To become a successful person, whether in your studies or career or both, you’ll need more than just technical skills. Soft skills, behavioral skills, and others are just as important.

In some instances, they can be more important because they can build you up or – coupled with pressure – they can bring you down.

That’s where psychometric tests – also known as psychometric assessments – come in. To give you that confirmation of what works best for you, what you can do to improve, and how you can grow.

And while psychometric tests are more common among employees looking for a new job or want to progress into higher positions, they can be helpful in other areas too.

But before you can decide to take a psychometric assessment, you first need to be aware of the different types of psychometric tests and what each of them measures.

In this article, we’ll be focusing on these different types of psychometric tests, how they can help you, and how to choose which is best for you.

Why psychometric testing is important?

In the past few years, psychometric testing has gained much attention in career growth and development.

But that’s not the only area where psychometric assessments can help. Here are a few more areas where non-employees can benefit from these tests:

• School students considering which fields of study to join.
• College students who want to enter the workforce but don’t know which types of roles are suitable for them.
• Companies that want to evaluate new candidates for open positions.
• Employees who want to take up senior roles in their organizations or elsewhere.
• Individuals who want to switch careers or find new income opportunities.
• Individuals who want to know more about their skills, strengths, and weaknesses.
• Entrepreneurs who want to launch their businesses and want to understand their strengths and weaknesses.

Benefits of the different types of psychometric tests

We’ve mentioned that there several types of psychometric tests (and we’ll get into them in a minute).

Looking at these different tests, here are a few other elements that these tests measure that can be helpful to individuals, students, and companies alike.

• Measuring general intelligence
• Interpreting people’s emotional responses and ability to build and maintain relationships   
• Exploring behavior
• Identifying leadership potential
• Identifying endurance (so employees or students don’t struggle with continuous burnout)

Types of psychometric tests

Now that we’ve tackled the benefits and hit briefly on the different areas where these psychometric assessments can be helpful, let’s explore the different types of psychometric tests.

1- Aptitude tests

‘Aptitude’ is the ability to perform a certain task or type of work to a certain level. Accordingly, aptitude tests measure a person’s cognitive abilities and general intelligence.

The purpose of psychometric aptitude tests is to see if a person’s intelligence fits a certain area of study, role, or upcoming requirement. With aptitude tests, there is a minimum score required for each role or field of study.

There are several categories of psychometric aptitude tests, these are:

 

• Numerical aptitude tests:

Look at how a person can work with numbers and whether it’s easy or difficult for them.

• Verbal aptitude tests:

Examine a person’s comprehension skills when presented with written texts and spoken conversation.

• Inductive aptitude tests:

Measure an individual’s ability to think methodically. This type of psychometric test usually involves graphic sequences to review a person’s thought processes.

• Logical aptitude tests:

Examine a person’s ability to think logically. In life and work, we’re presented with many situations. Using logical aptitude tests can indicate whether a potential candidate, intern, or student can solve a problem using logic or not.

• Diagrammatic aptitude tests:

Are a bit similar to logical tests, but rely on the use of diagrams to solve problems.

• Error checking tests:

Show whether or not a person is able to identify errors in information presented to them.

2- Personality tests

Personality tests are among the most common types of psychometric tests. They primarily help new and current candidates and hiring managers see if a person is suitable for a role based on a set of criteria.

One of the most widely-used personality tests is the Big 5 Personality Test or the OCEAN test. It measures 5 main criteria, namely:

• Openness
• Conscientiousness
• Agreeableness
• Extraversion
• Neuroticism

 

Openness measures a person’s ability to be open to new experiences and their willingness to try new things.

If you have a high level of ‘openness’ then your hiring manager can see that you’re the type who likes to try new things and are willing to take risks.

Meanwhile, the ‘conscientiousness’ trait indicates how persistent, organized, and goal-oriented a person is. It’s an important trait for managers or certain fields of study.

The ‘agreeableness’ trait indicates how friendly and sociable a person is. Sales people tend to have high levels of openness and agreeableness.

‘Extraversion’ is the opposite of ‘introversion’ or being an introvert. It’s a personality trait that works well with sales and marketing roles.

‘Neuroticism’ measures a person’s sensitivity especially when it comes to pressure or stress and negative triggers.

3- Behavioral tests

Psychometric behavior tests look at a person’s behavior such as how they prefer to communicate, how they handle tough situations, problems, and setbacks. These tests also look at behavior from a leadership and managerial standpoint.

Using psychometric behavioral tests are especially important in the workplace and for entrepreneurs because they indicate work environment and culture fit and if a person would make for a good team leader or manager or not.

4- Emotional intelligence tests

Last but certainly not least are emotional intelligence tests. This type of psychometric test looks at whether a person can read emotions in others and behave based on these emotions.

Emotional intelligence tests, in a way, overlap with or complement behavioral tests.

Types of psychometric tests with Tawzef

By now you should be familiar with the different types of psychometric tests. But which one should you choose? How and where can you take them?

This is what we’re focusing on in this section. The following psychometric tests can be taken online through Tawzef and our partner CentralTest.

 

a)  Big Five personality test

As mentioned, the Big Five Personality Test is one of the most common types of personality and psychometric tests. Its openness, conscientiousness, agreeableness, extraversion, and neuroticism criteria impact behavior one way or another.

These traits tend to remain stable for most people. The exceptions would involve significant change in one’s personality.

Who is the Big Five Personality Test for?

• New job candidates
• Candidates exploring managerial roles
• Students
• All job categories

How it works?

The Big Five Personality Test involves 15 sets of questions where the candidate needs to rank 4 statements from 1 to 4 based on which answer is most relevant to them.

This online test takes up to 10 minutes to complete.

 

b)  Reasoning Test

The reasoning psychometric test is a type of IQ test that assesses a candidate’s or student’s numerical, logical, and verbal reasoning abilities.

Tawzef offers two categories within the reasoning test.

The long or full version is called Reasoning Test (Corporate), which involves 42 timed questions to be completed within 35 minutes, while the shorter version is called Reasoning Test 20 and includes 21 questions to be completed within 20 minutes.

Who is the reasoning test for?

• Recruitment including job seekers and employees inside a company
• School and college students

c)  Emotions psychometric test

The emotions test focuses on a person’s ability to understand their emotions and others’ emotions. It helps to show if a person can create a harmonious work environment and if they can work well within a team or not.

The emotions psychometric test measures 15 factors that focus on emotional intelligence.

Who is the emotions test for?

The test is suitable for many people but specifically for:

• Recruitment
• Evaluating and training managers
• Personal development and coaching

How it works?

The emotion test involves 107 questions that should be completed within 12 to 15 minutes.

d)  Entrepreneur test

If you’re an entrepreneur or want to be one, this is a great psychometric test for you. It helps you uncover which of your skills are in line with the skills needed to start a new business.

The Entrepreneur Test matches your skills and abilities with five standard entrepreneurial profiles. It also analyzes 14 dimensions across your personality, skills, experiences, and motivations – all of which focus on helping you become a successful entrepreneur.

How it works?

The Entrepreneur Test involves 85 questions that should be completed within 10 to 12 minutes.

 

e)  14-dimension profile test

The 14-dimension profile test or Professional profile 2 test is a personality test that uses a new psychometric testing method known as the Thurstonian IRT.

The test examines 14 dual or opposing dimensions in a person’s personality. In other words, the result is an analysis of 28 personality traits and motivations.

Who is it for?

• Recent graduates
• Middle management
• Intermediate level employees

How it works?

This test comprises 115 questions that should be completed within 12 to 15 minutes.

f)  Entry level work profile assessment

This work profile test is specifically for entry-level jobs, which don’t require a large set of qualifications. It examines a candidate’s work personality including social and emotional traits. It looks at what drives them forward and how they are likely to operate in the workplace.

How it works?

This online entry-level work profile test includes 90 questions that should be completed within 12 minutes.

g)  Central Test Personality Inventory-R

The Central Test Personality Inventory test is specifically for managerial roles and functions. It helps recruiters and hiring managers identify leadership skills within candidates and employees.

This psychometric test assesses 19 personality traits along with 21 behavioral competencies.

How it works?

This test involves 114 questions to be completed within 30 minutes.

h)  Sales Profile

As its name suggests, this psychometric assessment is specifically designed for sales people. The test measures 12 traits, competencies, potential, and motivations need to succeed in a sales role.

Who is it for?

• Sales people who want to advance their careers
• Recruiters hiring sales people
• Graduates who want to join a sales role
• Training new sales hires
• Sales force audit

How it works?

Candidates taking the psychometric sales profile test need to answer 80 sales-related questions within 20 minutes.

 

i)  ETIX – Predict counterproductive work behavior

The ETIX test is a work and career-focused psychometric assessment. It evaluates the potential of a person engaging in counterproductive work behavior.

Counterproductive work behavior is a type of behavior that goes against the interests and regulations of a business or organization. Sometimes individuals may turn to counterproductive work behavior to advance their careers at the expense of others.

counterproductive work behaviors include lying, discrimination, and harassment.

“By distinguishing between a person’s attitudes towards themselves and other people, ETIX reveals not only if a person might participate in counterproductive work behavior, but also if they might enable it in others,” explains CentralTest.

How it works?

The ETIX psychometric test involves completing 74 questions within 10 to 12 minutes.

j)  Vocation and career assessment

The vocation test measures 12 interests and matches them with 138 occupations.

This type of psychometric test is specifically useful for students who want to know the best areas of study for them and for fresh graduates who want to know which roles suit their personality the most.

How it works?

The vocation test involves 60 questions based on real-life scenarios that should be completed within 15 minutes.

k)  Reasoning Spatial psychometric test

The Reasoning Spatial test is designed to measure spatial reasoning abilities with 2D and 3D objects. These abilities are particularly important for students and candidates applying for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) positions.

Who is it for?

• Students considering engineering and scientific universities or studies
• Junior or fresh graduate engineers

How it works?

The Reasoning Spatial psychometric test involves completing 8 multiple-choice questions within a 16-minute timed test.

 

Develop your skills with psychometric assessments today!

 

As you can see, there many types of psychometric tests. And though many help in recruitment and selection, there are others that support non-career related requirements.

Students can take psychometric tests to identify their skills and abilities early on to see which area of study they’d like to go for and reduce their future struggles.

 

The above-mentioned psychometric tests are all provided by Tawzef. If you’d like to take one or more tests, click one of the links above, or email us at [email protected]