Archive for February, 2012

Study Claims Link Between Facebook Profile and Job Performance

The aim of psychometric tests used in recruitment is to get a clearer understanding of someone and how they will perform in a job. Interviews are one way of predicting how well a potential employee might get on, but interviews are notoriously hit-and-miss and occasionally bordering on useless as a job performance indicator. Step up psychometrics: a more objective, fair, reliable measure of future job performance.

So it is with great interest that we heard about a study claiming to use people’s Facebook profile to build a personality profile of applicants. The study has been compiled by the Northern Illinois University, the University of Evansville and Auburn University. The study used human resource professionals to analyse the Facebook profiles of 56 people.

The best way to build a personality profile is to ask the respondent a series of questions, with scales of how well they agree or disagree with each statement. This new study claims to be able to grade people on the ‘Big Five’ personality scale not through questionnaires but through looking at their Facebook profile for around 10 minutes. The personality factors measured are often referred to as: openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism.

Ten minutes? Facebook profile? Interesting idea but we’re back to bordering on useless. In fact, the results of any attempt to map a Facebook profile to someone’s Big Five personality traits might be worse than useless; they’re probably misleading. Careers and employment are issues to be taken seriously and are to be given thorough consideration on the part of both the employer and employee.

We welcome all attempts to predict future job performance of applicants, but this idea should remain in the ‘work in progress’ pile.

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Posted on Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012 in Psychometric tests | No Comments »

Seeking Feedback after Taking Psychometric Tests

Gaining feedback after you have completed psychometric tests can be extremely valuable when you are going through the job selection process. Whether you have been offered the position or not, it is always beneficial to know your strengths and weaknesses, particularly if you are looking to improve your performance on future assessments.  Some recruiters may write to you with your test results, or arrange an individual feedback session face-to-face or over the telephone. However, many organisations are unable to do this on account of time constraints. This can often be true of large graduate employers who deal with vast numbers of potential candidates and large volumes of test results.

Asking recruiters for feedback

It is always worth trying to get feedback from the employer by contacting them directly, via email or in writing. You may like to try requesting a written report of your test results. It is also good practice to enquire in advance about an employer’s feedback processes if you know you will be completing psychometric tests, and the employer should provide you with feedback as a matter of courtesy and good practice. Employers abiding by the British Psychological Society guidelines on psychometric testing (i.e. most employers) have agreed to provide feedback to candidates, so you are perfectly within your right to ask for it.

Evaluating your own performance

In the absence of feedback from the employer, you may need to rely on self-evaluation. In doing so, it is important that you think constructively about your performance across each of the psychometric tests you completed. Ask yourself what your strengths and your weakness were and what you might have done differently next time around. For example:

  • How was your pacing? Did you spend too much time on the early questions and compromise the latter ones?
  • Did you struggle to make sense of the symbols or diagrams used in the numerical reasoning test?
  • Were you familiar with the vocabulary used in the verbal reasoning test?
  • Was there anything that felt easier or more enjoyable? What tests do you not need as much practice on next time?

Your answers will give you some clues as to what you need to practice in advance of future assessments. But be warned – we are often our own worst critics, so use the self-evaluation approach with caution and be sure to always pick out the strengths in your performance.

Posted on Tuesday, February 7th, 2012 in Aptitude Test, Psychometric tests | No Comments »

Making The Assessment Centre Work For You

What happens at assessment centres?

Assessment centres involve the extensive evaluation of candidates for an extended period of time; sometimes lasting one or two days. During this period candidates undertake a range of exercises and activities which typically include: interviews, presentations, aptitude tests, personality tests, group-exercises, and in-tray exercises.

Graduate employers are increasingly using assessment centres as part of their selection process as it allows them to broadly assess the aptitude of their candidates, as well as their ability to thrive in real-life work situations. Furthermore, informal social events throughout the assessment day provide employers with an additional insight into the social and communicative skills of candidates.

Some top tips for the big day

Facing a one or two day barrage of assessments is likely to be an anxiety provoking prospect for any candidate. However, there are many things you can do to get yourself psychologically and practically prepared!

Firstly – try and find out from the organisation what kinds of test you will be doing. You may already be able to guess from the type of position you are applying to. Forewarned is forearmed!

Try and get lots of practice in – it will do wonders for your performance and will help you overcome some of the anxious thoughts and feelings that might otherwise cloud you on the big day. You might like to take a look at our pack of expert tips and real-life examples of assessment centre exercises, as well as our range of psychometric practice tests.

Finally – keep in mind that the assessment centre can be an excellent opportunity to demonstrate your breadth of skills. So, if you don’t perform as you had hoped on one particular exercise, you may have the chance to make it up in another area!

Tackling the group exercise

What’s involved?

For many organisations, it is vital that their employees have the ability to communicate with others and to work well within teams. For this reason, employers regularly include some form of group exercise when inviting candidates to the assessment centre. This will often be in addition to individual assessments such as interviews, personality tests and aptitude tests (e.g. verbal reasoning, numerical reasoning and inductive reasoning).

Group exercises can vary considerably and may include role plays, case studies, topical discussions and problem-solving tasks.  For example, you might be required to take part in a discussion about an issue relating to the organisation and be allocated a particular role to adopt (e.g. company director). Alternatively, you might be asked to solve a business or ethical dilemma, to plan a project within a given budget or to get creative and build a physical structure together as a team.

How should you approach it?

The range of different scenarios you could face may seem rather daunting, but rest assured, there are some key things you can do to ensure you succeed in any group exercise:

  • Be sure to communicate your ideas clearly, calmly and logically.
  • Always remember to actively listen to others in your group – this means attending carefully, summarising and clarifying their ideas.
  • Make sure your opinions are heard but also take the time to enable other’s to contribute – facilitation is a sophisticated and much sought after skill!
  • Go back to basics – remember the art of conversation: keep appropriate eye contact, take turns, try not to interrupt and never raise your voice.

Get more top tips

To get you ready for the big day, we have developed an extensive Assessment Centre candidate preparation pack which includes expert tips from the assessors themselves and real-life examples of group-exercises.


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Posted on Friday, February 3rd, 2012 in Assessment Centres, Psychometric tests | No Comments »