The word ‘psychometric’ is from the Greek words “psychikos” (mental) and “metrisi” (measurement). Psychometric tests objectively measure aspects of your mental ability and your personality. You could encounter psychometric testing as part of a recruitment process and occupational psychometric tests are designed to provide employers with a reliable method of selecting the most suitable job applicants, candidates for promotion and for the composition of highly effective teams. There are two types of Psychometric testing: Ability/Aptitude tests and Personality assessments. Ability tests (which are not the same as Skill Measurement Tests) measure a person’s potential to learn the skills needed for a new job or to cope with the demands of a specific project.
They focus on what the person is capable of achieving in the future or their potential to learn. Personality Assessments measure your way of doing things and the way you interact with your environment and other people. Personality encompasses the relatively stable and enduring aspects of an individual which distinguish them from others, making them unique, but also enabling us to make comparisons between individuals.
The gold standard of psychological assessments, used by over two million people a year in businesses, Government and educational institutes, is the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). The MBTI assessment, when administered by a certified professional, will give an individual and an employer invaluable insights which would otherwise not be apparent.
These include self-awareness, which is key to one’s growth and development, an appreciation of the preferences of team members, peers and direct reports and the identification of inherent leaders. Psychometric testing is now used by over 80% of Fortune 500 companies in the USA and by over 75% of the Times Top 100 companies in the UK. These tests are used by employers across most sectors, including IT, engineering, energy, banking, consultancy, accountancy, the civil service and other public sector, fast moving consumer goods and retail.
The writer is a Certified MBTI Administrator