What is psychometric testing?

Psychometric tests were originally developed for use by educational psychologists in the early 20th century. Today, they have been adopted by many organisations as a recruitment and selection tool. They aim to provide the organisation with a guide to the most suitable candidate for a given job. Psychometric tests are not generally used as the sole method of assessment, but would be used in conjunction with other assessment methods such as an interview or written application.

Psychometric tests can be divided into two categories; personality tests and aptitude tests. Personality tests attempt to measure different aspects of your personality. Aptitude tests look to measure your aptitude and ability to perform certain functions that will bear some resemblance to your job role. Sometimes, the test may contain elements of both personality and aptitude.