Top 9 Psychometric Tests to Prepare for in 2024: A Comprehensive Guide
Are you a job seeker, working professional, or future student? If so, chances are you will have to take a psychometric test at some point. Psychometric tests are becoming an increasingly popular addition to the job hiring and college admissions process as they can reveal information about the candidate that may have otherwise been hidden.
A psychometric test sounds extremely daunting; after all, there isn’t much information about them out there – and if you have never taken one before, it is hard to know what to expect.
To help you out, we have gathered all the key information about the top psychometric tests commonly administered. We’ll cover:
- What a psychometric test is
- The importance of psychometric tests
- The most common psychometric tests of 2024.
This guide will hopefully allow you to not only prepare for any future testing you may face but to also nail the tests with confidence. Let’s get right into it!
Table of Contents
What Exactly Is A Psychometric Test?
A psychometric test is a test that has been designed by psychologists to measure certain areas of an individual’s mental performance.
They are used by many organizations from colleges to potential employers as a way to learn more about a candidate and how their brain works.
Psychometric tests can measure all sorts of variables to do with someone’s mental performance, including personality, knowledge, certain skills, attitudes, behavioral patterns, and academic potential.
They can take form in just about any test format; however, they are most commonly carried out via a written test or a face-to-face interaction.
Because a psychometric test tests intangible metrics to do with your brain, it is quite hard to prepare for one in the normal way (i.e., memorizing or learning lots of information to regurgitate in the test).
However, understanding these tests and how they are to be carried out is a great way to prepare yourself and endure until you stay calm and collected. The more relaxed you are, the more you let your true self shine through.
The Importance of Psychometric Tests
Psychometric tests are extremely important and can provide beneficial information.
They are often used by employers and hiring managers to assess candidates for a job, as the test can tell the employer certain things about the candidate that can’t be gleaned from a CV or interview.
While a CV or interview may allow the employer to see one side of a candidate, this is extremely controlled and the candidate can tread carefully to present a curated image of themselves.
Furthermore, a CV or interview is never going to fully express what a person’s cognitive ability, personality, or ability to work under pressure is like – which is why psychometric testing is so important.
By administering a psychometric test, the employer can get a proper idea of what the candidate is truly like and whether their cognitive abilities and personality match up with the role they are applying for.
The test offers them an insight into the attributes of the candidate that they would never have known about before hiring them and allows them to make a well-informed and beneficial decision on which candidate is the best match for the role.
List of Top Psychometric Tests for 2024
A psychometric test isn’t a one-size-fits-all concept; rather it is an umbrella that many different types of tests fall under.
This is advantageous for you as you can familiarize yourself with the main types of tests to ensure you can ace them all if you are ever required to take one.
Here is a list of the top psychometric tests currently used by employers to help you with your job preparation:
Wonderlic Test
The Wonderlic test is a popular psychometric test that was created by the Wonderlic company.
It is a 12-minute test that consists of 50 questions that are designed to test your verbal, numerical, abstract, and general knowledge abilities all while facing time pressure.
The nature and breadth of this test and what it measures have led to it being hailed as one of the best ways to predict a candidate’s potential job performance, which is why it is such a popular option amongst recruiters and hiring managers.
Caliper Assessment
Another commonly used psychometric test is the Caliper Assessment, which is also known as the Caliper Profile.
Designed by Taology, the test consists of 98 multiple-choice questions that aim to assess the candidates’ cognitive ability and their behavioral patterns.
The test is not timed (so no time pressure is involved) and it usually takes an hour to complete.
Due to its focus on cognitive and behavioral tendencies, the Caliper Assessment is often administered to candidates applying for high-stakes roles such as management or senior leadership.
Raven Progressive Matrices
The Raven Progressive Matrices test (RPM) is unlike any test you have taken before.
The test is made up of questions consisting of various matrices, with the objective being to identify a certain pattern and correctly fill in the gaps.
The test is designed to assess the candidate’s logic, as well as their spatial skills.
There are three different tiers of the test – each with varying difficulty – and the one you are administered will depend on the role you are applying for and what the employer is looking to find out.
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is perhaps one of the most well-known psychometric tests.
The test consists of 93 questions made up of two different statements; the candidate then has to select the statement that best represents them.
The purpose of the test is to allow the candidate and employer to better understand their personality but sorting them into one of 16 distinct personality groups.
This is done by measuring the following four attributes: introvert vs extrovert, sensing vs intuition, thinking vs feeling, and judging vs perceiving.
DISC Personality Inventory
The DISC Personality Inventory is a test designed to gauge your dominant personality traits.
The name stands for the four possible personality factors that the test assesses: dominant, influential, steady, and compliant.
The purpose of the test is to tell your potential employer what your personality is like and to give them a better understanding of how you might function in the workplace.
The test is very short and consists of 12-30 questions in which the candidate must rate their behavior based on a prompt or phrase.
Watson Glaser Test
The Watson Glaser Test is an assessment used as a pre-employment test to gain a better understanding of a candidate’s abilities, reasoning, and critical thinking skills.
It is made up of 40 multiple-choice questions that must be answered within a 30-minute time frame.
The test covers several key categories, including inference, recognition of assumption, deduction, interpretation, and evaluation of arguments.
Overall, the test will tell your potential employer how you may operate within the company and whether you have the critical thinking skills required for the role at hand.
Korn Ferry
The Korn Ferry Psychometric Tests are a collection of tests used by employers as a way to screen potential employees.
There are two main categories of tests administered within this bundle. These are the cognitive tests, which assess your logic, verbal, and numerical reasoning, and personality assessments that analyze your personality traits, your work-related behavior, and your goals.
You may be required to take one or numerous tests, depending on what your employer is looking to find out and what the nature of the role you’re applying for is.
SHL
The SHL test is a collection of pre-employment screening tests commonly used by hiring managers and recruiters.
Many tests fall under the SHL banner, each assessing a unique set of skills and attributes.
Potential areas of assessment include a candidate’s numerical reasoning, logic, situational judgment, and critical thinking skills.
The style of test will vary based on the employer’s preferences; some are multiple-choice tests and some involve interactive questions that will ascertain a good idea of how the candidate might operate in the workplace.
Hogan Assessment
The Hogan Assessment is a well-reputed psychometric test that is often taken by candidates for senior roles within a company or organization.
The assessment isn’t just one test but is rather a collection of tests from which a candidate may take one (or all).
Their purpose is to test the personality and behavioral attributes of the candidate or their cognitive abilities. The questions are known to be challenging and a real test of skill; however, they are thought to be highly effective.
Final Thoughts
Despite not remembering the tests we are all used to from school and college, psychometric tests are nothing to be afraid of.
They aim to simply find out more about you and how you work to give a potential employer a better idea of whether you are the right fit.
Preparing for these tests cannot be done in the traditional way, as they don’t require you to memorize and regurgitate information or solve complex equations.
However, you can still prepare for them by familiarizing yourself with their format, question style, and the ultimate purpose of the test.
Ultimately, you simply need to trust yourself and your abilities and know that the test will allow you to demonstrate all that you have to offer.
By relaxing and simply enjoying the test, you will allow your potential employee to see exactly who you are and what you are capable of.
Sarah is an accomplished educator, researcher and author in the field of testing and assessment. She has worked with various educational institutions and organisations to develop innovative evaluation methods and enhance student learning. Sarah has published numerous articles and books on assessment and learning. Her passion for promoting equity and fairness in the education system fuels her commitment to sharing insights and best practices with educators and policymakers around the world.
