At some point in the selection process, you can expect to go through a psychometric test of some description. As part of your career move preparation, it is worth doing some practice tests: there are a number of online psychometric test sites that will help to give candidates an idea of what to expect.
The purpose of psychometric testing is not to come up with right or wrong answers but to test your strategies, skills and aptitudes. You may need to show an ability to manage numbers, be good with words or figure out problems.
You will be able to demonstrate what skills you have, but you will not be able to skew the results into suggesting that you have a skill you do not already have. Nor would it be wise to try and build false expectations with a future employer. You need to relax sufficiently to demonstrate what you can do and this is the point of practice tests. There is no doubt that, when the time comes for you to do the real test, the adrenaline will almost inevitably kick in, but being familiar with the test formats will allow you to use that in your favour rather than let it work against you.
Aptitude tests will highlight your ability to do the job and learn new tasks. Many of them are multiple choice and are scored numerically at the end. Personality tests are intended to show that you have the right personality traits for a job. A shy mathematical genius may not be quite right for a sales floor, for instance. An outgoing sociable person with strong
organisational skills may be better suited to closing sales.
The purpose of these psychometric tests is to provide comparative data for a batch of candidates to fill a post with a
known skill set requirement. Look on it as an opportunity to confirm to prospective employers that you are capable of doing the job as they define it: should you bump into a painfully shy mathematical genius struggling to sell fashion accessories, you will know that nobody thought to apply psychometric tests for the job.
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