Psychometric testing is a scientific technique used for testing various psychological attributes like intelligence, aptitude, personality traits, etc. It can be used in the field of education, psychology, psychiatry, and even recruitment to assess cognitive abilities, personal traits, and mental health status of candidates.

With the growth of psychology and the need to assess psychological attributes, psychometric testing has become an important part of standard hiring practice for companies. Many companies use online psychometric tests as a part of their recruitment and hiring process. Although these tests can be a powerful tool for assessing the strengths and abilities of candidates, still they need to be used carefully and should not be the only way of evaluating skills of candidates.

Different methods are used to assess psychological traits

• Observation involves observing the person objectively in different situations. Observation can play a powerful role in your hiring strategy, during job simulations where you can evaluate the performance of candidates in the actual work environment.

• Personality inventories are typically self-assessment tests, used to measure a person’s personality traits and abilities. They evaluate traits that cannot be assessed during an interview, and which could be difficult to evaluate based on the resumes.

Hiring managers use psychometric tests to get an in-depth evaluation of a candidate's behavior and skills. It helps them to get an understanding of their strengths and weaknesses and reduce bias in the process of comparing clients. Therefore, Psychometric tests can also be used as a part of a job performance assessment, in employee development and promotion.

What can psychometric tests measure?

Psychometric tests can measure a wide variety of behaviors and personality traits. These can be categorized as cognitive abilities and personal characteristics.

1. Cognitive abilities:
2. Intelligence: Psychometric tests are designed to measure key aspects of intelligence such as spatial thinking, logical reasoning, mechanical reasoning, etc.
3. Aptitude: Psychometric assessments also allow you to evaluate someone’s abilities, including their ability to learn new skills.

2. Personal traits:
3. Attitudes: You can evaluate attitudes towards other people, new and unfamiliar situations, challenges, etc.
4. Behavior: With personality tests, you can evaluate and predict behavior in specific circumstances.
5. Values: Values that define a person’s ideal mode of behavior can also be measured.
6. Motivation: Everyone has different motivators closely related to their work choices and their willingness to excel.

Are psychometric tests accurate?

Psychometric tests can be pretty accurate if designed and administered correctly by qualified professionals. Tests are designed based on skills and behavior required for the specific role.

Psychometric tests measure complex human behavior and therefore, are intended to be 100% accurate tool. They should be used as one element of a comprehensive approach to hiring, along with structured interviews and other skill assessments. Consider, if someone is highly conscientious, extraverted, and creative, it is not a guarantee that they would be a good fit for the role of a marketing director. Therefore, psychometric tests are best used in amalgamation with other skill assessments for specific job-specific skills. This gives a wholistic understanding of someone’s capacities, which can be used to analyze candidate’s resume and prepare for a structured interview.

Surveys suggest that 85% candidates exaggerate their skills and competencies on resume. Therefore, it is essential to create a comprehensive hiring strategy using psychometric tests in combination with several other tools and techniques. So, you can get a detailed, in-depth overview of the skills and abilities of each candidate.

How can companies use psychometric tools to make hiring better?

Psychometric tests are an essential tool that can help hiring managers make data-driven decisions while limiting their personal biases. You can even design a multi-step data-driven hiring procedure that involves psychometric tests, automated one-way video interviews, job-related skills tests, and structured interviews to make an informed decision. Tests help in getting a solid understanding of each candidate, beyond their experience and motivation. By comparing candidates and analyzing results, hiring teams can predict whether the candidate is fit for a given role/position.

What are the advantages of psychometric tests?

• Psychometric tests help in making data-driven hiring decisions by giving a complete picture of each candidate.
• These also help in quickly filtering out candidates and proceed only with the best ones, based on the right set of cognitive abilities & personality traits required for a role.
• Through psychometric tests one can analyze multiple profiles instantaneously and compare them without bias. This can help make the hiring process objective.

What are the disadvantages of psychometric tests?

• Psychometric tests should not be the only tool used to assess a candidate as they do not provide all the information needed in hiring. They can be a part of comprehensive approach to hiring and a global talent assessment strategy instead.
• They should be properly designed to assess the critical personality traits of a candidate.
• Candidates might fake their responses to build a better picture of themselves. Therefore, it is vital to analyze test results in context and use structured interviews to dig deeper.

Psychometric testing is a scientific technique used for assessing psychological traits like aptitude, skills and personality of candidates and aid in the hiring process. They cannot be used alone but rather, they should be one element of a comprehensive approach to hiring, along with structured interviews and other skill assessments to make effective hiring decisions.