What Do You Mean by Psychometric Tests?

Psychometric tests are a part of the recruitment process for companies. Through this, they check an individual’s intelligence, skills and personality. The results are further used to determine whether the candidate is a fit for the company. If you’re a well-read person, it’s easier to crack these tests.

The tests are structured in a way to evaluate one’s capacity for team work, ability to process information and capacity to handle stress at work. The majority of psychometric tests are conducted online. However, very occasionally, an employer may use paper-based tests.

Psychometric Tests: A Brief History

Psychometric Tests are not a ‘thing’ of this era. They’ve been in existence since the early 20^th century when they were originally used for the purpose of educational psychology. Alfred Binet in the year 1905 for the first time had introduced the world to ‘intelligence test’.

Since then, these tests have evolved and have become a common feature of the selection process of large, competitive organizations. Most big corporates prefer these tests to assess and evaluate an individual’s potential to work with the company. These tests help assess the acquired skills and education background of the individuals so that the company may accept or reject the applicant based on their own acceptable scores.

Usage of Psychometric Tests

Recruiters who often look for new talent from campuses use these psychometric tests for the following reasons:

1. 1. These tests are objective and impersonal. This prevents any chance of unconscious bias and a candidate is only judged on his/her abilities.
   2. The tests make the recruitment process more efficient and can help cut down on HR costs.
   3. They are proven to be reliable indicators of future job execution.

The psychometric tests can be conducted at any stage of the recruitment process but are usually undertaken in one of these three stages:

1. 1. After the submission of application form
   2. As an add-on during your interview
   3. After the final interview

The term ‘psychometric’ has been coined from the Greek words for ‘mental’ & ‘measurement’.

There are 3 areas that these tests aim to explore –

• • Capabilities
  • Aptitude for job
  • Personality fits

These are the key things that an employer looks for in the ideal candidate in the hiring process. It is very important to assess these to know the culture fit before they join the company. Essentially, these tests evaluate an individual’s intelligence, aptitude and personality as well as the attitude towards stress at job.

Most counsellors also encourage individuals to go through these tests so that they can crack their interviews more easily.