I’ve recently moved into a ‘Marketing Coordinator’ role at MyRecruitment+. As we’re a recruitment and onboarding software company, in order to succeed in this position I’ve had to familiarise myself with trending content in the HR industry and topics which are heavily covered and discussed. In doing so, it’s become apparent to me that psychometric talent assessments are negatively portrayed in majority of blogs that are written from the perspective of the individual being assessed.
How did this become apparent? There’s dozens of blogs that aim to inform graduates and job seekers of how to ‘prepare’ for their assessment. These blogs describe the assessment with adjectives like ‘tricky’, ‘daunting’, and ‘ominous’.
I take these blogs and raise you mine, here’s the cold hard truth about preparing for a psychometric talent assessment.
I’m going to make a bold statement and be completely transparent with you, regardless of what else you read on the crazy world that is the internet, YOU DO NOT NEED TO PREPARE FOR A PSYCHOMETRIC TALENT ASSESSMENT.
There is an assortment of negative stigma associated with this type of pre-employment assessment, but the truth is there is nothing to be afraid of, and nothing negative about them. The insights they reveal don’t group you into ‘good’ or ‘bad’, unskilled or skilled. In matter of fact, they work in your favour.
In many blogs I’ve read, the writer cautions you that this type of assessment is like no other you’ve ever experienced. Whilst they openly discuss the lack of numeracy or literacy assessment component to the test, they recommend mental and physical preparation, and recommend taking practice tests.
This is confusing to me – is the aim to change your personality, behaviour or motivation by taking practice tests? Who you are is who you are, regardless if you take one test or ten, your temperament will not change.
I will admit, the extent of verified daunt will vary depending on the method the company requesting the assessment has chosen. It’s a different experience taking an online questionnaire, to sitting in front of a reactor panel. If you’re unsure of the components of your instructed method, read here. Regardless of the method, once you’ve read the contents below I truly believe any feeling of intimidation will vanish.
This isn’t marked according to a criteria of ‘funny’ or ‘mentally stable’, it’s in accordance to personality traits such as consciousness and openness. Let me use myself as an example: on a scale of 1-100 I scored 99 on ‘Consciousness’. This comment is not good or bad, it simply means; I’m organised, I like structure and have attention to detail. And what can I say- I love my to-do lists! I’m a marketing coordinator, so this trait fits perfectly for my position. I need to organise, schedule and plan content. But for finance? Well, I simply can’t imagine anything worse than figuring out and crunching numbers all day. No offence to finance people, you guys are incredible.
Through undergoing this assessment, you won’t be accepting a job that you won’t like! There’s nothing worse than being unhappy at work- imagine spending the majority of your time in an office with colleagues that you don’t get along with. Dreading going to work leads to dissatisfaction in life and overall poor vibes. It’s all about the vibes at work. If you vibe with your colleagues you’re more motivated, meaning your quality of work is higher and sense of accomplishment is greater.
If you’re unmotivated, you won’t work hard or productively, which leads to poor self-reflection and negatively impacted mental health.
There will always be another job and another opportunity, it’s important you put yourself first. This is where psychometric talent assessments help you! It’s not an assessment of you, it’s an assessment of you WITH the company.
Again, this is not a reflection of your potential as a person, as a worker or as a family member. This is to do with the current position available.
The purpose of building your career is to continuously work to be better skilled, better educated, and witness your growth as you climb the ladder of your department. You don’t want to have 15 years of experience with the same knowledge as someone with 3 years of experience.
This is where psychometric assessments aid you in terms of your personal and career growth. If your potential is too high to the career growth opportunity you’ve applied for, it won’t work for you or the employer. You won’t stay long in the business, which a) means the recruiter has to find another employee, and b) means you have to find another job! You’d rather enter a position at a company that offers the growth you deserve.
The location of psychometric talent assessments in the recruitment process will vary depending on the company. It may take place in the application process, or in the final stage for a select few candidates.
Yes, the necessity to complete an extra step in order to apply for a position is a tad annoying. It’s equally as annoying if it’s in the final stage of the application process because you’ve already invested so much time. I can totally understand how this is a deterrent for many job seekers- time is valuable!
In saying this, you know what would be more annoying? Getting a position and being a) let go of before probation period, or b) realising after two weeks you’re not a good cultural fit and you won’t be happy in the position. Imagine the time you’ve wasted then!
It may be a nuisance to complete, but it will work in your favour in the long run. Science is based on countless studies and is evidence based, therefore if the psychometric assessment reveals you won’t be a good fit for the position it’s only revealing what you’d have to find out the hard, and long way.
Psychometric talent assessments are an extremely useful tool in recruitment and it’s time candidates understand the benefits for them. You get a voice, and a fair chance.
Psychometric assessment as a screening tool is the future, especially with AI psychometric talent assessment. This form of assessment only requires you to film a 30 second video answering screening questions, and to submit it online. Quick and simple.
If you’re wondering why you should believe me, and not the other blogs you’ve read, it’s because I’ve worked alongside psychometric experts who have developed AI psychometric talent assessments.
I promise this is not a sales pitch, this is validation. I have learnt from industry professionals, with over 25 years of experience in; talent management, gathering and learning information about behavioural science, and unearthing how to improve psychometric assessments. I know the ins and the outs of the foundations of psychometric assessments, and have learnt about what they can offer employers and employees. I’ve seen them in action! It’s literally matchmaking, but without the whole love aspect.
So, do you need to prepare? No. You need to be true to yourself and enjoy the process of finding a company that is going to appreciate you for you.
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