Applications: Psychometric Tests in Recruitment

1.
Briefly explain the need for, types of, and the uses of various psychological tests in the
evaluation of candidates during the recruitment and selection process of an organization.
Explain with examples you have had in the organization you have been working in, or you
are familiar with. Briefly describe the organization and the context, you are referring to.
Ans. Psychological tests are written, visual, or verbal evaluations administered to assess the
cognitive and emotional functioning of individuals.
Psychometric testing attempts to assess mental abilities and qualities in a scientific
manner. Psychological testing for recruitment brings objectivity and standardization to the
recruitment process, but experts disagree on whether such tests show the complexities of
human nature. Hiring and training new employees can be an expensive process. To help keep
turnover to a minimum, some companies employ psychological testing to ensure that
potential employees are suitable before hiring them. Psychological tests, however, are not
only used during the hiring process. Some companies use these tests to monitor the continued
suitability of employees who have been on the job for some time.
Applications
Psychometric Tests in Recruitment
Psychometric testing is a new method of psychological measurement, and its application in
recruitment helps reveal the candidate's personality, aptitude, and orientation. Psychological
testing for recruitment attempts to measure different traits of candidates. The common types
of psychometric tests used in recruitment include:
Tests of ability: Such tests judge the performance of a candidate based on the correct
answers. Tests measuring ability are grouped into achievement tests that assess a persons
existing capability, and aptitude tests that assess the persons potential. Both these tests probe
the candidates general mental abilities and sometimes specific job-related abilities through
verbal reasoning, numerical reasoning, abstract reasoning, mechanical aptitude, clerical
aptitude, and spatial reasoning.
Personality tests: These tests assess the candidates way of behaving, thinking, feeling or
perceiving in particular situations, and aim to build the candidates personality profile to
interpret how the person behaves in different circumstances. Such tests have no right or
wrong answers. Common types of personality tests include tests of interests, motivation,
attitudes and the like Myers Briggs Personality Tests (The MyersBriggs Type Indicator
(MBTI) assessment is a psychometric questionnaire designed to measure psychological
preferences in how people perceive the world and make decisions.) ranks among the most
popular personality tests to identify personality type, and they are widely used by many
organizations.
Purpose/Uses
The purpose of psychological testing is to make more informed hiring decisions.
Many companies consult outside companies to give and assess these tests in an effort to keep
the tests unbiased and to help guard against lawsuits. Psychological testing is used to
determine, in particular, the ability of potential employees to work under stressful conditions
and to assess the potential of a prospective employee to handle the job effectively under those
conditions.
Advantages
The use of psychometric tests in recruitment offers many advantages.
The results of psychometric tests are likely to be more valid than subjective
judgments made based on how a candidate behaves during other conventional selection
methods such as assessment centres, written tests, group discussions, interviews, and the like.
The soundness of such subjective judgment depends on the presence or absence of distorters
such as prejudices and bias of the interviewer, the extent to which the candidate puts up a true
face, the range of situations or emotions covered in the interview, the general mood or
environment of both the candidate and the interviewer, the competence of the interviewer and
the like.
Psychometric tests adopt a standardized approach to obtain and judge the relevant
information, and as such, largely eliminate such disorders and make possible for an objective
judgment of the candidate. Since personality tests do not have a possible correct answer, it
forces the candidate to reveal his or her true nature.
Psychometric tests are complex and costly to set up, and require trained and
experienced assessors. The information that they provide regarding the nature of the
candidate, opposed to the alternative of hiring wrong candidate, training them, and then
repeating the recruitment process, added to the time lost make psychometric tests a
comparative hassle free and low cost effective recruitment option.
Challenges
Most psychometric tests, particularly personality questionnaires, require considerable
experience to administer and interpret, and the possibility of misinterpretation or
inappropriate interpretation of results is commonplace.
The major challenge facing most organizations in using psychometric tests for
recruitment is selecting a valid instrument from the various tests and questionnaires available
in the market. It is very difficult for untrained people to distinguish good psychometric
instruments from fakes.
Another danger associated with the use of psychometric tests in recruitment is

inexperienced users trying to use personality questionnaires to assess a person's ability or
skill in a particular area. For instance, a candidate scoring highly on the leadership
personality dimension only means that the candidate has basic personality characteristics
commonly found amongst effective leaders, and has the potential to become a good leader,
with the right exposure and experience. It does not indicate that the person actually possesses
a high level of leadership skill. People not conversant with how psychometric tests work
might straightaway place such a candidate in a leadership role based on this finding.
Disadvantages
The biggest criticism against psychometric tests in recruitment is that the questions
are behavioural in nature, and the answers do not reflect the motives or dynamics of the
candidates personality, making such tests no different from ordinary tests. For instance,
psychological tests might reveal that two candidates might each drink three glasses of alcohol
a night, and proceed to make a judgment based on this information. One candidate might
drink due to chronic alcoholism, while the other might drink due to depression or lack of
sleep. Psychological tests do not make such distinction.
Finally, although psychometric testing claims objectivity and freedom from bias, it is
still possible for a skilled candidate to fake the results, the validity scales to check for faking
and malingering notwithstanding. The advantage is that while just about anyone can fake
behaviour during a normal interview, it takes skill and a determined effort to fake behaviour
in a psychological test.
Example
Case of Nestle
Recruitment for the post of Sales officer (DISCLOSE COMPANY NAME ONLY IF
REQUIRED)
Round 1: Aptitude test:
30 Questions with no negative marks. Questions will be from Reasoning, Comprehensive
reading skills, English language, mathematics etc.
Round 2: Group Discussion:
A group of 10, who are shortlisted from the aptitude test will be attending that and the
company officials will be looking forward the candidate from that, according to their criteria.
Round 3: Personal Interview: HR
Basically a resume scrutiny, HR Executive will be conducting the interview, and they will be
mainly checking the resume.
Round 4: Personal Interview: Zonal sales manager

The ones who have cracked the HR interview will be attending this. Will be taking nearly 15
minutes plus and the questions will be from various areas.
Round 5: Personal Interview: Board of Directors.
Just a Final check up by the main board of directors.
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/use-psychological-tests-employment-recruitment-processes22461.html
http://www.brighthub.com/office/human-resources/articles/84956.aspx
http://www.hrvoice.org/effective-use-of-psychological-tests-for-recruitment-and-selection/
http://www.zeroriskhr.com/articles/mythsofpsychologicaltesting.aspx
Book
The American Psychological Association. Standards for Educational and Psychological
Testing. Washington, DC: APA Press, 1999.

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1.

Another danger associated with the use of psychometric tests in recruitment is

Round 4: Personal Interview: Zonal sales manager

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