Companies carry out psychometric tests to assess the skills and cognitive ability of their employees before hiring them. A number of specific tests including verbal, logical and numerical reasoning were done to justify the candidacy of staff employed by the organization. In test examples noted by Bryon (2015), these tests are meant to find out if a person is suitable for the role they are playing in the company or may be to assist implementing counselling and development processes. The content of this paper reflects on a personal experience handling a psychometric test inclusive of verbal and numeric reasoning tests. I recognized opportunities and areas that are available for me to improve on so as to sharpen my skills and work aptitudes.
The tests tried on the general and logical reasoning level of a person as well as one’s ability to follow directions. Kline (2015) mentions one of five categories covered in psychometric assessments, that is, performing ability tests aimed at evaluating workers intelligence, general reasoning, verbal, numerical or spatial ability. A company can use this type of test to present challenging scenarios to the employee and use the outcome to interpret or measure the worker’s employability level. In his argument, Vernon (2014), describes verbal versatility and comprehension as significant factors in establishing intellectual realities about an employee.
An organization would not be able to succeed if it does not have the appropriate personnel in the right positions. In my view, the psychometric tests provided a unique experience given that it was designed to measure the psychological features including motivation, personality, competencies, career interests and intellectual abilities. The literature reflects on my understanding of the job description and the significance of managers performing appraisals to see what skillsets their employees are capable of delivering for the company (Husain et al 2010). The questionable facts are the reasons for the organization to use psychometrics to test potential and existing employees. One would wonder if the test is meant to promote inclusivity or exclusivity because an employee would feel like they are being interrogated through such tests subsequently compelling them to go work for welcoming competitors.
The experience of taking the tests demonstrates exploration and the testing processes require an individual who has good development in verbal and written communication. The various data gathering methods included interviews and questionnaire, thus, even if one’s job performance can be good, they might participate averagely in the tests. To ensure reliability and validity of data that is collected from workers, a thorough test data interpretation has to be done. According to Klimusová and Květon (2016), this activity would involve comparing test scores achieved by each individual participant and measuring abilities as well as personal nature of job applicants.
I think I need to be communicative at work, not only through the online platforms but also work on my team playing skills to help me come out of difficult situations when I need help with tasks at work. The great thing about working in a team is that you save on time management as well as relieve on the pressure by sharing ideas on ways to solve a problem without thinking of desperate shortcuts. I will also seek to improve on my preparedness to handle test questions that are applicable to my job so as to reduce any feelings of panic or fear especially in cases of taking new assessments.
- Bryon, M., 2015. Ultimate Psychometric Tests: Over 1000 Verbal, Numerical, Diagrammatic and Personality Tests. Kogan Page Publishers.
- Husain, M.Y., Mokhtar, S.B., Ahmad, A.A. and Mustapha, R., 2010. Importance of employability skills from employers’ perspective. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 7, pp.430-438.
- Klimusová, H. and Květon, P., 2016. Psychometric Properties of the Learning Potential Test. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 217, pp.652-656.
- Kline, P., 2015. Handbook of test construction: introduction to psychometric design. Routledge.
- Vernon, P. E., 2014. The structure of human abilities. London, Routledge.