Test results can give employers a glimpse into how an employee will act in a given situation
Psychometric tests seem to be gaining in popularity as pre-employment screening tools. They can also act as guides for employers that want to establish training and development opportunities. Proponents of psychometric testing claim it provides a standardized way to measure not only people’s knowledge and abilities, but also their attitudes and personality traits. Usually given in the form of multiple-choice questions, the test results give an employer a forecast of what a potential employee’s responses to, and behaviour in, various situations might be. They are designed to predict how well an employee will perform his job. The following websites offer information on psychometric testing and how it can be used in the hiring process.
The history of psychometric testing
www.psychometricadvantage.co.uk
This site gives an overview on psychometric testing, the theory behind it and how employers use it in recruitment processes and in staff development and retention. On the left menu is a section that gives tips on understanding personality tests and offers a link to an actual psychometric test that can be done online. Click on the top banner for a link to “About psychometric testing” that offers information on the main types of tests — ability and aptitude testing and personality profiling. There’s also a link to the “History of test development.” The top banner on the home page provides a link to “The theory behind personality testing,” which discusses Carl Jung’s theory and the eight categories of psychological type. Another link on the home page is “Try personality profiling,” which lists psychometric tests that can be tried online.
Finding the right test
www.careerlinktransitions.com/directory/industrial-and-organizational-testing-and-evaluation.htm
The Calgary-based CareerLink site offers this section on testing and evaluation. Click on its links to a long list of websites of companies that provide a wide variety of methods for screening job candidates. This is a simple way of seeing which firms have the right psychometric tests to match an organization’s needs.
Testing for ability or personality
www.keele.ac.uk/depts/aa/careers/careersinfo/psychometrics.htm
Keele University in the United Kingdom offers information about psychometric testing on the “Careers information” section of its website. On the psychometrics main page there are links to describe three main types of tests: ability, personality and interest questionnaires. It does qualify that “both personality and interest are more like psychometric questionnaires.” Click on the link to “Example tests and further help” to find links to reference books as well as organizations that offer further information on ability tests and personality questionnaires.
Testing gives employers the advantage
www.galtglobalreview.com/careers/psych_advantage.html
This article, “Careers: Gain a Psychological Advantage,” outlines why employers are using psychometric tests on a regular basis. “Evaluations during the recruitment process may help employers ensure better productivity, reduce absenteeism and fight high turnover rates. Those goals have given pre-employment assessments a push.” The article discusses why a good test should focus only on work-related subjects and why cheating on resumé tests doesn’t work. To fight resumé cheats, “firms often offer extra hurdles like aptitude tests, psychometric tests or exercises that display interpersonal skills, along with up to three or four lengthy interviews to decrease their reliance on the resumé.” It adds: “As many as 25 per cent of applications and resumés contain a major falsehood, according to the Society for Human Resource Management.”
Ann Macaulay is a freelance editor and regular contributor to Canadian HR Reporter. Her Web Sight column appears regularly in the CloseUp section.
The history of psychometric testing
www.psychometricadvantage.co.uk
This site gives an overview on psychometric testing, the theory behind it and how employers use it in recruitment processes and in staff development and retention. On the left menu is a section that gives tips on understanding personality tests and offers a link to an actual psychometric test that can be done online. Click on the top banner for a link to “About psychometric testing” that offers information on the main types of tests — ability and aptitude testing and personality profiling. There’s also a link to the “History of test development.” The top banner on the home page provides a link to “The theory behind personality testing,” which discusses Carl Jung’s theory and the eight categories of psychological type. Another link on the home page is “Try personality profiling,” which lists psychometric tests that can be tried online.
Finding the right test
www.careerlinktransitions.com/directory/industrial-and-organizational-testing-and-evaluation.htm
The Calgary-based CareerLink site offers this section on testing and evaluation. Click on its links to a long list of websites of companies that provide a wide variety of methods for screening job candidates. This is a simple way of seeing which firms have the right psychometric tests to match an organization’s needs.
Testing for ability or personality
www.keele.ac.uk/depts/aa/careers/careersinfo/psychometrics.htm
Keele University in the United Kingdom offers information about psychometric testing on the “Careers information” section of its website. On the psychometrics main page there are links to describe three main types of tests: ability, personality and interest questionnaires. It does qualify that “both personality and interest are more like psychometric questionnaires.” Click on the link to “Example tests and further help” to find links to reference books as well as organizations that offer further information on ability tests and personality questionnaires.
Testing gives employers the advantage
www.galtglobalreview.com/careers/psych_advantage.html
This article, “Careers: Gain a Psychological Advantage,” outlines why employers are using psychometric tests on a regular basis. “Evaluations during the recruitment process may help employers ensure better productivity, reduce absenteeism and fight high turnover rates. Those goals have given pre-employment assessments a push.” The article discusses why a good test should focus only on work-related subjects and why cheating on resumé tests doesn’t work. To fight resumé cheats, “firms often offer extra hurdles like aptitude tests, psychometric tests or exercises that display interpersonal skills, along with up to three or four lengthy interviews to decrease their reliance on the resumé.” It adds: “As many as 25 per cent of applications and resumés contain a major falsehood, according to the Society for Human Resource Management.”
Ann Macaulay is a freelance editor and regular contributor to Canadian HR Reporter. Her Web Sight column appears regularly in the CloseUp section.
