How Psychometric Testing Can Help With Recruitment

Recruitment can be a long process, as well as a costly one. Ensuring you can hire the right candidates for the right roles is key to a successful recruitment strategy, as well as saving time and money.

Psychometric testing in recruitment can be used to get a clear picture of a candidate, beyond what is covered in their CV and what they can talk about in their interview. Psychometric testing offers the opportunity to measure a candidate’s cognitive ability, their personality, and behavioural traits – amongst other things. 

What do you mean by psychometric testing?

When a person goes for an interview, the interviewees may tend to look into different areas like skills, experience, education, punctuality, appearance, and overall personality. However, employers can only learn so much from a CV, an interview, and first impressions. With psychometric testing, employers can get a greater understanding of a candidate, through tried and tested assessments that give a clear overview of the person, their abilities, and personality. 

Why do most employers choose psychometric testing?

Psychometrics are nothing new. Many top employers have been using psychometric testing for many years, and as a result, making better-informed decisions when it comes to hiring new candidates, as well as hiring internally and developing existing employees.

Many employers understand that when it comes to recruitment, there’s only so much you can learn from a candidate’s CV and interview. Even for more detailed interview processes, such as second and third interviews, the Q&A format can only provide so much information.

What are the different types of psychometric tests?

Psychometric tests cover a variety of different areas, offering a range of insights on a particular group of candidates, as well as a fairer way of benchmarking candidates vs a role and each other. Some of the key psychometric types include:

  • Behaviour

Behaviour assessments offer insights into how a candidate is likely to behave in the workplace. Behaviour tests look at things like what motivates a candidate, and what their values are. Behaviour assessments can also demonstrate how good of a communicator a candidate might be, which for many roles is a key attribute to have. This useful information can help to build a picture of the candidate, and whether they might be a good fit for the role.

  • Personality

Workplace personality assessments are a great way for employers to learn more about a person’s personality, in a data-driven way. These tests can shine a light on a candidate’s openness to change, how they’re likely to work in competitive environments, and how they might deal with stressful situations. Having this level of insight can help to understand whether a particular candidate is the right fit for a role.

  • Aptitude

Aptitude assessments measure a candidate’s general cognitive ability, with tests covering things such as problem solving and adaptability. This incredibly important assessment area can demonstrate a candidate’s general intelligence, far greater than an IQ test can. Aptitude assessments are the most common form of psychometric test, and should not be overlooked by employers looking to improve their recruitment process.

Adam Hansen
 

Adam is a part time journalist, entrepreneur, investor and father.