass Aptitude Tests On Job Applications

Psychometric testing is increasingly seen as the best way to get a good corporate fit with new recruits.

Because recruitment is an expensive business it is extremely important to get it right first time and psychometric testing provides a useful aid for recruitment but should only be used as part of an overall process. Poor selection decisions can result in further recruitment costs, additional training and orientation costs, reduced profit, loss of competitive advantage, as well as damage to image and reputation.

As a candidate, taking a psychometric test now will forewarn you to what an employer or recruitment agency will learn about you when you take a psychometric test for them. Reading your own psychometric report is a big help when writing your CV or preparing for an interview. If an applicant goes into an interview fully aware of their own faults and prepared to defend them and present their strengths, then the applicant is at a great advantage.

Whilst there is a wide variety of aptitude tests and career personality tests available, some are proven and some are not, so you may need to take some 'with a pinch of salt'.

By completing a variety of different career tests, many of which will give you a free report, you'll get a wider profile of potential career options. You can follow up with buying reports only when they appear really relevant to your understanding. Career tests have one simple purpose: to provide ideas you might not have considered and suggestions that may be worth following up. The twist is that personality tests can give you ideas about what you should do rather than you simply pondering what you want to do. There are many types of assessments and career tests that all seem to be put under the same title of "Career Tests".

Personality tests assess your traits, values and attitudes that describe your character or personality profile. These are the type of tests employers typically use to screen candidates for employment. If nothing else, you will gain information on potential careers that you can explore to see if they really are a good fit. The other important aspect of this is you gain a better ability to talk about and describe your own personality - how many people have been floored by the question "what sort of person are you?" or "describe your personality for me"?

Whereas aptitude career tests try to determine how well you are likely to perform a role in future, that is one of the reasons that more and more businesses are using personality tests before hiring their new employees. It eases the burden of decision-making.

Career tests can be fun for some and agonizing for others but all in all, they are good springboards for future possibilities. On-line personality and career tests are useful tools to help you evaluate your interests, values, skills, personality, and then match these characteristics with careers that fit the above criteria.

We are going to tell you more about the different aptitude tests and other career questionnaires so that you get the most benefit and learn the best type of job to apply for.

When you apply for a job, it is essential that you understand your own personal strengths and weaknesses and get ready to address them. By knowing your strengths and special skills, the chances of you getting the job you want will be much higher, so this is how identifying your skills will get you the job.

However, don't get too confident since appearing to be too confident or as a know-it-all will make your interviewer think you are not the type of employee they want and unfit for the job.

But, you do want to know what to say and the evidence from a personality or aptitude test, gives you the information you need to use.

Most employers who use psychometric tests will include a verbal reasoning test, because there are very few graduate careers which do not require the ability to understand, analyze and interpret written information, often of a complex or specialized nature.

These tests usually include a number of short passages of text followed by statements based on the information given in the passage.

You are asked to indicate whether the statements are true or false, or whether it is not possible to say so either way. In answering these questions, use only the information given in the passage and do not try and answer them in the light of any more detailed knowledge which you personally may have.

Below you will find an example question to try. It is a selection of a passage of text which will be followed by four statements. Read the passage carefully and then, using only the information given in the passage, for each statement choose whether it is definitely true, definitely untrue, or you have insufficient information to answer.

Start by identifying your skills. This is the way you get that job and being able to talk about your abilities and expertise gives you the best shot.

Lots of people have a hard time talking about their skills and abilities as it can sound like bragging, but you should not be shy or afraid to discuss your genuine skills.

It is important that you convey to your prospective new employer what your talents are. You should be able to sell your abilities to your employer, because that is how you will get the job that you want.

Whilst it is important that you don't appear arrogant or condescending, you must also avoid selling yourself short. When the interviewer asks you about your strengths or what separates you from the other applicants, you need to ready with a good answer. Of course, make sure that your resume highlights your skills and talents for your prospective employer to recognize.

Hard Skills and Soft Skills

There are two main types of skills, hard skills and soft skills. Hard skills are the things that you do such as knowing how to operate different kinds of machinery; having detailed knowledge of a specialized computer program, the ability to type fast or ability to use different types of tools.

Soft skills are abstract in nature and include personal qualities; being a good team player, having the ability to work on your own, being enthusiastic or organized and decisive. Work out how you can describe yours and you will get the job.

First thing to do is to make a list of all the organizations that you previously worked for and the things that you learned from these jobs. In other words, what can you now do (better) than you could before. There will be a lot of things to list and you should be careful enough not to forget even the smallest things or activities that you were involved with or organized yourself. It is also a good idea to list the volunteer activities that you participated in.

Look at your hobbies:

Although it might sound trivial at first, it is also very helpful to write down a list of your hobbies. There are a lot of abilities that your prospective employer may get from your hobby list. This will also give an idea of your personality. For example, if you were part of the college debating team, then your employer will understand not only that you have speaking and communicating skills, but that you have good analytical skills too. If you were a good cricket player, then your employer will see that you are good at team activities.

Think also of your daily life and the things that you do. Are you a well organized person who always keeps your things in proper order? Are you an extrovert that makes friends in a matter of minutes? These may seem ordinary and normal things to you, but your future employer will learn something about your personality from this.

Deciding what career you want:

After listing all your skills and all the things that you do well, you can think about what field or career you want to take up. Select the skills contained from your list and match it with the employment you are interested in. Looking at ads in the newspapers is a good way to find out what skills are wanted. Always take time to consider if your skills are relevant to the job that you are after.

It is important to know your skills every time you are job hunting as this is how identifying your skills will get you the job.

Assessment or careers questionnaires are structured systematic ways of evaluating how people perform on tasks or react to different situations. They all have standardized methods of administration and scoring so that the results may be quantified and compared with how others have done under the same conditions on the same tests (norm groups). Careers Questionnaire are increasingly administered on a computer.

There are the following timed, careers questionnaires and free practice aptitude tests on the University of Kent web site which will help you, including answers and working out:

• Numerical Reasoning

• Numerical Reasoning: Graphs and Tables

• Letter Sequences (logical reasoning)

• Non-Verbal Reasoning (spatial ability / diagrammatic reasoning)

• Verbal Reasoning

• Verbal Reasoning (synonyms and antonyms)

• Vocabulary Test

• Spelling and punctuation test for applications not strictly a psychometric test, but will help with verbal skills.

• Lateral (Creative) Thinking Quiz

• Careers Explorer not strictly a test, but a quick and easy to use program to help you choose a career.

Careers questionnaire tests are usually only part of the overall assessment procedure when you apply for a job. Employers will use them alongside face to face interviews, standardized application forms and other selection methods, so your numerical or verbal reasoning test results are not the only information considered.

The Personal Style Indicator (PSI) is a powerful communication and learning tool. Discover your personality and how it "fits" in the world around you. Determine your behaviors around tasks so you can be more effective in all areas of your life. Share the knowledge with your friends and family and impress them with the insights!

Remember the joke about fitting a round peg into a square hole? The PSI identifies your style of peg and teaches you how to adapt to fit other styles.

Use the PSI to:

1. Improve Relationships
2. Build Teams
3. Build Trust
4. Improve Persuasive Communication
5. Lead Effectively
6. Create Self-Awareness

Use it for:

* Employees
* Prospective Employees
* Prospective Partners - Business and Personal
* Clients
* Yourself

People Maps provide one of the most useful questionnaires from the point of view of the job seeker. Because you can get a free report, you may find out as much as you need without spending any money on expensive career test reports.

These are some of the areas you can find out about:

Career Planner Report
Your career plan is important to you, specific to you and should therefore only be about you. Your Career Planner report is unique to your personality, it is not generic information. Your report will help you to identify what you need to make you happy at work and how to achieve it.

CVs & Interviews Report
A psychometric profile will help you to identify your personal strengths and weaknesses. Learn how to include them effectively in your CV and use this information to prepare for and excel at your next interview.

The PeopleMaps CVs & Interviews report gives you practice in advance of an interview using questions that employers may come up with based on the results of a psychometric test process.

Ideal Job Report
Everyone is looking for that elusive ideal job, PeopleMaps can help. PeopleMaps matches your personality profile results with our database of hundreds of jobs categories to help you choose what's right for you.