What Role Should Psychometric Tests Play in the Recruitment Process?

 Recruitment processes are increasingly reliant on psychometric tests. Because they can assess the candidate's abilities in different ways, psychometric tests are becoming increasingly popular. There are two main types: aptitude and personality tests assess cognitive ability, while aptitude tests evaluate personality traits. These tests are often used worldwide and play an important role in the selection of new candidates.

What are the benefits of psychometric tests?

Employers can use psychometric testing to provide additional information that allows them to better separate candidates. It becomes increasingly difficult to separate candidates based on their education as young job seekers achieve higher grades. This has led to changes in the recruitment process for the Armed Forces. The Army maths test was created in order to help applicants for technician training (Jenkins). This is an example of how aptitude tests can be used to evaluate cognitive ability.

An employer may use personality tests to help predict the future performance of a candidate. Some tests are able to predict a person's career path, or how they react to pressure. Employers are able to see the potential of candidates and not only their current ability. The Navy also introduced personality tests as part of their recruitment process in an attempt to decrease the number of early resignations.

Interviews are the only way to recruit. The interviewer has omnipotence and their unconscious bias. According to Anderson, interviewers often asked discriminatory questions about female engineers in the United Kingdom. Psychometric tests are a way for employers to comply with equal opportunity legislation and reduce biases.

In order to filter out candidates with the wrong personality or aptitudes, psychometric tests can be used in a screening process. This is a great tool for employers because it saves time and reduces the workload of interviewers. This model is heavily used in the initial stages of Barclays' recruitment process. Only those who pass their personality and behavioral tests will make it to the next stage.

What should psychometric tests be used for?

Psychometric tests offer multiple benefits, it is clear. Psychometric tests are impartial discriminators and can be used at any stage of a recruitment process provided they are used in conjunction with interviews or other methods. Employers can make more informed decisions about candidates by using psychometric tests, even though it is expensive.