Psychometric tests: probably not what you think

Numerical reasoning

Fifteen to twenty-five questions against a clock, each giving a table or chart and asking you to work something out — percentage change, a ratio, which year grew fastest. GCSE-level arithmetic under time pressure, not advanced maths.

Preparing: Practice tests, timed, with a calculator you can use quickly. The skill being tested is reading the right number out of a cluttered table fast; that improves measurably with twenty or thirty practice questions and barely at all without them.

The commonest failure is spending three minutes on question four. Most are scored on how many you get right, not on finishing, and almost nobody finishes — so guess and move on rather than stalling.

Verbal reasoning

A passage of text and statements to mark true, false or cannot say, against a clock.

Preparing: Learn what “cannot say” means, because it is where almost all the marks are lost. It means the passage does not settle it — not that the statement is unlikely, and not that you know it to be false from outside knowledge.

Answer only from the passage. Candidates who know the subject do worse than those who do not, because they import what they already believe.

Situational judgement

Workplace scenarios with four possible responses to rank or rate. “A client emails complaining at 4.55pm on Friday. What do you do?”

Preparing: Read the employer’s values page first. Situational judgement tests are scored against that firm’s own view of good behaviour, which is why the same answer scores differently at two employers.

Answer as the person they describe wanting, not as yourself on a tired day. This is the one test where the “right” answer is a matter of house style rather than fact.

Logical or diagrammatic reasoning

Sequences of shapes with a rule to spot and continue. Common in engineering, technology and some consulting processes.

Preparing: Pure pattern practice. There is a finite set of rule types — rotation, reflection, counting, alternation — and recognising which family you are in is most of the speed.

If you are stuck for more than forty seconds, the rule is usually a combination of two simple things rather than one complicated one.

Personality questionnaire

A few hundred statements to agree or disagree with, untimed, with no right answers. Often what people mean when they say psychometric test, and usually the least consequential part.

Preparing: Nothing. Answer consistently and reasonably quickly.

Most include consistency checks that catch people trying to game them. Being caught manufacturing an answer is far more damaging than any trait you were trying to hide.

You can practise, and practice works

Unlike an interview, these test a narrow and repetitive skill. Twenty or thirty timed practice questions in the right format produce a real improvement, and employers know this — they are not testing innate ability, they are filtering.

You are being scored against a benchmark, not against perfection

The pass mark is usually a percentile against previous candidates, not a score out of twenty. Half the questions right can clear it comfortably, which is why running out of time is normal and panicking about it is not useful.

This is where most silent rejections happen

Tests usually sit immediately after the online form, before any human reads anything. A strong CV that fails here is rejected by software — which is exactly why an afternoon of practice is the highest-return preparation in the whole process.

Ask for adjustments if you need them

Extra time and alternative formats are available for dyslexia, ADHD, visual impairment and other conditions, and asking does not form part of the assessment. Employers expect the request; most candidates who are entitled never make it.