PSYCHOMETRIC TESTS

Psychometric tests aim to measure attributes like personality, aptitude and intelligence, providing potential employers with an insight into how well you work with other people, how well you handle stress, and whether you will be able to cope with the intellectual demands of the job.

There are two main categories of Psychometric tests. Aptitude and Ability tests which aim to measure your intellectual and reasoning capabilities, and Personality Questionnaires, which aim to measure aspects of your personality.

Personality Tests

These give the answers to the three main questions an employer needs
  • Do you have the right skills and experience?
  • Do you have the required enthusiasm and motivation?
  • Will your personality, attitude and general work style fit in?
These are done by asking you about your feelings, thought and behaviours around certain statements, and selecting your answer from a list of options. Some examples are shown here:

1. I enjoy public speaking?
A) True    B) False
2. I am good at dealing with difficult people?
A) strongly disagree    B) disagree    C) neutral     D) agree    E) strongly agree
3. I have strong personal goals?
A) strongly disagree    B) disagree    C) neutral     D) agree    E) strongly agree

Questions can vary in quantity from around 50 upwards, and will depend on the time attributed to the test. Obviously, many of these answers are open to interpretation, but with the constraints on time, and the importance the results may have in selection, it is always worth answering these honestly as you see them.

Aptitude and Ability Tests

Aptitude And ability tests are designed to assess your logical reasoning or thinking performance. They consist of multiple choice questions and take place under exam conditions, and are strictly timed.  All questions will have definite correct and incorrect answers.  Usually you will get 1 minute per question, so 30 questions will allocate 30 minutes. These tests can take place on paper, or increasingly more popular now, online. There are hundreds of variants of aptitude and ability tests, but here are some of the more popular ones.

Verbal Ability and Verbal Reasoning  Tests

Verbal ability tests can be divided into tests of simple verbal ability such as spelling, grammar, synonyms and antonyms. These are usually speed tests with 30 – 40 questions to be completed in 15 – 20 minutes. Verbal reasoning tests, however, are designed to measure your problem solving abilities. These questions may take the form of a comprehension exercise, or more complex statements. These tests usually consist of 15 – 20 questions and need to be completed in 20 to 30 minutes.

Example questions:

1. Which of the following words are incorrectly spelt?
a) Separate b) ordnance c) obviously d) sucess  e) none of these

2.    Choose the pair of words that best completes the sentence

The _______ of the timetable caused some _______
a) rivision  b) revision  c) revission  d) revition  e) inconvenience f) inconvenince  g) inconveneince  h) inconveniance  

3.    Which of these words completes the sentence in the way that makes the most sense?

He avoided ______ because he was ______
a)  redundency  b) indispensable  c) redundancy  d) indispensible

4.     Which of these is the missing word? Kick, _____ , walk
a) throw  b) toes  c) shin  d) feet  e)  hand

5.     Which of these is the missing word? Key, ______ , walk
a) lock  b) stand  c) board  d) fob  e) stone

6.    Which of these two words are opposite in meaning?
a) lose  b) winner  c) victor  d) loser  e) vanquish

7.     Which of these words is the odd one out?
a) swindle  b) harass  c) provoke  d) annoy e)  pester

8.    Sadness is to happiness as defeat is to _____
a) joy  b) victory  c) tears  d) victor e) none of these

9.    Paper is to timber as _____ is to hide
a) tree  b) seek  c) ox  d) animal  e) leather

10.    Read the following short passage and say whether or not the statements are true. There are seven species of deer living wild in Britain. The Red Deer and the Roe Deer are native species. Fallow Deer were introduced by the Romans and, since the seventeenth century, have been joined by three other non-native species: Sika, Muntjac and Chinese Water Deer which have escaped from parks. In addition, a herd of Reindeer was established in Scotland in 1952. Most of the Red Deer in Britian are found in Scotland, but there are significant wild populations in south-west and northwest England, East Anglia and the North Midlands. Red deer can interbreed with the introduced Japanese Sika deer and in some areas, hybrids are common.

10a      All of the Red Deer in Britain are found in Scotland.
a) true  b) false  c) can’t say

10b  Red Deer can interbreed with the Fallow Deer.
a) true  b) false  c) can’t say

10c  The Fallow Deer is not native to Britain.
a) true  b) false  c) can’t say

10d  There are no Reindeer in England.
a) true  b) false  c) can’t say

11.    Working together, Tom, Dick and Harry need 9 hours to paint a 400-metre long fence. Working alone, Tom could complete the task in 18 hours. Dick can not work as fast and needs 36 hours to paint the fence by himself. If Tom and Dick take the day off, how long will it take Harry to paint the fence by himself?    a) 9  b) 12 c) 18  d) 36

Answers

1.    d
2.    b & e
3.    c & b
4.    d
5.    c
6.    b & d
7.    a
8.    b
9.    e
10a   b
10b   c
10c   a
10d   c
11       d

Numerical Ability Tests

Numerical Ability Tests cover basic arithmetic, number sequences as simple maths, as well as numerical critical reasoning. Numerical tests are generally classed as speed tests, and obviously you are not allowed to use a calculator.

Example Questions:-

12.      139 + 235 =
a) 372  b) 374  c) 376  d) 437

13.   139 – 235 =
a) -69  b) 96  c) 98  d) -96

14.  5 x 16 =
a) 80  b) 86   c)  88 d) 78

15.   45/9 =
a) 4.5  b) 4  c)5  d) 6

16.   15% of 300 =
a) 20  b) 45  c) 40  d) 35

17.    Find the next number in the series 4 8 16 32 __     a) 48  b)  64  c) 40  d) 46
18.    Find the next number in the series 4 8 12 20 __     a) 32  b) 34  c) 36  d) 38
19.    Find the missing number in the series 54 49 __ 39 34  a) 47  b) 44  c) 45  d) 46
20.    Find the next number in the series 3 6 11 18 __     a) 30  b) 22  c) 27  d) 29
21.    Find the missing number in the series 4 3 5 9 12 17 __  a) 32  b) 30  c) 24  d) 26
22.    Find the missing number in the series 5 6 7 8 10 11 14 __ __  a) 19  b) 17  c) 15  d) 16
23.    Find the missing number in the series 1 __ 4 7 7 8 10 9 __  a) 6  b) 3  c) 11  d) 13
24.    Find the next letter in the series B E H K __         a)  L  b) M c)  N  d) O
25. .  Find the next letter in the series A Z B Y __         a)  C  b) X c)  D  d) Y
26.    Find the next letter in the series T V X Z __         a)  Y  b) B c)  A  d) W

27.    Below are the sales figures for 3 different types of battery pack over the last 3 months

 


    January

   February

    March

 

Units

Value

Units

Value

Units

Value

BA44

32

480

40

600

48

720

BA54

45

585

45

585

45

585

BA64

12

240

14

280

18

340

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 
27A.   In which month was the sales value the highest?   a) January  b) February  c) March
27B.   What is the current unit cost of battery type BA54?  a) 12  b) 13  c) 14
27C.   How many BA44 units could be expected to sell in April?  a) 56  b) 58  c) 60
27D.   Which battery had its unit price changed in March?  a)  BA44 b) BA54  c) BA64


Answers

       12.   b
       13.   d
       14.   a
       15.   c
       16.   b
       17.   b
       18.   a
       19.   b
       20.   c
       21.   d
       22.   c & a
       23.   a & d
       24.   c
       25.   a
       26.   b
 27A c
 27B  b
 27C  a
 27D  c