Psychometric tests can be a great help when you're going through a career shift. They are designed to help you work out what your strengths are, what makes you tick, in what environments you thrive and ultimately what kind of careers and work-style you're suited to.
But with so many psychometric tests out there it's difficult to know which one to go for. So we went in search of an expert that could give us the low-down on psychometric tests and found Siobhan Hamilton-Phillips, Senior Consultant Psychologist at Career Psychology. Here's what she had to tell us...
A short guide to understanding phsychometrics
What does psychometric even mean?
The word psychometric comes from Greek; psycho meaning mind and Latin metric meaning measurement. Psychometrics includes the measurement of knowledge, abilities, aptitudes, and personality traits.
Over the last 50 years tests have been developed for educational and psychological measurement. Examples of such tests are: Intelligent Quotient (IQ) Mental agility, Manual dexterity, Aptitudes, Occupational Interests and Personality.
How can you benefit from taking psychometric tests?
If you are unhappy in your job or if you are unsure of the career direction you are heading in, taking a reliable psychometric assessment for career choice and development can help you to cut through the doubt and focus on the areas that will be most important for you to consider.
It will also help you to become aware of your highest aptitude and where that can be best applied. This will be the one that you find easiest and which, even on a bad day, you can still do better than the other aptitudes. Your interests and aptitudes can be further investigated with a qualified consultant and a particular job identified. Psychometric tests aim to give you the personal insight that will help you make a positive and successful career step as you choose a new job and work environment.
A psychometric test consultancy service is designed to provide you with all the information you will need to make a positive start, to have something to look forward to, and essential back up when you need it.
What is a personality test?
Personality profiling or Personality Assessment is the most prolific of all the tests and assessments available.
There is a vast variety of personality tests that measure our behavioural traits and characteristics against ‘normal behavior'. One of the earliest was a test of Extroversion - Introversion developed by Hans Eynsenck. He developed a scale which showed how extreme E scores were found in people who were wildly extrovert with little concern about their social behavior and as a consequence, were likely to be institutionalized. At the other end of the scale, were those who were so introverted that they were socially isolated.
Today's modern tests measure anything from 5 to 50 personality traits predicting behavioral characteristics under various circumstances. Personality tests are used widely in commercial organizations for staff selection and development and organizations such as hospitals schools universities and prisons.
Personality profiling is particularly valuable in career development as it is used to measure traits which will determine where your personality characteristics could be an asset e.g. are you organized, would you like to work with a small group of people or in a large open office, are you are even tempered, eager to please, and a host of other traits which will assist you to find the right type of work as well as the right type of environment that would be best suited to your personality allowing you to thrive.
How can you tell the difference between a good test and a poor test?
If a psychometric test is good enough to pass The British Psychological Society standards you can be assured it is reliable. Reliability is important because you will want results you can trust to allow you to make important decisions about your future. A poor test will not offer reliability or consistency.
What about on-line tests?
Some are not even good enough for practice sessions because the results are not reliable or consistent! However there are a number of test distributors who are excellent, some of whom may design and sell tests to individual qualified consultants and qualified personnel in organizations. SHL, Team Focus and the Psychological Consultancy are among the top test providers. Many universities also offer on-line tests. The British Psychological Society has a register of qualified consultants.
Popular tests and what they provide
FIRO B - Helps people understand their own behaviourand that of others in interpersonal situations. It explores three basic interpersonal needs (Inclusion, Control, and Affection) along two dimensions (Expressed and Wanted)
Myers Briggs - Explains why different kinds of people approach a problem in their particular way, prefer different kinds of work, and sometimes why they find it hard to understand each other.
Cattell 16PF (16 Personality Factors) - The way we see ourselves will be influenced by our upbringing and education and over time we will have learned to hide or express our feelings. The 16PF help us to understand our personality and therefore our strengths so we can utilize them to best advantage.
Hogan Personality Inventory - Designed for the workplace, it matches individuals to a role where they will be effective by playing to their natural advantages. Although it is only a five-factor model it is derived through eliminating all areas of less importance concentrating on those needed to find the best match.
Type Dynamics Indicator (TDI) personality type questionnaire
The TDI will generate a career report identifying your own preferred behaviour and some fundamental ways in which you differ from other people and some suggestions for areas of personal development.
Aptitude tests
Aptitude tests are timed; anything from 10mins to 30mins each and the results are usually given in percentiles not percentages. A percentile score will measure your results against a particular group eg. Graduates, Professionals, Administrators, Mechanics etc. Some large companies have their own percentile scales for Graduate selection.
Aptitude tests fall into 3 main categories for career development.
- Critical Reasoning - a measure of how strong you are at problem solving; reasoning, and being rational
- Numerical Reasoning - mathematical problems to solve, usually performed without the use of a calculator
- Abstract Reasoning - measures how well you recognize abstract patterns and their logical relationship
Occupational Interests Tests
There is no pass or fail, these tests they are designed to establish you highest interests across a whole range of occupations. You are usually asked to score your interest level in a number of tasks, eg. would you like to organize events, would you like to be on stage, would you like to work with children. There are hundreds of questions asked and when all your high scores are collected you will have a short list of areas to explore with your consultant. There is also another benefit in that you can stop wasting energy on thinking about all the areas you marked lower down the scale that no longer come into the equation.
How can you benefit from taking psychometric tests?
If you are unhappy in your job or if you are unsure of the career direction you should take, a reliable psychometric assessment for career choice and development will cut through the doubt, and help you focus on the areas that will be most important for you to consider. This will be achieved through combining your highest aptitude with your highest occupational interests and your most salient personality characteristics.
You will have more self knowledge and personal insight to bring to your final step in finding the right way forward. Your consultant's expertise will be invaluable in helping you make your final choice knowing that you have left nothing to chance.
A good service will provide you with all the information you will need to make a positive start. You will have something special to look forward to, and essential, possibly free back up when you need it.
So you want to explore the DIY route to Career Development?
There are a number of good books available on self development and career development. A very recent publication Happy at Work by Sophie Rowan, an accomplished psychologist, published by Prentice Hall, (Amazon link) covers all the important areas to consider to in selecting, changing and advancing your career. If you combine this information with some valid on line tests you will be reducing the risk of making a serious mistake.
The list of psychometric test suppliers above offer a fee range of £25 for a brief test session to £900 for a comprehensive test session i.e. the ‘full works' including several sessions with a occupational psychologist. In almost all cases follow up consultations are charged by the hour, from £55.
You want to play safe and take the Professional route?
Well, it will cost you more, but it may be a more cost effective choice. A full service should offer you comprehensive, valid, psychometrics and time with an occupational psychologist or qualified consultant to discuss your present situation and the options available, bearing in mind the limitations you may have, such as:
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Family responsibilities, including the old as well as the young
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Your geographical location (may restrict your choice of options)
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Your qualifications
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Your age (having said that, I have rarely encountered age as a barrier if an individual fits the job spec, is well presented, really wants the job and shows enthusiasm at the interview)
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Your availability for part time study (this could enable you to gain a valuable qualification that would make a difference to your salary and status and future career options. Bear in mind the cost, the time and travel involved. Any course of study should be chosen with your head ruling your heart, and prove to be a wise investment.)
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Your aspirations on income generation now and in the future
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Work-life balance
In the end you should feel, as expressed by one of my clients, ‘like starting life again as an adult and getting most of it absolutely right'.
A reasonable time-scale needs to be allocated to allow you to pace yourself to reach a worthwhile, rewarding outcome. So an intermediately plan might be put in place as a building block to reach your goal. You may also need support to get you through each stage, particularly if your situation is complicated, and therefore free follow up is worth it's weight in gold.
Are you ready for the costs (take a deep breath)?
Fees will start at approximately £400.00 for a recent graduate and increase to £700.00 for Career Development and go up to about £2500.00 for the all singing all dancing service including intensive psychometric testing, CV prep, confidence building, interview skills training, self-marketing and job seeking and a consultant to see you all the way to your first day in the job as well as the opportunity for a couple of coaching sessions in adapting to the new job.
With a good book and online tests you could cut costs down to about £150 - £200. However there are risks when going it alone as there will be an absence of professional dialogue to guide you away from an unsuitable option that looks exciting but has drawbacks medium to long term. But if finances are limited then you can always employ the help of sensible unbiased friends to play Devil's advocate and help you make a realistic choice.
This
may seem like a lot of money to fork out, but consider that with a
reliable psychometric test you will be gaining invaluable insight
into your strengths and how you work best that will help to
successfully guide your career progress through many years to come.
Therefore for the cost of a special week-end away you can actually
set yourself up with an exciting goal and a plan to go with it that
could last a career lifetime. BUT after 30 years as an occupational
psychologist and still more in love with my job than my cat, I am
biased.
Siobhan
Hamilton-Phillips, Senior
Consultant Psychologist,
Career
Psychology
T
+44(0) 207 887 4585
M
+44 (0)7980 607 140
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