Preparing for psychometric tests and assessment centres
Psychometric and personality tests
Psychometric tests look at skills like logic, numeracy, technical ability, literacy, verbal reasoning, inductive or deductive reasoning, spatial or diagrammatic reasoning, situational judgement, motivation and personality.
Assessment centres
Larger organisations often consider a number of candidates together using a range of tasks, such as psychometric tests, group challenges, role play, presentations, in-tray/e-tray exercises and interviews.
Assessment centres are carefully designed to see which candidates fit the role and the organisation, so they may be considering your personality, your approach to solving problems and dealing with situations, leadership potential and overall ability to work in a team, and your commercial awareness, as well as further testing your skills and abilities.
Help preparing for tests and assessments
Tips to prepare
Prepare as you would for an interview: dress and behave professionally, be punctual and bear in mind that everyone you meet on the day may be asked what they thought of you.
- Refer back to the person specification for the role to review what the employer is looking for.
- Review your application and/or CV.
- Practice psychometric tests.
- Research the employer, so you know all about them and what they do.
- Research their sector for broader understanding of their industry.
- Book an appointment with one of our careers advisers for help.
Online resources and practice test
General resources
- Prospects website - information about assessment centres
- JobTestPrep - in-tray examples and tips
- WikiJob Assessment Centre: Tips And Preparation Advice
- Wikisource - A wiki sharing quality information on personality type, with integrated video and text
Practice tests and guides
The following resources offer free practice tests, but may also contain further resources or tests at a cost.
- AssessmentDay - free online practice tests
- Cubiks - practice verbal and numerical reasoning tests
- FindingPotential - industry-standard psychometrics free of charge
- GraduatesFirst - register with your Essex email for free access to many practice tests and guides
- JobTestPrep - aptitude, numerical reasoning, verbal reasoning,cognitive and situational judgement practice tests
- Norton Assessment - verbal, numerical, inductive reasoning and situational judgement practice tests
- Practice Aptitude Tests - exclusive free psychometric test resource specifically for University students
- Practice Aptitude Tests company profiles - insights into the assessment processes of the UK’s biggest graduate employers
- Practice Reasoning - resource to help job seekers improve their performance at psychometric tests
- Practice4Me – aptitude tests example questions and sample tests to practice online with comprehensive guides for each topic
- SHL sample questions from a leading test provider
- Test Partnership - numerical, verbal, inductive, critical thinking, personality and situational judgement preparation tests
- The Bar Course Aptitude Test (BCAT) - to be accepted on to BPTC (Bar Professional Training Course), candidates now need to take the Bar Course Aptitude Test
- The Online Test Centre - aptitude tests for students and job seekers
- WikiJob - practice SHL tests
