Practise psychometric tests
Psychometric tests or aptitude tests are used by recruiters as another part of their selection process to assess a candidate’s suitability for a role.
What are psychometric tests for?
Psychometric tests are mainly used as part of applications to graduate schemes and larger organisations, and the type of test given will depend on the role you are applying for. The recruitment pages on the organisation’s website will usually give details of the application process, and whether tests are given. Some recruiters use video games as an alternative way to test candidates, where the game is a way to assess your skills, decision making, response to challenges and risk taking.
There are many different types of tests, which will assess different types of abilities. Numerical tests tend to be used for roles that involve finance, budgets and statistics; spatial or diagrammatic tests are common for jobs in engineering and IT; and verbal tests are used for roles that involve working with large amounts of text such as law, HR, marketing and publishing.
When will you do the test?
Employers will email you a link to a test and give you a certain number of days in which to complete it. This usually happens after you have submitted your application, before being invited to interview, but some companies now only allow access to their application form after first passing their psychometric tests.
How to do well
As with all tests, it is important to read the instructions carefully and complete it in a quiet place where you won’t be distracted. You might not be given much warning before being invited to take a test, so set aside time each week to practice. Not only will this help you improve your speed and accuracy when answering questions, but it will also help you become familiar with the technology and pressure of being timed.
Practice Tests
We have a range of ways for you to practise pyschometric tests. You can...
- Take a look at our pyschometric test resources
- Register for JobTestPrep, an online platform that allows you to practice tests online. To register, please email jobtestprepid@qmul.ac.uk with your name, QM student ID number (e.g. 200000001) and the course you are studying.
