Psychometric Testing for Employers

In this section, there are tips for both Employers and Jobseekers on understanding psychometric testing.

There are basically two types of psychometric tests:

• Aptitude or IQ tests
• Behavioural / Personality Tests

For a full explanation of these tests please see the Psychometric Testing for Candidates section.

From an interviewing point of view, more and more employers are using a type of psychometric testing called Competency Based Interviewing in their employee selection process. To help you understand this method and to use it in future interviews with potential employees, we have outlined below a brief explanation of this process and full guidelines to use in interviews.

The basic premise driving this type of interview is that a candidate's past performance is the best predictor of future performance. Competency based questions are directly linked to an essential function of the position.

Interviews not based on behavioural interviewing techniques usually tend to focus exclusively on education and experience, precisely the same information that is on the CV. This information was what got the candidate the interview and should only form the actual basis of the interview itself. To predict how an applicant is likely to handle the job, HR managers need to ask for examples of things the candidate has actually done that would demonstrate the key characteristics the firm needs.

There are a number of categories of competency based interview questions:

• Organisational Awareness
• Strategic Thinking
• Communication
• ClientFocus
• Client Relationship
• Teamwork
• Leadership Ability
• Innovation
• Time Management

Examples of competency-based questions follow:

Organisational Awareness

Describe the structure of your company and give an example of how you work within this culture to achieve a personal / professional goal.

Also describe how you would perceive the new company and how you would adapt to this culture

Strategic Thinking

Describe your most challenging project and what you changed to adapt to that scenario.

How did you go about assessing your own performance within this assignment?

Communication

How do you keep your clients informed about difficult issues that directly affect their bottom line?

Give an example of a difficult or sensitive situation that required you to use excellent communication skills.

Give an example of how you have developed communication skills in others? (Particularly helpful when interviewing at managerial level)

Client Focus

Give an example of how you provided service to a client beyond their expectations. How did you identify this need? What was their reaction?

Describe the process you use to stay in touch with clients' short and long-term needs.

Client Relationship

Describe how you develop new client relationships?

Describe how you keep your existing client base throughout threats from competition.

Teamwork

Describe a situation in which you were a member of a team. What did you do to make a positive contribution to the team?

Describe a situation where there was conflict within the team? What did you do to resolve it?

Leadership Ability

Describe how you led a team (comprised of different levels of staff). How did you improve their work?

Describe a situation where you had to take charge either with a demanding client or with your own team.

Innovation

This is particularly relevant at managerial level where employers are looking for an individual who can make a positive profit making contribution for the firm.

Describe something you have done that was new for your firm that improved the performance of your team or the value of the work done.

Have you done anything innovative that would be of direct interest to your clients or enhanced awareness of your organisation?

Time Management

Give me a specific example of a time when you failed to complete a project on time.

How did this outcome affect your company?

What could you have done differently?

How has that experience affected the way you deal with deadlines now?

The major benefits of this type of interviewing are that these questions allow the candidate to relate their answer to a real life experience rather than giving a generic textbook answer. This enables the candidate to reveal the most relevant information in context to the current job opportunity. It is ironic that while most hiring is done around technical skills, most staff retention issues arise based on softer skills such as attitude. A technical question would never reveal such a potential behavioural flaw. When competency-based behavioural interviewing forms the framework for the entire recruitment process, interviewers are able to make much more effective hiring decisions.

Competency-based behavioural interviewing enables the interviewers to select the best possible candidate for their organisation and as such is an invaluable tool for any recruitment partner.