The concept of psychometric testing can seem daunting to some finance candidates. Evaluating your personality, numerical and verbal reasoning skills and leadership capabilities can be worrying. However, with 75% of the Times Top 100 companies in the U.K. now leveraging psychometric testing, it’s a good time to start recognising the benefits of this interview strategy for you and your potential new employer.
Psychometric tests allow employers to look beyond the information they can see on your CV and the answers you give during a standard interview. They allow for a comprehensive analysis of your character, competencies, and attributes, leading to more objective decision-making.
If used correctly, psychometric testing can reduce some of the stress connected to the traditional interview process, eliminate bias, and improve your chances of finding the perfect company fit in terms of culture and team dynamics.
Here’s everything you need to know about psychometric testing as a finance candidate.
Understanding Psychometric Testing:
Psychometric testing can be difficult to understand at first because it involves various tests to assess different aspects of a person’s character and attributes. Some finance companies structure their recruitment process to include numerous psychometric tests, while others focus only on specific tests relevant to successful hiring.
Common types of psychometric tests include:
Personality Tests
Personality tests measure your suitability for a finance role by exploring your personality traits, interests, values, and behaviours. They might look at your communication styles, how well you work individually and as a team, and even your leadership traits.
A common example of a personality test used in psychometric hiring is the “High Potential Trait” indicator, which explores how individuals approach their work and whether their strengths make them suitable for leadership positions. Other examples include the Myers-Briggs personality test, which assigns a candidate one of 16 personality types based on their responses.
Cognitive Ability or Aptitude Tests
Cognitive ability tests measure a candidate’s cognitive aptitudes with specific cognitive processes. These tests may examine aptitude for things like:
- Verbal reasoning: The ability to understand and evaluate written and spoken information and make decisions based on the information given.
- Numerical reasoning: The ability to work effectively with numbers and comprehend information presented in charts, graphs, and reports crucial for the finance industry.
- Inductive reasoning: The ability to think methodologically and identify patterns and trends in sequences and information provided.
- Logical reasoning: The ability to think logically and potentially solve problems based on specific situations and circumstances.
These tests help employers determine whether you’re likely to succeed in a complex financial role by analysing your ability to process and use information.
Skills and Aptitude Tests
As you might expect, skill tests allow finance employers to ask you to demonstrate the skills you’ve listed on your CV. They might ask you to complete various tasks associated with your finance role, such as analysing a tax report or creating a budget for an imaginary company.
These tests help employers ensure you have the competencies required to thrive in your role and identify any areas where you may need additional training.
Emotional Intelligence Tests
Emotional intelligence tests have grown increasingly crucial as finance companies search for more resilient employees capable of adapting to a complex environment. Emotional intelligence tests examine your ability to recognise, understand, and manage emotions when interacting with others.
They help employers identify whether you have the right interpersonal skills to collaborate with a team and contribute to a positive work environment. Some tests will also examine your ability to motivate, inspire, and guide others as a leader.
Situational Judgement Tests (SJT)
Situational judgment tests present candidates with hypothetical scenarios and ask them to choose the best possible action. For instance, you might be presented with a scenario where a company’s budget drops by a percentage, and you’ll be asked how you could rework that budget to fit with the new guidelines.
These tests offer insights into how candidates can handle real-world situations and make the right decisions. They’ll ensure you can thrive in a fast-paced financial role.
The Benefits of Psychometric Testing for Finance Candidates
While taking multiple tests to prove your suitability for a role might be worrying, there are numerous benefits to psychometric tests for candidates. The first and most significant aspect is that they distract employers from your CV and initial interview.
Even if you don’t have the most experience in the finance space, employers will still be able to see your value as an employee with psychometric tests. Additionally, suppose you have a bad day during an interview, or struggle to communicate effectively. In that case, your psychometric test results will help ensure you’re still fairly considered for a role.
Additionally, psychometric tests:
Reduce the Risk of Hiring Bias
Though most financial employers know diversity, inclusion, and equity are crucial in the modern workplace, bias can still be an issue in Recruitment. Psychometric testing demonstrates that your employer is investing in removing unconscious bias from their decisions.
They’ll be able to identify the best person for their role by examining how well they fit into the company culture and their competencies. This leads to a far more fair and inclusive hiring process, indicating that the company will be more diverse.
Enhance the Candidate’s Experience
Although it can take time for you to complete various psychometric tests during the hiring process, the insights offered by these evaluations will help streamline your employer’s hiring process. They should be able to make decisions faster, based on a standardised evaluation process that allows them to compare all candidates equally.
This means you should spend less time waiting for a job offer after the tests are completed. Additionally, suppose you’re unsuccessful in applying for a role. In that case, the recruitment team can offer you feedback on the skills, personality traits, and other factors you need to work on.
Improve your Chances of a Great Employee Experience
Psychometric tests give employers an insight into how well you’ll fit into their company culture and team dynamics. This means if you’re offered a role, there’s a good chance you’ll have an excellent chance of success within the company, and you’ll be a perfect match for the company culture.
Additionally, because these tests assess both hard and soft skills, they can give employers an insight into the additional training you need and assist them in developing more comprehensive and personalised onboarding plans to welcome you into the organisation.
Support Succession Planning
Many psychometric tests look at your current skills and abilities and your potential to thrive in new roles and positions. They can help employers to identify whether you can be an excellent leader, which can inform their succession planning strategy.
If you demonstrate strong leadership skills, your employer might work with you on a professional development plan that will help to prepare you for future promotions and new roles. This boosts your chances of long-term career advancement.
Make Recruitment More Consistent
Adapting to taking psychometric tests can be complicated at first. However, you’ll feel more prepared for future interviews once you’ve gotten used to the process. Most companies will use similar tests when examining personality, aptitudes, and skills. This removes some of the fear from your job search, giving you a clear idea of what to expect.
Additionally, every test you take will give you valuable feedback you can use to improve your chances of future job offers and opportunities consistently.
The Beneficial Rise of Psychometric Testing
Psychometric testing allows employers to use a trustworthy, consistent model when selecting candidates to hire. It helps eliminate bias from the recruitment process and enables candidates to stand out, even when they don’t have much experience listed on their CV or make a mistake during an interview.
While psychometric testing may seem daunting initially, it shows your employer is committed to building a diverse team and making intelligent hiring decisions based on your competencies, attributes, and cultural fit.
Thanks
Rachel
About Rebus Financial Recruitment
Rebus Financial Recruitment provides a specialist and focused recruitment service to its customers, ranging from various organisations, including SMEs, to large PLCs.
We strive to offer both the client and candidate a seamless recruitment experience. Using our expertise, we get to the heart of employer and employee needs, and, in doing so, we match the two perfectly.
To learn more, contact one of our team members today or call us at 01282 930930.
