What are psychometric tests?
Psychometric tests are used by many employers as part of their recruitment process. They tend to be online and will typically test your aptitudes such as numerical skills, verbal reasoning, diagrammatic reasoning and data interpretation skills. They are also used to assess your personality, strengths, behaviours and motivation.
Psychometric tests are a way for employers to measure whether you are a 'fit' for their company and whether you can perform a variety of tasks. You can dramatically improve your chances of passing psychometric tests by practising them. This will help you get used to the style of questions and develop the ability to answer quickly in the time available.
Preparation and practice for numerical skills tests
Numerical tests will contain maths questions, for which you may or may not be able to use a calculator.
- Numeracy Skills for Employability - a free online course aimed at helping you prepare for employers' online numeracy tests.
- Skillswise - build your mathematical confidence and prepare for both employers' numeracy testing and using numeracy in the workplace.
- You can get 'Maths Help!' through study skills workshops and drop-in sessions run through the Learning Centre.
Preparation and practice for diagrammatic reasoning tests
The Assessment Day website - learn more about what diagrammatic reasoning tests are and what they are assessing, as well as opportunities to practice.
Graduates First Test Portal
We have established a partnership with Graduates First so that you can benefit from aptitude tests while preparing for your internships/job interviews, both during and after your degree.
Available assessments include:
- Aptitude tests - numerical, verbal, and logical reasoning (7 of each). Timed tests with individual reports and worked out solutions. You can plot your development on a personalised chart.
- Situational judgement test - The test consists of 18 workplace scenarios. Your response to these scenarios is assessed against 9 core competencies.
- Workplace Personality questionnaire - A short assessment modelled on the 'big 5' personality traits.
- Interview question identifier tool to give you personalised suggestions for questions that might come up
- Practice Video Interviewing tool - gives you the opportunity to practice answering questions in a video interview format, with options to watch yourself back and to receive automated feedback on the content of your answers and how you presented on screen.
- NEW! Game assessment - an opportunity to experience the type of 'gamified' personality/behaviour assessment you might come across as part of a wider recruitment process.
- Assessment centre exercises to help you prepare for this stage of a recruitment process
All tests come with worked solutions to accelerate your learning and professional score reports, which analyse your results and identify areas of improvement.
Graduates First also offers other job assessment preparation solutions for students. This includes detailed step-by-step guides to over 100 top graduate employer's recruitment stages and hints on how to pass their assessment processes.
How do I access Graduates First?
- Use the SHU Graduates First portal link. The first time you access the portal, click ‘Register’
- Complete ALL the registration details, using your SHU e-mail address
- Tick the box next to “I agree to the terms and conditions” and click on “Register”
- You will then receive an e-mail confirming your log-in details. You MUST click the link within to “confirm your email address” which activates your account. You can then use the SHU Graduates First portal link every time to sign in.
Instructions for Graduates:
If you have previously registered with Graduates First as a student, you will still be able to access the portal after Graduation.
If you have graduated within the last 3 years and would like to register for Graduates First, please contact Careers and Employability to arrange access.
How can I learn more?
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