Psyched out!

WE'VE taken them in school, lived through them in college and now face them again at interviews! The dreaded epidemic is spreading, and fast. The epidemic includes tests of every kind and description.

The ones we're talking about however are tests of a different kind - these are tests that measure one's ability and personality.

Tests that identify a person as the `right' fit for an organisation. Psychometric tests are the new yardstick that most employers now seem to rely on to assess prospective employees.

As a popular recruitment tool, these tests strike terror in the hearts of many, especially people totally new to the job scene.

The latest job lore now states that as long as you are in the `interview loop,' you're doing just fine. But to actually get `there,' you'll have to first brave the psycho, umm... the psychometric test.

Where earlier it was the nerve-racking tension of getting your resume past the HR, you now have to get your `ability/personality' past the new HR persona grata.

What's all the hype about?

Psychometric tests are validated instruments created by psychologists and behaviourists to measure ability, aptitude and attitude.

These tests range from generic to specific and are often the result of years of painstaking research. The results are drawn up after they have been tested and measured.

Organisations use these tests in various combinations. From using them to recruit at the entry level to fill top slots and even format training programmes.

Not the end

Tests are just that - tests. They are an instrument, a means used to find a person who will harmoniously fit in with the company's credo and ethos. So, although it might look like your fate is hanging on the results of the test, stay cool.

Be honest and succinct in all your responses. If you're too verbose or revealing, you might just end up saying more than you need, always a disqualifier in business.

Giving away too many details may make the interview a little more difficult. Understand that whatever you answer in the test could become fodder for probing questions.

Be comfortable

Stay cool when you are about to take the test. Be comfortable with the test process. Psychometric tests generally appear difficult but are often easy to crack.

If you find the questions particularly difficult, adopt techniques or look for patterns in questions or responses. Giving into panic will prevent you from answering well.

Often enough, the answers are obvious and simple to track.

Read the whole test booklet and answer at your comfort level.

Like your school paper, follow the simple-difficult order. Save on time and leave the difficult ones for later. Don't let the rules and regulations get to you or stress you out.

Clarify

If you are doubtful about the test and the questions, don't be afraid to ask for clarification.

Find out why the test is being administered, and what its implications are. If it's a surprise test and you require help (as in reading glasses and other instruments), tell the administrator so and enquire if the test can be done at a more appropriate time.

Remember that in a test designed to check your attitude or your personal profile, there are no wrong answers, so there is no correct response, there is only one answer that is most appropriate to you.

Relax

Begin the process of the test a day before. Avoid stress inducers like coffee and tea, cigarettes, and sleep well. Psychometric tests are standardised tests that give the employer a `near' accurate picture of the person they may employ. This however doesn't imply that these tests are the ultimate personality or ability measures. They throw up results that accurately mirror your personality. But always remember they're not the ultimate. You're still your own person.

SAMYUKTA KODA

samyukta.hyd@cnkonline.com