Personality tests, ability tests and tests in logical thinking. Work-psychological testing is getting more and more common in recruitment processes and when applying for a job you can often expect to be asked to do at least one test. Many people, including me, find these tests a bit frightening and that’s why I attended a workshop in work-psychological testing.
I arrived at the workshop with high expectations and hopes of leaving it later with much better confidence regarding these tests. During the workshop we got to do four different tests. One ability test, one test in logical thinking and two personality tests whereof one of them also included some logical thinking. I was exhausted when I finished!
Even though it was exhausting, it was a very useful experience and i learnt a lot. Here’s a few things that’s good to know about work-psychological testing:
- The tests are sometimes customized for the specific job and sometimes more general, it depends on what the employer want to get out of the testing.
- You usually get feedback on your test results, no matter if you get the job or not.
- Ability tests and tests in logical thinking often have a time limit, personality tests usually don’t.
- When doing a personality test there’s no right or wrong – don’t try and answer the questions how you think the employer wants you to answer, that will be discovered during the follow-up interview or give you a job that won’t suit you.
- Think about how you are as a person and how you can exemplify that before you do the tests. That will help you while answering questions about your personality, both on tests and interviews. It will also help you give the employer a true and honest version of yourself which is always appreciated.
- Carefully read or listen to the instructions and ask if anything is unclear.
- Make sure you can’t get any minus points on the test – if not, take chances and give an answer to each question.
- Practice! You can’t practice to be good or bad at these tests but by practising you will feel more calm and confident because you will recognize the structure and type of questions. Work-psychological tests can be found online.
- Don’t think to much while answering the questions – trust your guts and first instinct!
And how did I do? The tests were both easy and hard at the same time and when I was done (after two hours of answering test-questions) I was so tired that i barley remember what I answered. What I know is that I definitely feel much more confident and less scared of these tests now and I’m ready to do them for real in future recruitment processes. However, I won’t get my feedback until beginning of November so until then I’m happily unknowing of how I actually did.