If you’ve got through the first parts of the recruitment process, and you find yourself facing a psychometric test, don’t panic. It’s natural to feel a little uneasy, especially if you haven’t encountered a psychometric test before, but understanding what’s coming and how to prepare can help.

What Are Psychometric Tests?

Psychometric tests are becoming a regular feature in biotech and pharma recruitment. They’re designed to give as a way to help form an objective, standardised snapshot of your cognitive abilities, personality traits, and specific skills. As these tests become more common, being comfortable with them can give you a competitive edge.

They’re One Part of the Process

It’s important to understand that these tests aren’t the primary decision-making tool that hiring teams use. They’re used to enhance the hiring team’s decision-making ability in the recruitment process.

Psychometric tests offer valuable insights but are used alongside other methods, not in isolation. Think of them as a complement to any interviews or skill assessments in the process – they offer a fuller picture of who you are as a candidate.

Types of Psychometric Tests You Might Encounter

You could be asked to take a variety of tests, each with its own focus.

  • Aptitude and Ability Tests: Look at your verbal, numerical, and logical skills.
  • Personality Tests: Help understand your behavioural style and how you’d fit into a work environment.
  • Skill and Attainment Tests: These tend to look at skills and knowledge you’ve acquired over time.
  • Emotional and Fluid Intelligence Tests: These are newer, relatively, and look at your emotional intelligence and problem-solving.

A Few Tests You Might Recognise

You might have heard of some of these more commonly known tests:

  • The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is a popular test that assesses personality types and is often used for team-fit/building evaluations.
  • Thomas International focuses on behavioural traits and cognitive abilities, offering insights into how you might approach problem-solving and teamwork.
  • The Predictive Index evaluates your primary behavioural drivers, like dominance and extraversion, to predict how you’ll behave in a work setting.

What’s the Hiring Team Looking For?

So, what are the hiring managers and HR teams really after? They’re looking for a team fit and how well your abilities match the job requirements. They may also be looking for indicators of leadership potential and alignment with their company values. But they’re also on the lookout for any red flags, like consistently low or inconsistent scores.

How to Prepare

When it comes to taking the test, be yourself! Don’t try to second-guess your answers or the test itself (we all do this to a degree but try not to!). Use this opportunity to give the hiring team a real insight into who you are, and let that speak for itself.

It can, though, help to practice. Some of the tests give you practice time as part of the process, but there are also plenty of online resources that can help you get familiar with the types of questions you’ll face.

When you do the actual test, they’re generally timed and you’re expected to complete each section, uninterrupted. However short of time you are, invest in the process and make the time. Don’t choose to dash off a test during your coffee break at work, or while you’re making dinner or watching the television … it won’t end well!

Make sure you’re in a quiet, comfortable space so you can focus, and give yourself lots of time to do some practice questions first. The instructions will tell you how long the test itself will take.

How Psychometric Tests Can Help You

Psychometrics offer another layer of evaluation in the hiring process, which can be especially helpful if you feel like you didn’t nail the interview.

Importantly, though, they give you a chance to understand your own strengths and areas for improvement. Reading your own psychometric test reports can be really interesting – if you don’t automatically receive them, you can ask for a copy.

There’s No Need to Panic!

In the end, psychometric tests are just one piece of the recruitment puzzle. They offer valuable insights, but they’re used alongside other methods to get a fuller picture of your suitability for a role.

Don’t be overly concerned and don’t overthink it. With the right preparation, you can turn this into an opportunity to shine.

~ Fiona

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