Psych testing 101
by Nicole Russom
For hiring managers or the HR team that are not familiar with using psychometric assessment as part of a selection or development process, it can be quite daunting. How much weight can you place on the results from such assessments? How do you know if the candidate has cheated? How do you interpret the results? How do you position the testing with candidates or employees?
So to alleviate some of this apprehension, here are some of the more commonly asked questions about how to effectively use psychometric assessment, particularly in the selection process:
How much weight should I place on the results of psychometric assessments?
Psych assessment is one part of the process. It is no more or less important than any other selection process candidates go through, such as an interview. We recommend to clients that the psych testing results be seen as additional data to add to the whole picture and where possible, investigated further at a second or final interview stage. Assessment adds valuable insight into people’s underlying capability, motives, attitudes and values that you may not be able to get from a standard interview, however it is not a perfect process.
What’s the different between ability/cognitive/aptitude testing and personality/work style preferences testing?
Ability assessments measure capability, such as how quickly the candidate can pick up on and learn new information. Personality is about preferences and the candidate’s natural style. Generally, people are likely to behave in a way consistent with their preferences. They can behave differently if they learn to change their style, but it takes a lot of effort.
How long are the results from psychometric assessments valid for?
The results of psychometric assessments are relevant for approximately 18 months. People tend to go through a significant change in their lives every 18 months to two years (eg. change of job, moving, marriage, divorce, illness, grief) which can have an impact on assessment results.
What should I tell the candidate about the testing?
Managing candidate expectations is important. Speak to them about the testing and the best conditions to do it under (eg. in a quiet environment where you won’t be disturbed, in the morning is best if possible, try to avoid late at night). Let them know how long it will take, find out if there is anything that may impact their performance on the assessments that you should know about, direct them to any practice questions they can do, and answer any questions they may have.
At what stage of the selection process should I use psychometric assessment?
Psychometric testing can be used at different stages of the selection process, depending on why you are using it. For example, for high volume recruitment (eg. graduate, call centre) assessment (such as cognitive abilities or Situational Judgement assessments) may be one of the initial stages (after application) in order to screen out candidates. For lateral hires, we recommend completing assessments between the first and second interviews, or between the interview and reference check if there is no second interview. This way, the assessment can help to answer any questions that may have arisen from the first interview, and you can use the results of the assessment to help guide the second interview and ensure you tap into any potential vulnerabilities.
How do I know if the candidate has cheated?
Most personality/work style preferences assessments will look at how consistently a candidate has responded to similar items on the questionnaire. If they respond inconsistently to items that tap into the same behaviours, this may raise some questions about how accurately the results represent the candidate’s true preferences. However, low consistency is not always indicative of cheating or trying to create a positive impression, as it can also suggest lowered self-insight, that a candidate has rushed through the assessment without giving due consideration to their responses, or perhaps that a candidate was distracted at the time of taking the assessment. For ability assessments there is the possibility that candidates may get someone else to complete the assessment for them, however in our experience this is highly unlikely (only 12% of candidates will cheat on an assessment, and if they do, it’s more likely to be trying to create a positive impression on a personality assessment than cheating on an ability assessment), and if they do cheat, they are often found out at further stages of the selection process when things don’t quite add up.
What are some other commonly asked questions when it comes to using psychometric assessment? Or what other questions do you have about using psychometric assessment as part of the selection or development process?
















