Psychometric

Psychometric tests are used to assess and understand the personality traits and attributes of a candidate. All the psychometric tests are scientific and standardized in nature. There are a variety of psychometric tests in different formats which aim to analyze different aspects about a candidate such as their skills, abilities, personality traits, etc. 

Companies conduct psychometric tests on the candidate to assess whether they are a good fit for the job or not. Through these tests, they try to figure out whether the candidate’s skills, behavior, and working style match with their requirements or not. 

Importance of Psychometric Tests

While the number of job applicants is endless in today’s job market, it is still a tough job to find highly talented people for your company. It has become extremely difficult to differentiate between skilled candidates and unskilled candidates. 

Psychometric tests are in place to make this process a whole lot easier. Psychometric tests bring an objective approach to the recruitment process and help in making scientifically-backed hiring decisions. 

Psychometric tests allow companies to assess the skills and abilities of candidates. It helps them in understanding whether the candidate is a good fit for their organization or not. 

These tests provide a more in-depth understanding as to how a candidate would react in the workplace and how well will they be able to perform given their skills. There are a variety of psychometric tests that can be used depending upon the job role. 

For eg: a sales job would focus on assessing the interpersonal skills of the candidate. 

Using psychometric tests can result in in- 

• Reduced hiring costs
• Increased employee retention
• Less time in the recruitment process
• Improved productivity
• Better hiring decisions

What is Measured in Psychometric Tests?

Psychometric tests are used to measure a variety of things in a candidate depending upon the job requirements. 

• Aptitude tests: These tests measure the aptitude level of the candidates. These tests are used for measuring the aptitude of candidates in different fields. The abilities measured are numerical ability, verbal ability, spatial awareness, etc. 
• Personality tests: These tests are used to assess the personality traits of the candidates. It helps the companies in knowing how a candidate would react in a particular situation at work. 
• Interest tests: These tests assess what motivates people and what are the things of their interest.
• Behavioral tests: These tests are used to understand the behavioral characteristics of a candidate. It helps in understanding the skills required for the job in depth.

How is Psychometric Test Different From Cognitive Tests?

Psychometric tests are a broad term while cognitive tests are a sub-category of psychometric tests itself. 

Psychometric tests are used to measure a variety of skills and personality traits of the candidates. 

Cognitive tests, on the other hand, are used to measure the competence level of the candidates in a specific area. 

Psychometric tests measure the candidates on different levels, in order to see if the candidate fits the requirement or not. The main motive of psychometric tests is to understand the behavioral skills, traits of the candidates. Whereas cognitive tests are used majorly to measure the aptitude of the employees and their ability to get the job done. 

Roles for Which Psychometric Tests Should be Used?

Psychometric tests should be used for jobs that require highly competent people and require some skills. Psychometric tests are the way to go especially when there is a large pool of candidates. 

Higher position job roles require a close inspection of the candidates’ skill level and competency. Psychometric tests play a major role therein determining whether the candidate is a good fit or not.

Any technical job profile should have a psychometric test as it is the only best way to assess their competency.

You can use psychometric tests for the following job profiles-

• HR
• Finance
• Computer Science
• Marketing
• Sales

We hope this blog helped you understand psychometric tests in detail. For more such insightful blogs, keep in touch with Xobin.